There have been many novel drafts of many novel stories that I have written, and many more that I have started and yet to have completed, but there is only one full novel that I have conceived, written and revised to full fruition. IN LOVE AND WAR is that historical novel. I was inspired by a story my dad told me, and used that as a starting point. I was fascinated with the idea I had seen in David Guterson’s SNOW FALLING ON CEDARS of love between people from both sides of World War II and I knew a lot about German culture and history to round out the depiction of Inga Kaufener’s family.
Other characters grew as I wrote and refined the story over the course of five years. As I alluded to before in the blogs, I try to not base any one character too closely on real life people in my novels. That is why I choose to do historical fiction. It is made up, not lifted from my own life. I have done damage to close family members and I have seen writers of all stripes wreck their family ties with hyper-critical depictions of people close to them. Fitzgerald in TENDER IS THE NIGHT is the best example of this. Hemingway took him to task for writing a Roman a clef about their mutual friends, and the irreparable damage it would do to them. Make the characters up, whole cloth, set them in a time and place that is familiar to you, but not too familiar, as central Florida in the 1940s in my book.
I am hard at work on the next historical novel, called A CONTRITE SPIRIT, which should be out later this year. Meanwhile, if you haven’t already read my novel IN LOVE AND WAR, you are in for a special treat! It is the book that by far has gotten the most positive comments both on Amazon and in person. Some people told me they were moved to tears. I don’t know about that, but I am humbled they would say that.
FREE digital copies of IN LOVE AND WAR available for the next five days starting March 3rd, 2021.
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