1--What is the title of your latest release?
THE NIGHT SPARROW
2--What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book?
Elena Bruskina joins the Red Army as a sniper to get revenge from the fascists who murdered her family, but when she’s ordered to give up her rifle to become an interpreter, she is entangled in a secret hunt for the most evil Nazi of all. From the bestselling author of Daughters of the Occupation.
3--How did you decide where your book was going to take place?
Since THE NIGHT SPARROW is based on true events, the setting was determined by the historical events within the narrative.
4--Would you hang out with your protagonist in real life?
Absolutely! Elena is a loyal friend who speaks her mind and secretly questions Stalin’s motives. I can imagine vigorous conversations over coffee with Elena.
5--What are three words that describe your protagonist?
Modest, decisive, valiant.
6--What’s something you learned while writing this book?
Of the hundreds of things I learned, what stands out most is the disturbing way these sniper women, who risked everything to fight for their country, were greeted at the end of the war. Instead of being celebrated as heroes, they were ordered not to talk about their achievements and to return to their primary duty—motherhood. Then, when they traveled home, women called them sluts and accused them of sleeping with their husbands. It became so difficult, the women were afraid to be seen in uniform.
7--Do you edit as you draft or wait until you are totally done?
I edit as I write which means my first draft takes a long time. When I’m finished, I leave it for a week or two, then go back and edit it again. And again!
8--What’s your favorite foodie indulgence?
I am a chocoholic! My favorite treat while writing is Fairtrade, 60 to 70 percent chocolate.
9--Describe your writing space/office!
I have a cozy (small) office separated from my dining room with pocket doors. My floor-to-ceiling shelves are crammed with books, and my desk is typically a mess of notebooks, folders, books, and empty coffee mugs. On my walls, I’ve hung a watercolor painting I did years ago, an ink sketch by my son, and a couple of prints from Latvia that inspire me. A credenza holds the material I read for researching a novel; the top is the stage for my collection of Russian pieces painted in the Zhostovo folk style, as well as my Matryoshka nesting dolls.
10--Who is an author you admire?
Alice Hoffman’s work always stirs my heart. She writes books I return to, often.
11--Is there a book that changed your life?
I read To Kill a Mockingbird in grade seven and, as a white girl living in a predominantly white, blue-collar neighborhood, this novel opened my eyes to systemic racism.
12--Tell us about when you got “the call.” (when you found out your book was going to be published)/Or, for indie authors, when you decided to self-publish.
While writing The Night Sparrow, I worried that my previous novel’s success was a fluke. Thankfully, my fears were put to rest when I received an email from my agent stating that HarperCollins was going to publish it!
13--What’s your favorite genre to read?
I’ve loved historical fiction since I was a child, entranced by Laura Ingalls Wilder’s Little House series.
14--What’s your favorite movie?
I’m a Hitchcock fan and love all his films. If I have to choose my favorite, it would be ‘Rope’, which is almost like watching a play, set in a couple of rooms, with a small cast and an intriguing premise: is it possible to plan the perfect murder?
15--What is your favorite season?
Fall is the best time of year for me, with its refreshingly cool air and the vibrant falling leaves in rich ochre, burgundy and ginger tones.
16--How do you like to celebrate your birthday?
My most memorable birthday in recent years has become my favorite way to celebrate; I was in London, England (where my daughter lives), and my husband and I visited Hatchards bookstore, which has been in the same location since 1797! I had goosebumps as I explored the store where Queen Charlotte (wife of King George III once shopped). My husband bought me two affordable first editions, one by Evelyn Waugh, who used to give readings in Hatchards, and another by Nancy Mitford, a socialite-author who worked in the shop during WWII.
17--What’s a recent tv show/movie/book/podcast you highly recommend?
I’ve listened to every episode of Malcolm Gladwell’s podcast, Revisionist History, and am constantly surprised by how he can make seemingly mundane issues like the LSAT, McDonald’s French Fries, and pilots’ voices fully absorbing.
18--What’s your favorite type of cuisine?
I have a fussy stomach, so I enjoy simple Mediterranean food, especially fresh salads, soups, fish, bread, and fruit.
