Category Archives: Writing about WWII

The blurring of truth and fiction

23 Thursday May 2013

Posted by in Historical Fiction, Writing about WWII, Writing Process

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My mother has helped me enormously with Unravelled, the novel I plan to self-publish this summer. Although the plot is pure fiction, some of the details came from the stories she has told me about her parents and growing up during WWII.

The other day, I told her about a scene I’d written where a young New Zealander named Jack who had been training in Canada to be a pilot, leaves for England. In my story, Emily (modelled after my mother) and Ann (modelled after my grandmother) take Jack (based on a real Kiwi named Jack) to the train station.

Mom corrected me. “My mother didn’t go with me to the station, my brother did.” But in my case, I need the fictional version for other purposes. Here’s the scene:

In October, Jack finished his training and returned to Toronto for a few days leave before going overseas. On the day of departure, Ann and Emily saw him off, walking through the great hall of Union Station, heels clicking on the flecked marble floor. Jack was in uniform, a duffel bag over his right shoulder and a smaller bag in his left hand. Emily’s arm was linked with his. Once in England Jack would begin flying for real; in all likelihood, he would soon be dropping bombs on enemy targets.

The station echoed with footsteps and conversation. Loudspeakers proclaimed the departures of each train with a swoop of place names—North Bay, Sault Ste. Marie, Fort William, Port Arthur, Brandon, Winnipeg—conjuring images of stations large and small, where anguished parents met polished caskets and women waved lovers good-bye, where bewildered children watched fathers in unfamiliar garb climb narrow, iron steps then lean from windows with mouths stretched in grotesque smiles.

The hall was crowded. Ann remained with Jack’s bags as he and Emily searched for information about his train to Halifax. She knew they were fond of one another; writing frequently while Jack was at flight school and spending hours together whenever he visited Toronto. She imagined they would find a quiet spot for a last embrace before joining her again.

My mother really was fond of that young Kiwi. But that story will have to wait for another day.

Writing a book blurb

07 Tuesday May 2013

Posted by in Author Entrepreneur, Historical Fiction, Writing about WWI, Writing about WWII, Writing Process

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Self-publishing requires a writer to take on all sorts of unfamiliar tasks. One of these is creating the enticing but brief ‘blurb’ that will describe your book to potential readers. You need to promise an exciting read without disclosing too much. Here’s my attempt to describe UNRAVELLED. I’d love to hear what you think.

Edward Jamieson’s memories of war and a passionate love affair resurface when an invitation to a World War I memorial ceremony arrives. Though reluctant to visit the scenes of horror he has spent years trying to forget, he succumbs to the unlikely possibility of discovering what happened to Helene, the woman he once pledged to marry.

In July 1936, travelling through the charming French countryside with his wife Ann, Edward sees nothing but reminders of war. At the dedication ceremony, an encounter with Helene reignites long-buried passion and Edward steps back into his past. The resulting affair puts Ann and Edward’s marriage at risk.

When World War II erupts, Edward is soon caught up in the world of training espionage agents while Ann counsels grieving women and copes with the daily threats facing those she loves. And once again, secrets and war threaten the bonds of marriage.

With events unfolding in Canada, France and England, UNRAVELLED is a poignant novel of love, duty and sacrifice set amongst the turmoil of two world wars.

Would you be tempted?

Historical Fiction – WWI and WWII Favourites

11 Monday Mar 2013

Posted by in Historical Fiction, Historical Non-Fiction, Uncategorized, Writing about WWI, Writing about WWII

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MyBooks1So many books, so little time is a frequently heard mantra amongst readers. The same notion applies to writers crafting new stories. Reading is essential to writing. According to master storyteller Stephen King, “If you want to be a writer, you must do two things above all others: read a lot and write a lot. There’s no way around these two things that I’m aware of, no shortcut.”

