Hello friends! I’ve been looking forward to this post for a long time. Today I’m trading interviews with the lovely Savannah Jane McCrary of History Redeemed. She’s interviewing me about We Gave Our Tomorrows on her blog and I’m interviewing her about her upcoming WWII book, Trains and Tulips. I got the chance to be a beta reader for Trains and Tulips (and yes, you’ll probably be hearing more about that as it gets closer to publication!)

My questions are in bold, and Savannah’s answers are in purple. I realllly wanted to put her text in orange (IYKYK), but it wasn’t a very legible combination. 😉

1.) Have you always been a writer, or is that a more recent interest?

I have loved writing and making up stories for as long as I can remember. My sister Sophia and I were always making up stories together when we were little, my mother assigned scrapbook journaling to me as part of my homeschool (which I loved) and I would write stories for my family for gifts. But I never considered becoming an author until I was 14. When I was a wee little lass, my dream was not to write books, but illustrate them. (I still enjoy drawing and painting and also illustrate my books, though, now if I had to choose between writing and illustrating, I’d definitely choose writing!) 

When I was almost 14, a friend told me she was writing a book, and I thought that sounded fun and maybe I’d write one, too. I wrote my first full-length novel at age 14 and knew from then on writing books was what I wanted to do! That was 12 years ago; I’ve learned a lot about writing since then and won’t be publishing that first book, but it still holds a special place in my heart! 

After writing that novel, God led me to write a nonfiction book about issues such as human trafficking, abortion, and orphans, with stories of people from history and people today who worked to rescue the “least of these,” and practical ways young people can take action. It took me three years to write it, and it became the first book I published in early 2017, when I was 17. I released a revised and expanded edition of it earlier this year. 

After that, I published a medieval fantasy book, and then I fell deeply in love with history and began writing the genre that I think I’ll be sticking with for a good long while, historical fiction. 

2. What was the inspiration and writing journey behind Trains and Tulips?

Trains and Tulips is historical fiction set in the Netherlands during World War II. It follows five young people who each become involved in the Resistance against the Nazis. The inspiration for it started with watching the movie Return to the Hiding Place, which is about Hans Poley and other real members of the World War II Dutch Resistance (it’s an incredible movie, but I wouldn’t recommend it to young children; there’s one part in particular that is utterly horrifying and heartbreaking). That movie stirred me like few movies have, and I wanted to write a story about the Dutch Resistance. It started out as a short story I wrote for a contest, then I started thinking of ways to expand the story and make it into a full length book. 

I did more research, and the story just kept growing! I researched and researched and researched some more. I worked on the story here and there for a few years but was busy with other projects, and the timing just didn’t seem right to write the whole novel. Though, I confess, there were times I felt I was bursting at the seams needing to get it out of my head and onto paper! 

But last winter, God provided the time for me to write this novel. I wrote about 100,000 words in four months. That is by far the fastest I have ever written a book. It’s over twice as long as any book I’ve written previously. And I could see God’s faithfulness and how much better the story was since I had waited to write it than if I had gone ahead and written the whole thing when I first wanted to. I learned and grew so much both as a person and in my knowledge of writing and history. This book is vastly better than it would have been otherwise because of it. 

And my passion for this era has only grown. As I’ve read the stories of World War II heroes, one of the things that has stood out to me the most is how they kept believing in the goodness of God and never stopped hoping in even the darkest of circumstances. Another reason I am passionate about sharing the stories of World War II and the Holocaust is because I want to share the truth that every life is valuable. While today, we thankfully don’t have concentration camps and gas chambers, there is a disturbing disregard for human life, evidenced in the widespread acceptance of abortion and human euthanasia. Antisemitism and crimes against Jews are also on the rise. I believe we must remember and learn from our history. 

It’s been so encouraging to hear the responses I’ve gotten to this book from early readers! This is the sixth novel I’ve written but the first one that has moved my family to tears! (They also laughed, too, in case you were wondering. I did intersperse some humor throughout the book!) The feedback I’ve received has been amazing, and I’m so grateful and excited to see what God does with this book! 

(It’s available for pre-order through Kickstarter August 21st-Sepember 20th!)

3.) What sources did you use most for your research?

