Shannon here: Sherri Stewart shares how her characters met in her latest Historical Romance, A Song for Her Enemies. Comment or answer the question in this post to enter the drawing for an e-book copy. Deadline: April 25th, 11:59 pm central time. Here’s Sherri:
Romance at the Worst of Times by Sherri Stewart
Tamar and Daniel didn’t fall in love during the best of times. They’d met for the first time after her performance in La Traviata when her brother introduced them in her dressing room. Tamar had been aware of the doctor for months. She’d peek out of her bedroom window whenever Daniel stood outside her family’s jewelry shop, waiting for Seth to come out.
Daniel had walked her home after the performance, and there was a budding attraction between them—Tamar could feel it. But the bottom fell out of her life, when the Nazis closed down the opera, and it was months before she saw Daniel again.
The second time they met, Tamar was now working for the Resistance, and Daniel turned out to be her contact. A message changed hands, and from that most inauspicious of moments, their romance erupted, or rather sputtered a bit. From that point on, they teamed up to aid refugees who needed medical attention, Tamar learning nursing on the job. And sometimes her singing helped the needy patients who craved for anything that brought hope.
Daniel always said it wasn’t a good time to fall in love. He said they were living on a precipice. People were disappearing in Holland and more and more of their freedoms were being ripped away. But love came to that precipice at the worst time. Enjoy this excerpt from A Song for Her Enemies, when they met out on the roof’s alcove.
Excerpt from A Song for Her Enemies by Sherri Stewart:
He shifted to face her and brushed a tendril of hair from her eyes, the strand that made them water when gravity pulled it down. She liked it when he played with her hair. “Whether the war ends and we walk out the front door or the war continues and the worst happens, I want you to know that I love you. If we ever get out of this mess, will you consider being my … nurse?”
“You need a nurse?” She blinked several times.
“Sorry. Nerves.” Screwing up his mouth, he gave a rapid shake of his head. “I meant to say my wife—and nurse, too, if you want.”
Warmth flooded her. Tamar wrapped her arms around his neck. “Yes, yes, and yes. I love you, too, Daniel, and I want you in my life forever and ever. I wish we could get married right now.” She expelled a sigh. “It’s scary not knowing what’s to come. I feel as if we’re suspended in time and place, waiting for something terrible to happen.”
“God will keep us in the palm of His hand. That’s what Neelie always says. Let’s just enjoy each other in the present, and the moment we leave—” He kissed her forehead.
She pulled away. “The moment we leave, what?”
“We’ll have such a wedding.” He smiled and kissed her nose. “Until then we can dream. I see our apartment above my office. The sweet smell of your pindakoeken wafting through the pipes, and all my patients salivating and demanding the recipe.”
Tamar giggled. “I’ve never made cookies in my life.”
He put up a hand. “Don’t interrupt my dream. Then you’ll bring a plate of pindakoeken down for me, I’ll put the closed sign on the door, and I’ll kiss the crumbs off your face.”
She nudged him with her elbow. “And then you’ll frown when you take a bite of one of them, and I’ll have to nurse you back to health.”
“Okay, you ruined my dream. Tell me yours.”
About Sherri: Sherri Stewart loves a clean novel, sprinkled with romance and a strong message that challenges her faith. She spends her working hours with books—either editing others’ manuscripts or writing her own. Her passion is traveling to the settings of her books, sampling the food, and visiting the sites. She loves the Netherlands, and she’s still learning Dutch, although she doesn’t need to since everyone seems to speak perfect English. A recent widow, Sherri lives in the Orlando area with her lazy dog, Lily, and her son, Joshua, who can fix anything. She shares recipes, tidbits of the book’s locations, and pix in her newsletter. Subscribe at Sherri’s Newsletter
About the book – A Song for Her Enemies:
She has the voice of an angel. But the devil is listening.
After Nazi soldiers close the opera and destroy Tamar Kaplan’s dream of becoming a professional singer, she joins the Dutch Resistance, her fair coloring concealing her Jewish heritage. Tamar partners with Dr. Daniel Feldman, and they risk their lives to help escaping refugees. When they are forced to flee themselves, violinist Neelie Visser takes them into hiding.
Tamar’s love for Daniel flowers in hardship, but she struggles with the paradox that a loving God would allow the atrocities around her. When Tamar resists the advances of a Third Reich officer, he exacts his revenge by betraying the secrets hidden behind the walls of Neelie’s house. From a prison hospital to a Nazi celebration to a concentration camp, will the three of them survive to tell the world the secrets behind barbed wire?
A Song for Her Enemies is the story of a talented young opera singer and the bittersweet love that grows amid the tyranny and fear of World War II. Set against the backdrop of neighbors willing to risk their lives in the German-occupied, war-torn Netherlands, A Song for Her Enemies is an inspiring and beautiful novel celebrating the resilience of the human spirit and the determination of Christians in the face of persecution. It is a novel for everyone seeking to understand the pain of the past and be inspired to embrace hope for the future.
Can’t wait for the drawing? Worried you won’t win?
Get your copy now! A Song for Her Enemies – Amazon
Question for Readers: What is your favorite kind of music? Why?
Come back April 20th for Karin Beery!
I love old country and old gospel! it just makes me feel good!
I like southern gospel songs and hymns. It helps me to keep my mind on God and His promises.
I love this story!
Christian worship is my music 🙂
I have a winner! Donna B. won the drawing. I appreciate Sherri for being my guest and everyone else for stopping by.