American Historical Novels interviews Soraya Lane about her most recent novel, Under A Sky of Memories:
Soraya M. Lane, author of eight WWII historical novels, is no stranger to our American Historical Novels group. She has appeared as a guest host in our pages on several occasions and to promote The Secrets We Left Behind, The Spitfire Girls of Pearl Harbor, Hearts of Resistance, The Last Correspondent, Wives of War, and Voyage of the Heart.
AHN Admin Jess Neal Woods posted an excellent interview with Soraya back in November of 2020, if you’d like to find out more about Soraya. https://www.facebook.com/groups/AmericanHistoricalFictionBookClub/posts/746523599271772/
Here are just a few questions that Soraya wanted to add on the occasion of publishing Under A Sky of Memories:
1. When did you begin to write or decide you wanted to be a writer?
Honestly, I’ve always been a writer. I still recall sharing my stories with my teacher when I was nine years old, and I wrote all through high school and university as well, although in my high school years I tended to write quite dark poetry. When I was almost finished my law degree, my husband (boyfriend at the time) asked me what my dream job was. I answered “author” immediately, and he just looked at me and said “well, why aren’t you writing a book?” I finished my degree but didn’t take a job in law, instead working as a journalist as I wrote manuscripts at night, finally selling my first novel when I was 27 years old and pregnant with our first child! It was my dream job then and honestly, it still is. I’m so grateful that I get to spend my days writing.
2. Obviously you still have a passion for WWII. What continues to draw you? Do you think you’ll stick with this time period, or is another that is calling now?
I wrote my first WWII novel 10 years ago as the thesis for my MFA. It was the hardest project I’ve ever completed, and I swore I’d never write another WWII story ever again! But I’d made so many interesting notes during my research, and it wasn’t long before I’d started to plot out another novel, and then I started to find that doing my research for one novel, I’d stumble across something interesting that would spark the idea for the next one. I’m now writing WWII novel #10! I’m passionate about telling the tales of women from the past, from the female perspective – ordinary women during extraordinary things.
I do think I’ll stick with this time period indefinitely – I love it and I can’t imagine not regularly writing novels set during WWII. But in saying that, I will be exploring other periods in history too.
3. What inspired you to write this novel?
As soon as I read about a plane crash behind enemy lines in Albania during WWII, carrying American nurses and medics, I knew I had a story to tell. It was an incredible tale of survival, against all odds, and I was so surprised that after all my years researching WWII, I’d never heard about it before. So I decided to weave fact with fiction to entertain my readers, while at the same time sharing an incredible moment in history and giving them an insight into something remarkable from the war.
4. Any great books you’ve read lately that you want to share with us?
My favourite reads for 2022 include The Four Winds by Kristin Hannah, the Cuba series by Chanel Cleeton, and The Fault Between Us by Bette Lee Crosby. I’m about to start The Italian Girl by Lucinda Riley.
5. What’s next?
My next WWII novel is The London Girls, which will be published in November. It’s set in London, and follows three incredible women who work as motorcycle dispatch riders during the war. I also have a new series I’m launching this year – The Lost Daughters. The first book in the series, The Italian Daughter, will be published in September, and it’s a story that weaves past with present, so my historical fans will hopefully enjoy reading about Italy!