Sowards is a graduate of Moses Lake High School and Brigham Young University. She swam competitively for sixteen years, including while she was in college. She found it more entertaining to think of plot ideas while following the black line up and down the bottom of the pool than having a song in her head that restarted with every flip-turn. Sowards currently lives along the Wasatch front with her amazing husband and her adorable twin toddlers.
Follow AL Sowards: BLOG | FACEBOOK | TWITTER | GOODREADS
LDSWBR: Do you find it easier or more difficult to write during the summertime? Why?
A.L.: I think it’s easier, but I’m not sure why. Maybe it’s because I’m outside with the kids more, so they get tired and take better naps. It also helps that I’ve recently given myself a no-internet-during-nap-time rule, so I’m getting good chunks of quality writing time almost every day.
LDSWBR: Would you rather be in the pool or next to the pool?
A.L.: In the pool. Between swim team and life guarding, I practically lived at the pool most of my youth. This summer I’m not swimming too many laps, I’m just catching my two-year-old twins when they jump into the water.
LDSWBR: Ice cream or slushie? What flavor?
A.L.: I’m going to have to say smoothie, because my daughters and I have smoothies for lunch at least once a week. It’s an easy recipe, so I’ll pass it on: 1 cup milk, 1 cup frozen strawberries, 1 cup yogurt (just about any type works, and if it’s a single-serve size yogurt, I just dump it in without measuring it), 1 banana. Sometimes I add a baby food jar of pureed carrot to add some nice color and some good vitamins (yes, we still have pureed vegetables at our house, because my kids still eat them. Anything I can do to get more vegetables into them…). Blend. Add straw (if desired). Enjoy.
But don’t let that fool you–I’m a total chocolate addict.
LDSWBR: Thank you so much!
Espionage by A.L. Sowards
DESERET BOOK | SEAGULL BOOK | AMAZON | BARNES & NOBLE
France, 1944: Nobody expects Peter Eddy to survive his first commando mission—to retrieve a code book stolen by the Nazis—so when he does come back alive, his success is rewarded with an even more daunting assignment. Partnered with French Resistance leader Jacques Olivier, Eddy must identify which of three Allied contacts in Calais is a double agent and use the traitor to help implement a strategic Allied diversion that might win the war. Eddy and Olivier secretly cross the English Channel to confront their suspects one at a time, but what appears to be a clean assignment soon turns disastrous, and a shocking betrayal leaves Eddy in the grip of the Gestapo. With the courageous aid of Olivier and his sister, Genevieve, Eddy evades his captors with a dangerous escape plan. But as the Allied invasion approaches, treachery in the least likely places leads to fresh graves in the bloodied European soil—and only the power of loyalty and love can transform tragic endings into new beginnings.
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Of Grace and Chocolate by Krista Lynne Jensen
Espionage by A.L. Sowards
14 Responses to “Espionage by A.L. Sowards – Countdown to Summer 2012”
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Interesting premise…..WWII is one of my favorite time periods to read about….yay!
This book was really good. I hope she writes more books!
I just put this book in my TBR pile and hope to get to it soon — it sounds very intriguing! I love that she thinks of plot lines while swimming laps!
That’s awesome!! Thinking of plot lines while swimming. Too bad I’m not a writer–I could think of plots while floating the lazy river with my kids. :)
I wish my kids still took naps!! This book looks so good! Wanting to read a good mystery!
Amanda sounds like a fun person. (May I call her Amanda? I saw it on her Facebook page and felt more comfortable calling her that rather than “A.L.” or “Sowards”.) Her book sounds very intriguing and I make smoothies every day for myself, three sons and husband!
Love the smoothie recipe!!
This book looks really interesting and I would love to read/win it!! Thank you for helping us readers get a look inside the lives and likes of these great authors.
Looks good! I’m a sucker for WWII-era novels.
The preview on Amazon was pretty intense. I’m looking forward to reading all of it.
I love reading ANYTHING to do with WWII. It fascinates me! This book looks really interesting. It is definitely on my to-read pile!
Goof for her getting a book written with 2 year old twins! That means they were babies when she was probably still in the writing/editing process-Wow! This book sound like something I would like-thanks!
It is amazing how much time the internet can suck up…oh, wait, what am I doing? :-P And I think straws and pureed foods are great with babies. They are not necessarily any cleaner than feeding a baby with a spoon, but at least it requires less effort on my part.
I haven’t heard of this book/author before but it definitely sounds like a book I would like to read.