Instead of trying to find your perfect match in a dating app, we bring you the “Author-Reader Match,” where we introduce you to authors you may fall in love with. It’s our great pleasure to present Sarah Loudin Thomas!
Writes:
I write Appalachian historical fiction, building stories around little known tidbits of history. While my novels aren’t usually categorized as romance, there’s almost always a romantic thread. THESE EMPTY PLACES includes TWO second-chance romances. One for a husband and wife who must rediscover their love after losing everything in the stock market crash and the second for a more “mature” character who’s unexpectedly wooed by a younger man. That one was SUCH fun to write!
About:
I’m an Appalachian mountain girl who loves writing stories inspired by real events. I’m an old soul who prefers my great-grandmother’s quilts and my great aunt’s paintings to anything new I can buy. In my free time you’ll find me thrifting for other people’s sentimental knick-knacks. I’m bonkers for dogs and have stopped writing to go outside because I spot a pup going past my window. My husband won’t let me have more than one. Which is wise but disappointing. My dog is named Thistle and if you don’t love her, I’ll be skeptical about you. I also enjoy hiking, cooking, eating, and pretending to garden.
My ideal reader will:
- Enjoy nostalgia with a dash of sentimentality (not the sappy kind, though).
- Have secretly, or not so secretly, wanted to ride west in a wagon with the Ingalls family.
- Like flawed characters who you might forget don’t live in the next town over.
- Be the sort of person who puts the book down to look up details about the historical elements (email me to tell me what you learn!).
- Love a happy—or at least satisfying—ending.
What to expect if we’re compatible:
- Heart-tuggingly satisfying stories that make you wish you could sit down for tea and cookies with the characters.
- Secondary characters who sometimes steal the show.
- A sense of place that’s deeply, authentically Appalachian without being stereotypical.
Narrator: Pilar Witherspoon
A Southern Fiction Historical Novel About Second Chances Set in the Appalachian MountainsA Southern Fiction Historical Novel About Second Chances Set in the Appalachian Mountains
When their worlds are upended, two women brought together by their loss discover what truly matters most.
Claire Roth sacrificed love for a life of comfort on Lake Toxaway—until the dam broke, and the lake washed down the side of the mountain. Fourteen years later, she longs to see the lake restored to its former glory even as the country faces hard economic times on the eve of the Great Depression.
Socialite Lena Hawkins married her first love, who swept her off her feet after skyrocketing from rags to riches by speculating in the stock market. Now penniless and rejected by her family, Lena and her husband have arrived at Lake Toxaway for a fresh start. There, Lena forms an unexpected connection with Claire, who hires her to assist with the personal library Claire is building to provide jobs and education for their struggling North Carolina community. When Claire is given a second chance at love and Lena a tempting chance at a life of independence, both women must release the past to fill tomorrow with promise.
Sarah Loudin Thomas paints a rich Southern historical story of friendship, second-chance romance, and new beginnings set in small-town North Carolina on the eve of the Great Depression. This read is perfect for book clubs and fans of Patti Callahan and Lisa Wingate.
Historical | Christian [ Baker Publishing Group, On Sale: May 5, 2026, Trade Paperback / e-Book / audiobook, ISBN: 9780764245930 / eISBN: 9781493454259 ]
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. Her first novel, Miracle in a Dry Season, released August 2014 through Bethany House. Book #2, Until the Harvest, released May 2015. Sarah is represented by Wendy Lawton of Books & Such Literary Agency. A graduate of Coastal Carolina University in Conway, SC, Sarah once dreamed of being a marine scientist. But her love for words won out and she has spent much of her career in public relations and marketing. She currently oversees fundraising and communications for a Christian children’s home in Black Mountain, NC. Sarah and her husband Jim live in the mountains of Western North Carolina with Thistle–the canine equivalent to a personal trainer pushing them to hike, run, and throw sticks. Sarah is active in her local church and enjoys cooking and–you guessed it–reading.
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