Love and Bravery: Patricia Raybon on Writing The Sedalia Code

Author Patricia Raybon’s World War II historical, The Sedalia Code, combines a love story with a code-cracking mystery, while also addressing issues that Black Americans dealt with at the time.

At a prestigious Black finishing school in North Carolina, math teacher Laurette Lowe is asked to look at a cryptic message from an Italian POW by Lieutenant Nev Pierce, who is stationed nearby. That request sets Laurette and Nev on a course to uncover—and stop—a secret plot threatening the country.

In this Q & A with Patricia, she tells us what real-life stories inspired the novel and what themes were important to her to include. Patricia also tells us which Bible verse was integral as she wrote and what she hopes readers will come away with.