My own collection of books bulges with historical fiction and historical non-fiction as well as a number of books on the craft of writing. Those concerning WWI and WWII have relegated other favourites to lesser shelves and basement hideaways.

mybooks3Some personal favourites:

BIRDSONG by Sebastian Faulks is the “story of Stephen, a young Englishman, who arrives in Amiens in 1910. Over the course of the novel he suffers a series of traumatic experiences, from the clandestine love affair that tears apart the family with whom he lives, to the unprecedented experience of the war itself.” In the introduction, Faulks declares that the theme he explored was “how far can you go?” and “what are the limits of humanity?“

I have never been a student of history. Teachers presented the subject as an exercise in memorization and I never found the rhythm or rationale to glue together facts into a compelling canvas of people with competing interests. In the early days of writing a novel set in WWI, I struggled to find descriptions of battles that were not dense with jargon and the minutiae of warfare. VIMY RIDGE 1917 by Alexander Turner is a slim volume full of maps and timelines, pictures and diagrams all of which helped me understand the unfolding of that great battle and others like it.

While visiting the Vimy memorial in 2010, I purchased LETTERS OF AGAR ADAMSON. Norm Christie, the editor, writes “As a historical document the letters of Agar Adamson stands on their own. But what gives his letters even more depth is the complex and touching relationship with his wife, Mabel Cawthra.” Reading letters is not a narrative experience. Rather, it is one full of gaps, seemingly inconsequential details, occasional outbursts and names of people known only to the letter writer. But if you persist, Agar’s character shines through and you begin to appreciate the real experience of WWI.

Pierre Berton was a well-known and well-loved Canadian author and journalist who dedicated most of his writing to non-fiction tales exploring Canadian history and heritage. VIMY is his account of that famous battle, the horrific conditions of trench warfare and the intensity of preparing to take a ridge that had defeated two earlier assaults. “Drawing on unpublished personal accounts and interviews, Berton brings home what it was like for the young men … who clawed their way up the sodden, shell-torn slopes in a struggle they innocently believed would make war obsolete.” My grandfather survived Vimy Ridge which prompted my desire to incorporate this battle into two of my novels.

Anne Perry wrote a series of WWI novels, one for each year of the war. Although each novel is a self-contained story, collectively they tell the tale of the Reavley siblings, Joseph, Judith and Matthew, and an ominous character called the Peacemaker whose actions threaten the very survival of Britain. I first read AT SOME DISPUTED BARRICADE, and when I realized it was part of a series, read the rest in order: NO GRAVES AS YET, SHOULDER THE SKY, ANGELS IN THE GLOOM, WE SHALL NOT SLEEP. These absorbing stories illuminate the realities of WWI, painting pictures of those who struggled to survive, those who offered support and those who led others to small and great victories.

One day, browsing the shelves of my nearby bookstore, I found DEAFENING by Frances Itani with its story of Grania, a young deaf woman, who falls in love with Jim, a hearing man. “As the First World War explodes across Europe, Jim leaves to become a stretcher bearer on the Western Front, a place filled with unforgiving noise, violence and death. Through this long war of attrition, Jim and Grania attempt to sustain their love in a world as brutal as it is beautiful.“

mybooks4WWII is rife with spy stories. Several have kept me up late at night fearing at any point the capture and torture of one or other fearless agent. Sebastian Faulks comes through with another winner, CHARLOTTE GRAY. “In 1942, Charlotte Gray, a young Scottish woman, heads for Occupied France on a dual mission – officially to run an apparently simple errand for a British special operations group and unofficially, to search for her lover, an English airman missing in action.“

And who did not weep when either reading or watching THE ENGLISH PATIENT? This novel by Michael Ondaatje is a complex but moving tale of love and redemption set in North Africa and Italy during WWII.

With espionage as a theme in one of my novels, THE SECRET LIFE OF BLETCHLEY PARK by Sinclair McKay called to me immediately. I had to know what happened at Britain’s code-breaking centre and the personalities who worked there. McKay delivers, bringing “stories of the ordinary men and women who made it happen” to life while explaining the intricacies of that highly confidential work and world.

My copy of VESSEL OF SADNESS originally belonged to my stepfather. It is a story of those who fought and died in 1944 at Anzio, Italy. After the invasion of Sicily, the Allies slowly made their way into Italy, taking piece by painful piece of that country from the Germans. An assault originally imagined to be swift, played out over months and months of gruelling effort. Vessel of Sadness spares no detail of the true story to capture the Alban Hills. Based on his own experiences in the British army, William Woodruff’s tale is brutal and achingly human.

Erik Larson writes non-fiction that reads almost like fiction. The New York Times review of his book IN THE GARDEN OF BEASTS said “there has been nothing quite like Mr. Larson’s story of the four Dodds [William, his wife Mattie, daughter Martha and son William Jr], characters straight out of a 1930s family drama, transporting their shortcomings to a new world full of nasty surprises.” If you seek to understand pre-WWII Germany, this is one of the best and most readable sources.

