Beloved author Lynn Austin celebrates the release of Chasing Shadows, a WWII novel set in the Netherlands, the story of 3 women caught up in the danger and intrigue of a world at war.

Lynn is a master of historical fiction, penning fascinating characters, honed by impeccable research and excellent storytelling. Today she has prepared a fun feature for my readers giving insight into the Dutch penchant for cycling!

Enjoy this personal insight into the Netherlands and her people – it’s a country made up of more than tulips and windmills – and be sure to enter the giveaway below, thanks to Tyndale House.

Chasing Shadows

Lena is a wife and mother who farms alongside her husband in the tranquil countryside. Her faith has always been her compass, but can she remain steadfast when the questions grow increasingly complex and the answers could mean the difference between life and death?

Lena’s daughter Ans has recently moved to the bustling city of Leiden, filled with romantic notions of a new job and a young Dutch police officer. But when she is drawn into Resistance work, her idealism collides with the dangerous reality that comes with fighting the enemy.

Miriam is a young Jewish violinist who immigrated for the safety she thought Holland would offer. She finds love in her new country, but as her family settles in Leiden, the events that follow will test them in ways she could never have imagined.

The Nazi invasion propels these women onto paths that cross in unexpected, sometimes-heartbreaking ways. Yet the story that unfolds illuminates the surprising endurance of the human spirit and the power of faith and love to carry us through.

Yikes! Bikes!

The first time my Dutch publisher invited me on a book tour in the Netherlands, I was astonished by how many bicycles there are in that tiny country. A huge tangle of them greeted me outside every bookstore, their owners all waiting inside to hear me speak. Bicycles whizzed through every village and town and city, often at breakneck speed. Dutch bike paths had traffic circles at busy intersections to keep riders from crashing into each other. I quickly learned to walk on the sidewalk and was very careful not stray onto the bike path.

I’m told that there are more bikes in Holland than people, and I believe it! Dozens of bikes are chained up outside apartment buildings, businesses, and schools. It’s a common sight to see professional men and women in business suits commuting with briefcases strapped to their bikes. Thousands of bikes are parked at every train station, some perched on double-decker bike racks to conserve space. I can’t imagine how people ever find their own bike again at the end of the day. I’ve seen young couples on dates, snuggled together on the same bike. And busy mothers carting multiple children to school and ferrying groceries home on their bikes—often all at the same time.

These Netherlanders are my kind of people. I have loved cycling since I was a girl. My very first bike was a clunky, secondhand single speed with fat tires and bulky fenders. I repainted it bright red. My sisters and I would ride around the countryside in rural New York State, where we lived, or to the ice cream stand in the neighboring village three miles away. We would clip playing cards to the spokes with clothespins to make a rumbling sound and decorate our bikes with flags and crepe paper for Fourth of July parades. In my fertile imagination, my bike was sometimes a horse, sometimes a motorcycle.

I’m an adult now, but I haven’t outgrown my love of bicycling. When my husband Ken and I moved seven years ago, one of the deciding factors in choosing our new home was the paved bike trail that goes right past our house. It’s an easy twelve-mile round-trip into town to go to the library or the farmers’ market or to meet friends for coffee. I often take a break from writing, and Ken packs a picnic lunch for us to enjoy at the beach on Lake Michigan or in one of several nearby parks. We bought brand-new bikes last August and have already maxed out the odometers at 1,000 miles.

Our vacations are chosen with biking in mind, visiting places with loads of trails, such as Sanibel Island in Florida. We’re fortunate to have friends who enjoy cycling as much as we do, and in 2019 we cycled with some of them through Germany, Switzerland, and Austria as we circled Lake Constance. Our most memorable day was in the Austrian Alps, where we took our bikes up Mt. Pfänder in a gondola, then bicycled back down the nearly 3,500-foot mountain. It was equal parts thrilling and terrifying! Of course, I would like to do it again. Unfortunately, our planned cycling trip across the Netherlands to Belgium this spring had to be postponed because of the pandemic.

Yes, I’m addicted to cycling, which is why I’m thrilled with the cover of my newest novel, Chasing Shadows. It features one of my main characters, Ans de Vries, riding her bicycle. The windmills in the background depict the novel’s setting in the Netherlands. The low-flying airplanes, along with the model’s clothing and her concerned expression hint that it takes place during the perilous years of World War II after the Nazis invaded that peace-loving nation.

Naturally, bicycles play a role in the story. Lena de Vries relies on her bicycle to travel from her farm to the nearby village, often with her children perched on the handlebars and rear fender in true Dutch fashion. Her daughter Ans rides her bike home from her town house in Leiden to visit her family. Later, Ans uses her bike in her dangerous work with the Dutch Resistance. In one tense scene, Nazi soldiers steal her bicycle, leaving her stranded and in danger of breaking curfew.

Happily, I was able to travel to the Netherlands with my husband to research Chasing Shadows. Our son Ben, who studied at the University of Leiden, served as our tour guide. We rented bikes and cycled from Leiden into the countryside, like Ans would have done, so I could choose the setting for the de Vries family farm. We also traveled to Amsterdam by train to do more research, but I wasn’t quite brave enough to cycle through that city’s busy streets.

I doubt my bicycling hobby will ever coincide so perfectly with my novel-writing research again, but it certainly worked out nicely for this book. For now, I hope you’ll enjoy journeying into the past in Chasing Shadows and visiting the bike-loving Netherlands with me.

Thank you for the fun feature, Lynn!

Lynn Austin has sold more than one and a half million copies of her books worldwide. A former teacher who now writes and speaks full-time, she has won eight Christy Awards for her historical fiction and was one of the first inductees into the Christy Award Hall of Fame. One of her novels, Hidden Places, was made into a Hallmark Channel Original Movie. Lynn and her husband have three grown children and make their home in western Michigan. Visit her online at lynnaustin.org.

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