19--What do you do when you have free time?
I look forward to walking my two Westies every morning and evening; this is my time to let my mind wander, work out an issue in my manuscript, or listen to a podcast. As well, I play tennis, ski, and enjoy drawing and painting.
20--What can readers expect from you next?
HarperCollins has commissioned me to write a novel about a regiment of female pilots and navigators in the Red Army, who bombed the Germans nightly, flying in open-cockpit bi-planes with a top speed of 94 miles an hour! It will be published in 2027.
For fans of Kate Quinn and The Nightingale, a gripping story of a young Jewish girl who joins an elite Russian sniper unit and embarks on a mission targeting the highest prize of World War II: Adolph Hitler.
With the Nazi invasion of the Soviet Union, Elena Bruskina’s world collapses. The ambitious university student and her Jewish family are quickly forced into the Minsk ghetto where thousands are immediately murdered, including her father and brother. Then her younger sister is publicly executed on false charges and her mother is shot. Alone with her grief, Elena escapes the ghetto, determined to avenge her family’s deaths.
Heading to Moscow, she enrolls in the Red Army’s newly created Central Women’s Sniper Training School. After rigorous training, she becomes a member of an all-female sniper platoon, a community of brave young women willing to give their lives to defend their country. Then Elena is chosen for a secret mission—a daring and highly dangerous plan to capture the face of evil itself: Hitler.
Inspired by the real-life female snipers and interpreters in the Red Army during World War II, The Night Sparrow is a portrait of friendship, resilience, courage, and sacrifice under extraordinary circumstances.
Historical [Harper Paperbacks, On Sale: July 1, 2025, Paperback / e-Book , ISBN: 9780063319219 / eISBN: 9780063319226]
Shelly Sanders has her feet planted in both Canada and the U.S., having been born in Toronto, Ontario and raised in Rolling Meadows, Illinois. She and her family returned to Canada the year she started high school, a transition she would not recommend! Upon graduation, she attended the University of Waterloo and received an honors degree in English literature. Then, she went to Ryerson (now Toronto Metropolitan University) for a graduate degree in journalism.
She began her writing career as a freelance journalist for Canadian national publications such as the Toronto Star, National Post, Maclean’s magazine, Canadian Living, Reader’s Digest, and Today’s Parent. When the internet dismantled traditional journalism, she decided to pursue her dream of writing historical fiction. Shelly wrote her first novel while completing a certificate in creative writing at the University of Toronto. Rachel’s Secret, Second Story Press, is inspired by her grandmother’s furtive Russian Jewish childhood. This young adult/crossover novel received a Starred Review in Booklist and was an iTunes Book of the Week. Rachel’s Promise and Rachel’s Hope followed, creating the award-winning Rachel Trilogy. Two of the three were named Notable Books for Teens from the Association of Jewish Libraries, Rachel’s Hope was shortlisted for the Vine Awards for Jewish Literature, and Shelly was chosen to be a TD Canada Book Week Author.
Shelly discovered her Jewish heritage when she was 18, and didn’t know about her Latvian Jewish roots until just a few years ago, when she found old photos of her great-grandmother taken in Dvinsk, the Yiddish name for Daugavpils, Latvia. Astounded, she started researching the country’s Jewish history as well as her own maternal ancestry. She traveled to Latvia where she discovered 26 relatives, all of whom were murdered in the Holocaust. This disclosure upended everything she thought she knew about her family. After further research and a second trip to Latvia, she wrote, Daughters of the Occupation (HarperCollins, 2022), a Canadian bestseller with a Starred Review from Kirkus. The novel is set during the Latvian Holocaust and explores intergenerational trauma, a phenomenon that runs through Shelly’s maternal side.
Her next novel, The Night Sparrow, will be published by HarperCollins (Canada and the US) in the spring, 2025.
In addition to writing, Shelly has taught journalism at Sheridan College, tutored at-risk children, and currently runs creative writing workshops. She is a member of the Women’s Fiction Writers Association, PEN America, and is the Canadian liaison for Artists Against Antisemitism. In her spare time, this mother of three adult children, enjoys painting, walking her dogs, tennis and paddle boarding.
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