Below is a list of some other novels and non-fiction works I have on my real and electronic shelves. All have played a part to inform my writing.

WWI

  • Marching as to War – Pierre Berton
  • The Serpent’s Tooth – Michelle Paver
  • The First Casualty – Ben Elton
  • Three Day Road – Joseph Boyden
  • A Soldier of the Great War – Mark Halprin
  • Life Class – Pat Barker
  • Maisie Dobbs – Jacqueline Winspear
  • Fall of Giants – Ken Follett
  • Elsie and Mairi Go to War – Diane Atkinson

WWII

  • Resistance – Anita Shreve
  • Hornet Flight – Ken Follett
  • The Good German – Joseph Kanon
  • The Spy Who Spent the War in Bed – William B. Breuer
  • Unlikely Soldiers – Jonathan Vance
  • Inside Camp X – Lynn Hodgson
  • Restless – William Boyd
  • Fallen Skies – Philippa Gregory
  • Operation Mincemeat – Ben Macintyre

I’m sure I’ll find and read more, unless, of course, I decide to write stories of another era :)

A Writer of History – One Year Later

28 Thursday Feb 2013

Posted by in Historical Fiction, Historical Fiction Survey, Writing about WWI, Writing about WWII

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1st Year AWOHOn February 8, 2012, I wrote the first post for this blog. I began with the objective of exploring historical fiction as a genre, but I’ve occasionally posted about my own writing and the research I’ve done concerning WWI and WWII. Lately, I’ve added a few pieces on self-publishing and being an author-entrepreneur.

Looking back, a few highlights stand out for me.

  • 130 posts that have sparked over 500 comments
  • over 24,000 views from 121 countries
  • highest viewing day (511 views) occurred when I released the historical fiction survey results
  • the survey has generated significant interest including an opportunity to speak at the Historical Novel Society in London, as well as a number of guest posts
  • many interviews with well known historical fiction authors
  • many interviews with new or debut authors of historical fiction
  • several interviews with historical fiction bloggers

Along the way, I dissected the ingredients of favourite historical fiction, considered ways for authors to connect to readers, mused on social media, revealed some of my favourite WWI websites and reviewed a number of books, both fiction and non-fiction. Finding new friends in the historical fiction community has been a very special, added bonus.

For some, these results will seem trivial. But I’m more than pleased! So here we go … on to year two.

Jimmy’s Journal – WWII Signals Corp

13 Wednesday Feb 2013

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Jimmy's Journal Jan 1944In WWII, my grandfather was Lieutenant Colonel of ‘A’ Corps Signals, a reserves unit. With the objective of communicating regularly to the men involved, the began a monthly newsletter and called it Jimmy’s Journal after running a contest amongst those enlisted in the Corps. You see, James was my grandfather’s surname. (NB: My mother has corrected me, apparently Mercury, the winged messenger you see on the Signals symbol, was called Jimmy, although the origin is unclear.)

As leader of the Corps, my grandfather wrote the front article for each publication. Here’s the one from January 3, 1944:

According to our military leaders, this is Victory Year, at least in Europe.

We are cautioned, however, that it will also be a year of tremendous war effort at home. There will be many casualties in the armed forces. We shall have to make even greater sacrifices of goods and materials needed for war. Taxes will remain at a high level.

All of this means DISCIPLINE. In the Reserve Army we are taught the value of discipline. Now is the time to apply discipline to our own lives and to continue our active support of this unit which is an important part of Canada’s Reserve Army.

As we know, military leaders were wrong. Victory in Europe did not occur for another eighteen months. Discipline was needed for a much longer time.

When I think to whine about my own circumstances, I should think instead of what our ancestors endured with courage, conviction and discipline.

WWII Red Cross Shipment

31 Thursday Jan 2013

Posted by in Historical Fiction, Researching historical fiction, Writing about WWII, Writing Process

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Revising is a tough business. Scenes and sentences requiring hours of research and writing time must be sacrificed in the interests of story arc, pacing and emphasis. Sigh – it’s a wrenching part of writing. Jenny Q, the editor I wrote about recently, told me that a list of items for a WWII Red Cross shipment included in one scene slowed the action too much, not only that, she said most readers would merely skip to the next proper sentence.