I read a LOT of books, many of them memoirs/autobiographies of people who lived in the Netherlands during WWII. There were so many good ones I drew information and inspiration from, but my favorites were: The Hiding Place by Corrie ten Boom with John and Elizabeth Sherrill, Return to the Hiding Place by Hans Poley, Things We Couldn’t Say by Diet Eman with James Schaap, and Selected to Live by Johanna Ruth Dobschiner. Also, Journey Through the Night by Anne DeVries is a historical fiction book written by someone who lived through World War II and was commissioned by Queen Wilhelmina to write a book depicting what life was like for the Dutch people during that time. It’s one of my favorite historical fiction books and the book that would be most similar to Trains and Tulips. I also watched a few documentaries and scoured the internet for answers to questions I didn’t find in books. 

4.) Was there a character or specific portion that you really enjoyed writing?

I don’t want to give away any spoilers, so I won’t go into details, but one of my favorite parts to write was the liberation of a concentration camp. While I wrote it from the perspective of a fictional character, I kept it as close as possible to how it really happened. Can you imagine what an amazing feeling it would have been to be one of those prisoners and realize you lived to see freedom after all of that misery and torture?

(As I recall, that was one of the parts I teared up over. 🥹)

5.) Do you have plans for future books?

Oh, yes! Unless God changes my plans, my next book will also be a historical fiction set during World War II, but in a different country. I’m not ready to divulge any more details yet, but I’m very much looking forward to when it’s time to share this story! I also have ideas for about twenty more books, but I prefer to write just one at a time! 

(Ooh, more WWII? I can’t wait! 😃)

6.) Do you ever assign “theme songs” to your characters or books?

Sometimes! This book, Trains and Tulips, definitely has a theme song! My sister Sophia is a very talented singer, songwriter, and musician, and she wrote a song called “Running Through a Field of Tulips” after watching the movie Return to the Hiding Place (the same movie that inspired my book; you can see this movie had quite an impact on both of us!) 

(That is so cool! I love it when siblings can be involved in the project too.)

7.) What are three random facts about you?

I’m not sure how random these are, but here is what I came up with!

One: I’m named after my maternal grandmother. (Her name was Metta Jane; I’m Savannah Jane.)

Two: I’m about half German. (Nearly all of my ancestry on my mother’s side is German. As you can tell from my last name, I have Irish ancestry on my father’s side. I also have a bit of Cherokee blood, and a little Scottish back there somewhere).

Three: I’ve lived in four states: Missouri, Colorado, Georgia, and Montana. 

(Random enough! 😜)

8.) What books (aside from the Bible of course) and/or movies have been influential in your life?

I’ve already mentioned some books and a movie about the World War II Dutch Resistance. One of my absolute favorite books that has given me a lot to think about it is Eric Metaxas’ biography of Dietrich Bonhoeffer. For anyone who doesn’t know, Dietrich Bonhoeffer was a German pastor, theologian, and writer who became involved in the Resistance against Hitler during World War II. And the movie Bonhoeffer: Pastor. Spy. Assassin. is definitely my favorite movie! It is so well-done, and I don’t think I’ve ever seen a movie with so many rich truth-filled quotes! Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s story, as told in that book and movie, always reminds me that Christ is calling us to truly follow Him in real faith, not to merely have “dead religion.” The Chronicles of Narnia by C. S. Lewis is a series that I’ve read and re-read again and again, and it is full of deep, spiritual truths. Another book that I’ve recently added to my favorites list is The Auschwitz Escape by Joel C. Rosenberg. 

9.) If you could meet one person from history, who would it be and why?

Probably Dietrich Bonhoeffer. I think he’d be a very interesting person to have a conversation with! Or C. S. Lewis. I’d love to talk to him about writing and get some advice! 

(It’s always so hard to choose just ONE, isn’t it?! 😅)

10.) What is your favorite thing about being a writer?

Oh, I love everything about being a writer, but I think my favorite part is seeing how God uses my writing to bless and impact others. Seeing how much my family enjoys it when my mother reads my stories aloud, receiving a message from someone who was encouraged by my books, the excitement of a little girl when I signed her book for her… it’s things like that that remind me just how wonderful it is to be a writer! 

Thank you so much for interviewing me on your blog, Phoebe! 

Trains and Tulips is currently available for pre-order through Kickstarter! You can learn more about it and order your copy here! I’d also love to connect with you through my blog, History Redeemed, my email newsletter and Substack publication, Blue Flower Story Company, or on Goodreads!

Thank YOU, Savannah! It was lovely having you on the blog today!

And, folks, don’t forget to check out Trains and Tulips – it goes live in December. Here’s my review, if you want the full version of what I thought about it. 😊

In a previous post, about my top 10 fictional heroes, one of the Trains and Tulips characters is on the list! All of Savannah’s characters are very real and alive – and I STILL want a Pieter in my life, please. 😜