Sons of Thunder

SONS
of
THUNDER

The
Brothers in Arms
Collection

SONS
of
THUNDER

SUSAN MAY
WARREN

The
Brothers in Arms
Collection

Summerside Press™
Minneapolis 55438
www.summersidepress.com
Sons of Thunder
© 2010 by Susan May Warren

ISBN 978-1-935416-67-8

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form, except for brief quotations in printed reviews, without permission in writing from the publisher.

Scripture references are from the following sources: The Holy Bible, King James Version (KJV).

All characters are fictional. Any resemblances to actual people are purely coincidental.

Cover design by Müllerhaus Publishing Group |
www.mullerhaus.net
and by Steve Gardner | PixelsWorks Studios.

Interior design by Müllerhaus Publishing Group.

Summerside Press™ is an inspirational publisher offering fresh, irresistible books to uplift the heart and engage the mind.

Printed in USA.

EPIGRAPH

For Your glory, Lord

AUTHOR’S NOTE

It’s every author’s dream to have one of her favorite editors call and say, “Will you write me a story?” Uh, yes! And especially wonderful is when, months earlier, God has already dropped a story in that author’s heart to simmer.

See, I was on a plane to Florida, and as I sat down, my seatmate was on his cell phone, speaking another language. I admit I was curious (some may call it nosy). So, I asked him what language he was speaking. Greek—and he was talking to his father who was an immigrant from Greece. And it got better—his grandfather was also an immigrant, and had fought in World War II, while his wife raised their children in Greece. But that wasn’t all. There was an uncle involved, and family scandal and…hmm…interesting. This poor man graciously answered a thousand questions during our two-hour flight, and seeded in my heart a story about two Greek brothers who loved the same woman.

By the time I arrived at my friend Rachel’s house, I had the entire plot worked out. Now, I just had to wait—until Susan Downs asked me to write it.

Thus,
Sons of Thunder
was born. I have long desired to write books set in the World War II era. Such a heroic, courageous time filled with heroes and epic romance, tales of hope and redemption. (Not to mention the amazing music and dress styles—oh, I was born in the wrong era!) More than that, as I’ve had the privilege of traveling the world and
meeting amazing people from other countries, I’ve realized that many, many Christians fought in the war on both sides—British, Russians, Dutch, French, Americans—even Germans. Brothers united by a common lineage in Christ forced to pick up arms to fight in a war they may or may not have believed in, but because they were patriots for their country. My vision is to write stories from around the globe of heroes from all nationalities. I call it the Brothers in Arms collection.

As I searched for the theme for
Sons of Thunder
, Psalm 103:1–5 kept coming back to me—specifically this question: what does deliverance look like? I think, in our world, we want answers immediately. But the heroes from the Greatest Generation understood that sometimes deliverance doesn’t happen overnight. Sometimes they had to fight for it, hold on to it, open their eyes to see it. I wanted to paint a picture of deliverance—forgiveness, healing, redemption, and mercy—and give it room to work out in the lives of my characters. I believe deliverance is something that happens over time, if we are willing to wait for it and hold on to it through the darkness.

I pray this story encourages you to see God’s hand, delivering you through forgiveness, healing you of your diseases, and showing you His great compassion.

God delivered me through this book through the encouragement of so many friends. I’m deeply grateful to Carlton Garborg and the folks at Summerside for believing in me and this idea. And I’m so thrilled to work with Susan Downs, my editor. Her wisdom and friendship help me grow as a writer and a person, and I’m overjoyed to be able to continue to write books with her. I couldn’t write a book without my writing partner, Rachel Hauck, who is on the other end of the telephone every day when I call and start with “what happens next?” And I’m deeply indebted to Ellen Tarver, long-time missionary buddy turned amazing
editor (whom I call my secret weapon). Her tireless hours and attention to detail helped me get it as close to right as I could. Thank you also to Janelle Ashley, a ray of sunshine in my life, and her friend Dean, who stepped in and to help us on our journey to find the right cover.

Of course, I couldn’t write a book without my family. A huge thank-you goes to my son David, who plotted this book in detail with me during a fun ride home from college. And hugs to Sarah and Peter and Noah for cheering me on. Finally, I’m the luckiest woman in the world to be married to my amazing husband, Andrew, who cooks dinner and sends me back to my office when I stare at him blankly (clearly still writing in my head) and helps me figure out how to winch wine casks from a cave, or “what a guy might feel when”…and is my biggest fan. I love him more every day.

Thank you, too, to my readers, who encourage me and who said, when I mentioned writing a World War II novel…do it! Thank you for your enthusiasm. And thank you for reading. May you see God’s deliverance in your life.

In His grace,
Susan May Warren

PART ONE

Markos