But, but, but … I had been so delighted when I found the list, a real list of items a group of Red Cross volunteers had been asked to assemble one July to be received by soldiers five months later for Christmas. Grandma had packed shipments like that during the war and I had a picture to prove it! (Don’t you love the hats?) There had to be a scene about it in my novel given that one of my main characters bears more than a little resemblance to my grandmother.

Packing Red Cross ShipmentCut, condense, rephrase. The list is gone now; the scene shortened. But just in case you want to know what volunteers packed for soldiers in WWII, here it is:

  • 12,375 4×4 surgical compresses
  • 180 handkerchiefs
  • 150 men’s pyjamas
  • 200 men’s undershirts
  • 5 men’s bed jackets
  • 270 pairs of service socks
  • 2 scarves
  • 15 pairs of mitts
  • 3 ribbed helmets
  • 3 aero caps
  • 67 quilts
  • 90 boys undervests
  • 5 baby dresses
  • 30 boys dressing gowns
  • 83 girls pinafore dresses and blouses
  • 120 girls dresses
  • 65 boys underpants
  • 80 girls nightgowns
  • 125 girls sweaters
  • 145 girls skirts
  • 55 girls blouses
  • 5 boys rompers
  • 85 girls bloomers
  • 3 afghans
  • 8 complete layettes
  • 300 food packets

Odd combination, don’t you think?

PS – the scene still includes the food packets based partly on the items you can see in this picture.

March 4, 1943 Radio Broadcast

10 Thursday Jan 2013

Posted by in Historical Fiction, Researching historical fiction, Writing about WWII

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Lt. Col. L.E. James - WWIIMy grandfather, Lieutenant Colonel L.E. James was the commander of ‘A’ Corps Reserves during WWII. As such he was often called on for interviews in Toronto Newspapers and on radio. My mother has some of his archives – a grand word for what are really scrapbooks – which have been the source of many an inspiration as I write.

When I first began a novel that is now called Unravelled, I needed to understand the role that Signals plays in war. Here’s what Grandpa wrote for a radio broadcast in March of 1943.

In British history, first mention of signalling for purely military purposes, tells of the besieged early Britons encamped behind the Roman wall, temporarily throwing Caesar’s legions into great confusion through the use of secret smoke signals, which communicated the strategy of defence to a courageous, but hopelessly inadequate Briton’s army.

Since that time military signalling has played a prominent and consistently progressive role in coordinating the movements of the Empire’s armed forces, but it was not until comparatively recent times that the signals branch of the Army reached its true status, for even the great Duke of Wellington at Waterloo, occupying a front only two miles long, had to rely on mounted messengers to communicate with his field officers. Today, with expert signallers an army maintaining a front extended over 150 miles of territory may be made to manoeuvre as one man. Actually, it was the past 90 years that brought forth virtually all major developments in military signalling, starting with visual signal systems such as the heliograph; the semaphore system, which first employed the use of flags; carrier pigeons – the forerunner of today’s despatch riders – and still doing yoeman service with the army, navy and air force; down to the Walkie-Talkie wireless set, which enables the scout on reconnaissance to keep in touch with headquarters.

It was in 1856, however, that the greatest and most far reaching development of them all took place — this was the introduction of telegraphy into military signalling. In the Crimean War British engineers laid 20 miles of telegraph cable — its use and efficiency in the campaign immediately established this new and then revolutionary invention as the ultimate in military signalling methods. Since that time, the Royal Corps of Signals has become known as the eyes and nerves of the service, for in modern warfare an army without its Signal Corps could not exist, and signallers must be expert in every known means of communication, through the use of lamps visible only a few yards, carrier pigeon, runner, despatch rider, telephone, teletypewriter, telegraph or wireless — across oceans and continents it is their business to organize, construct, operate and maintain all necessary and possible means of transmitting intelligence that may be required by an army at war.

He goes on to solicit recruits for the Reserves, reminding listeners that:

the war is just entering its most dangerous and crucial phase — our enemies are strong, desperate and resourceful.

This is the man who bounced me on his knee when I was little, took my brothers and I fishing, sang hymns with gusto, and read Winnie the Pooh stories. He’s the primary reason I write about WWI and WWII.

