About the Book

Book: Faces in the Window

Authors: Andrew Busch and Melinda Busch

Genre: Christian Historical Fiction

Release Date: October, 2022

Franz Maedler, an officer in the Wehrmacht, loses a leg in Stalingrad and is evacuated just before it becomes impossible to do so. He returns to a desk job with the Army General Staff in Berlin but is deeply conflicted. His father is committed to the Nazi cause, as seems to be his brother Friedrich. Yet his girlfriend Katrin is a devout Christian, as was his now-deceased mother, and his conscience is haunted by things he was a part of on the Eastern Front. He wants to marry Katrin, but she will not agree until he decides who he is and who he follows. Then, unexpectedly, a moment of crisis forces Franz to choose. Will he side with the cross or with the swastika? And what will it cost him?

Click here to get your copy!

About the Authors

Andrew and Melinda Busch were both born and raised in Boulder, Colorado, and were introduced in 1994 by their junior high school math teacher. They married in 1995 and have three grown children. They now live in Rialto, California.

Andrew teaches American government at Claremont McKenna College in southern California. He has authored or co-authored about two dozen books on American politics, government, and public policy. He received his Ph.D. in Government from the University of Virginia. Melinda is a freelance author who has published numerous short stories and children’s books. She received her Master’s degree in education from Concordia University-Portland. Faces in the Window is their first co-authored book.

More from Andrew and Melinda

We came up with the idea for our book after a trip to the Holocaust Museum in Washington, D.C. in 2006, but didn’t start writing it until late 2019. The COVID lock-down gave us a lot of time at home to work on it.

Writing together was fun. Sometimes one of us would draft a section and the other one would revise it and then we would go back and forth until we were satisfied with it. Other times, when there was important dialogue, we would each pick a character, go onto Google Docs, and have the conversation in real time. We had to be sharp, since our characters often found themselves in a tight spot. Though we planned out the story, sometimes the conversations took on a life of their own, and things went in a different direction.

One of us is a poet and an author of children’s books, fantasy stories, and fan fiction, while the other is a professor who has written extensively about American government but has never before dipped his toe into the vasty depths of fiction. Together, we had a great time!

Blog Stops

Gina Holder, Author and Blogger, January 17 (Author Interview)

Bizwings Book Blog, January 18

Artistic Nobody, January 19 (Author Interview)

For Him and My Family, January 19

Debbie’s Dusty Deliberations, January 20

Splashes of Joy, January 21 (Author Interview)

Betti Mace, January 22

Jodie Wolfe – Stories Where Hope and Quirky Meet, January 23 (Author Interview)

Texas Book-aholic, January 24

Guild Master, January 25 (Author Interview)

Locks, Hooks and Books, January 26

Sylvan Musings, January 27 (Author Interview)

Connie’s History Classroom, January 27

Happily Managing a Household of Boys, January 28

A Modern Day Fairy Tale, January 29 (Author Interview)

Truth and Grace Homeschool Academy, January 30

Giveaway

To celebrate their tour, Andrew and Melinda is giving away the grand prize package of a $50 Amazon gift card and a signed copy of the book!!

Be sure to comment on the blog stops for nine extra entries into the giveaway! Click the link below to enter.

https://promosimple.com/ps/297c8/faces-in-the-window-celebration-tour-giveaway

Interview

Do you have a favorite scene in your newest release?

Hmm, good question. Without giving away too much, maybe three: The dinner party hosted by Franz’s father, into which Franz and Katrin find themselves unexpectedly thrown together; Franz’s intense conversation with Pastor Hoffman after being confronted with a life-altering choice; and Franz and Friedrich conspiring together to trick Franz’s superior into giving them a truck that they need. (Andrew)

There are a lot of scenes I love, but I think my favorite is the dinner party scene. That’s one we started with a specific plan and the characters took it a different way. It was a lot of fun to write, and fun to see how it ended up. (Melinda)

Who are your favorite authors?

Among fiction authors, my favorites would be Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, Orwell (especially Animal Farm), and Arthur Koestler (Darkness at Noon). (Andrew)

C.S. Lewis, J.R.R. Tolkien for speculative fiction. Sarah Sundin and Brock and Bodie Thoene for historical fiction. (Melinda)

How do you get your story ideas?

We got this particular story idea after visiting the U.S. Holocaust Museum in Washington, D.C. However, life with three kids got very busy and we did not start writing until 13 years later. (Andrew)

Andy already told you about where we got the idea for this book. In my speculative fiction, I get ideas from folk tales and fairy tales and my own vivid imagination! (Melinda)

What do you plan to work on next?

Melinda and I are working on a sequel for Faces in the Window called Into the Lions Den. It is probably about one-third finished. In my day job as a political science professor, I am finishing up a book on President Reagan’s decision to fire the air traffic controllers when they went on strike in 1981. (Andrew)

In addition to our sequel to Faces in the Window, I’m part of a group of writers responsible for the Whitstead Anthologies. These are speculative short stories set in a fictional English town. We’ve got Whitstead Summertide coming up, and I’ll be in charge of putting the stories together and formatting the book once final edits have been made. Then I’ll need to write my story for Whitstead Springtide. I’m also considering putting together a chapbook of my poetry. It’s something my husband has encouraged me to do. (Melinda)

If you could vacation anywhere, where would you go?

Probably Scotland and Ireland, though maybe Berlin to do research for our next book. We recently discovered we love cruising, so a Mediterranean cruise would also be nice. (Andrew)

I agree with my husband on everything he said above! I’d also love to get back to see my friends in Ukraine, though that will have to wait until the war ends. (Melinda)