Sarah Hanks: Brave Author

Today it’s my privilege to feature Sarah Hanks. She’s the founder of Brave Authors, a Facebook collaboration of Christian writers.

Sarah Hanks switched gears from children’s ministry to full-time novelist with Mercy Will Follow Me. She and her husband have nine children, a couple of whom seem to have inherited their mother’s love for playing with words and crafting stories. Though Sarah dreams of a cabin by the beach, the family lives together in beautiful chaos in St. Charles, MO. She buys earplugs in bulk.

Sarah’s newest novel is Braving Strange Waters, which launched on April 15, 2024. Below is a synopsis of the story.

You can follow Sarah on Facebook or Instagram @authorsarahhanks.

Braving Strange Waters

Stella Lindy is supposed to be soaking up the sunshine with her bridesmaids on a bachelorette cruise to Hawaii. But when she hits the wrong button on the elevator, the glamorous luxury of the modern ship is replaced with the Missouri River steamboat Arabia filled with strangers—and a mysterious doctor informs her it is 1856.

Communicating through an antique mailbox, her friends on the cruise try to guide her back home before the steamboat sinks, but Stella finds herself caught in a tangled web between pro-slavery Border Ruffians and anti-slavery Jayhawkers. Standing up for what’s right in the face of peril and uncertainty might mean never making it home.

Braving Strange Waters is a riveting time-slip novel with memorable characters, exciting twists, and rich internal conflict that fans of Gabrielle Meyer will love.

Mercy Will Follow Me

2nd Place Winner – 2021 Angel Book Awards

Three stories collide, centuries apart, in this split-time inspirational read.

Natassa seems to have it all—a devoted husband with a good income, beautiful children, a faithful best friend—but it only takes one night for her world to crumble, catapulting her into a journey of trauma and healing, old pressures and new friendships. Will she learn to stand her ground or will she always live in someone else’s shadow?

DeAndre longs to break free from the neighborhood that keeps dragging him down, but the streets are made of quicksand. Dreams can hardly take flight there, even if he paints them wings. And when he does the unthinkable, could mercy ever be a possibility?

In the 1800s, a mulatto enslaved girl is torn from her mother and left to figure out who she is on her own. Through her time as a house slave in Tennessee and Kentucky, Mercy grapples with her deep ache for her Mama and her understanding of black and white. Which is more important to her? Freedom or loyalty? Join these three characters in Mercy Will Follow Me to see how their stories intertwine, and dare to believe that mercy will follow you.

Mercy’s Song

2nd Place Winner – Selah Awards, 2nd Place Winner – 2022 Angel Book Awards

Three stories, centuries apart, continue to intertwine in this gripping split-time sequel.

Natassa has settled into a “new normal” three years after the assault that changed her life. Marriage, family, and a new career have brought changes that she never thought were possible, and love like she’d never known before. But any semblance of peace shatters when a new development occurs in her case. Flooded with emotion she thought she’d long put to rest, Natassa must navigate strained relationships. Will she find the truth that can set her free?

DeAndre returns to Crawford County after dropping out of art school and finds an opportunity for romance. His past continues to haunt him, even as he and his new love seek to piece the broken shards of their lives together. Soon, a shocking discovery sends DeAndre reeling and forces him to choose between the woman he loves and his integrity. Will he end up losing everything or can he cling to hope despite it all?

In the 1840s, Mercy labors next to her mother in the rice fields and discovers a spark of affection growing between herself and Jonah, another slave. But Mama’s health begins to fail, and the missus makes an announcement that will alter their lives forever. Will Mercy’s plan to save them succeed? Or will they lose everything, including each other?

Mercy’s Song is the second book in the Mercy Series after Mercy Will Follow Me.

Mercy’s Legacy

1st Place Winner – 2022 Angel Book Awards

Four stories merge in this compelling conclusion to the split-time Mercy series.

After being released from prison, DeAndre struggles to make a new life for himself and his family. But when his past shows up in the doorway of his art studio, begging for a place in his heart and life, he is forced to make decisions that will alter his life forever.

Nine-year-old Mercy has questions no one will answer. That is, until her brother reveals that he knows the whereabouts of her birthfather. Is the man whose blood runs in her veins a bad man like her parents told her? Or a good one? Could he fulfill the longing in her heart to truly belong?

Natassa’s been hit with one heartache after another, and she’s finding it difficult to bounce back. She longs to keep her loved ones safe and secure, but her arms don’t seem big enough to shelter everyone. Not when COVID hits, and certainly not when her daughter takes off to meet her birth father. Will Natassa find the strength she needs to pull everyone through?

In 1868, Liberty’s safety is threatened by a band of night riders and she must flee for her life. Her mother—Mercy—pleads with her to find refuge with an old family friend and Liberty’s grandmother in Georgetown. What will Liberty find when she gets there? And will she find herself along the way? Read Mercy’s Legacy to get the answers.