Welcome Sarah Loudin Thomas

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I've read several of Sarah's books and loved them all. Her latest, The Finder of Forgotten Things is a wonderful story she'll tell us about in this interview. She's also giving away a signed copy of her new book. Post a comment about the book or the interview and be entered to win.

I asked Sarah a few fun questions. I hope you enjoy her answers as much as I do.

Do you prefer coffee, tea, or water?

Tea. I drink cups and cups of hot tea. Real tea, not that herbal stuff. Decaf, no sugar. My dad called it, “aggravated water.”

M&Ms or Skittles?

WHY would anyone choose little balls of sugar coated with food coloring over chocolate??

Cat or Dog Person?

I’m a mammal person. If it’s warm-blooded I want to get my hands on it. That said, I’m MORE a dog person. I have to leave the room if there’s a service dog I can’t pet. We just gaze at one another longingly mourning all the belly rubs and ear scratches going to waste.

Favorite Song?

Theme from a Summer Place by the Percy Faith Orchestra. It’s the loveliest thing I’ve ever heard. I just went and played it because of this question.

Spring, Summer, Fall, or Winter?

I used to be all about fall but as I get older, I’m leaning more toward spring. I adore wildflower hunting in Appalachia and April/May is the best time for that.


Here we'll hear more about Sarah's latest book:

Do you have a new release you'd like to tell us about?

I recently released The Finder of Forgotten Things—a story about a water dowser who’s really more of a scam artist. The story is centered around the Hawks Nest Tunnel disaster in West Virginia—the worst industrial accident in US history that hardly anyone has ever heard about. I’d been wanting to build a story around it for a long time and finally found the right one. It was challenging since the tragedy of the tunnel was never really redeemed, but several readers have commented on how hopeful they found the story in spite of its sad background—so I like to think I did alright!

Did you enjoy creating one character more than another? If so, why?

My favorite characters are always the ones that are most flawed! Which means, in Finder, it was Sulley Harris. He’s loosely based on my great Uncle Celly (Marcellus) who was quite a scoundrel in our little community. My great Aunt Bess, who remembered him, once told me he liked to draw pictures but only of the devil and naked ladies. Her brother asked Celly how he knew what the devil looked like, and he said, “Seen him many a time.” Now that’s a character I HAD to put in a story! Of course, I sanded some of his rough edges and gave him a chance to be redeemed.

What kind of research do you do, and how long do you spend researching before beginning a book?

I started writing stories set in the 1940s and 1950s because it meant the bulk of my research was simply listening to my parents, grandparents, and their peers talk about the “old days.” I’d always loved doing that anyway and now when I needed to know, say, what sort of wood stove my character might cook on all I had to do was call up Dad and ask him what Grandma’s stove was like. Of course, Finder is set in the 1930s and, I’m sorry to say, all of my grandparents as well as my father are gone now. I still have their stories stored up in my heart, but now I need to do some actual research to go along with that. Which is no hardship since I LOVE reading about West Virgnia history. I found several books dedicated to the tunnel disaster that offered excellent information as well as online videos, articles, and more. I suppose I researched this book for several years because I kept coming back to it and reading more. And once I was writing, I’d look up specific details. I often don’t know what I need to research until I get into the story so ideally, I develop a general foundation then build on it as needed. This was the first time I offered a list of books for additional reading at the end of the novel. There’s excellent information about the tunnel disaster for anyone who wants to dig deeper.

Sarah Loudin Thomas grew up on a 100-acre farm in French Creek, WV, the seventh generation to live there. Her Christian fiction is set in West Virginia and celebrates the people, the land, and the heritage of Appalachia. Sarah is the director of Jan Karon’s Mitford Museum in Hudson, NC. She holds a bachelor’s degree in English from Coastal Carolina University and is the author of the acclaimed novels The Right Kind of Fool–winner of the 2021 Selah Book of the Year–and Miracle in a Dry Season–winner of the 2015 Inspy Award. Sarah has also been a finalist for the Christy Award, ACFW Carol Award, and the Christian Book of the Year Award. She and her husband live in western North Carolina. To learn more, visit www.SarahLoudinThomas.com.

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