Historical Fiction Author Jennifer Niven

24 Monday Sep 2012

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Jennifer Niven is an accomplished writer of both fiction and nonfiction. Her latest novel, Becoming Clementine, launches tomorrow, September 25. Jennifer graciously agreed to be interviewed for A Writer of History and I asked her the same sort of questions I asked the top historical fiction authors.

Why do you write both historical fiction and historical non-fiction?     I have always been drawn to the true story.  I come from a long line of Southern storytellers, and one of our favorite past times was and is telling stories.  Whenever we gather together, whether it’s on the front porch of one of the North Carolina family homesteads or at Lincoln Center in New York City, we inevitably start spinning tales.  Some of them (our equivalent of the Top Ten) get told each time we’re together, even though we’ve all heard them a hundred times before.  The thing these stories have in common is that they’re true.  Truth really is stranger than fiction, and as a writer of both nonfiction and historical fiction, I clearly find inspiration in real people and real events.

Because I consider myself a writer first and foremost, as opposed to a “writer of nonfiction” or “writer of fiction,” I write both historical fiction and historical nonfiction.  I like to think I can write just about anything I put my mind to, which is why I’ve also written a memoir, film scripts, short stories, plays, movies, and television scripts.

Do you have a preference?     I don’t have a preference, but each time I’m coming to the end of a project, I get very wistful about the other genre.  In other words, if I’m writing fiction, I wish I were doing non-fiction (because I wouldn’t have to make up so much of the story on my own and be responsible for so many decisions and details).  And when I’m writing nonfiction, I sometimes long for the freedom of fiction (and the lack of footnotes or endnotes, which I hate, as necessary as they are!).

Is one easier than the other? More successful than the other?     I think both are equally challenging, both in the same ways and in different ones.   I’ve been lucky to have success in historical fiction and historical nonfiction, although the advances and sales for nonfiction are, as a rule, typically greater than for fiction.

How long did it take for your first book, The Ice Master, to be published?     I wrote The Ice Master for Hyperion, selling the idea based on a book proposal.  The proposal went to auction, and I was given sixteen months to research and write the manuscript.  My publisher “crashed” the book, which means they cut their production time in half and hurried the book out just six months after it was edited and completed—a short amount of time in the publishing world! 

As an historical fiction author, what do you think attracts readers to your books?    I tend to write about high-spirited, gutsy, colorful (yet regular) people who survive tough circumstances, loss, and often tragedy, and not only move on, but flourish and triumph in the end.  Almost all the readers I hear from say they are inspired by my characters and their stories, that the characters encourage them to be braver, to feel stronger, that they teach them to carry on.  I hear from cancer survivors, abused women, professional adventurers, teenagers who want to make their mark in the world, housewives, teachers, and so many people who say my books reminded them to pursue dreams they had long since forgotten.

Do you have a particular approach to research and writing?     I keep myself open to the possibilities.  You never know where an idea will lead you.  Many times in my research I’ve set out to study one thing, which has led me to another.  I go off on tangents because there is so much to discover.  You have to let yourself do this, but also know when to rein yourself in.  The same applies to the writing.  I outline before I begin, but I always know that the outline will change—like any good journey, there will be unforeseen detours along the way.  In terms of my daily schedule, I get up every day and work, often seven days a week for 10 or 12 or 16 hours a day.  I hear from people who ask if I only write when I’m inspired, but I work harder than most everyone I know.  It’s a job, but, as far as I’m concerned, it’s the best job in the world.

Have other writers of historical fiction influenced you and, if so, how have they influenced you?     Aside from my mother (who is also a writer), my primary literary influences are Flannery O’Connor, Shirley Jackson, and Harper Lee.  I borrow so many sage and shrewd writing tips from Hemingway.  And Truman Capote’s In Cold Blood (which could arguably be considered historical fiction) is one of my favorite books of all time.  It’s a book I wish I’d written.

What ingredients do you think make for a top historical fiction author? Do you deliberately plan for these ingredients in your writing?     I think you have to possess a love of research—the “research gene,” as my mom calls it.  I could research and research without ever stopping.  Sometimes the book or archival materials or iPad literally has to be removed from my hands so that I will take a break (there are so many fascinating things to learn in this world!).  You need to be able to organize details, facts, and information, while also knowing when to relay the truth and when to dramatize, and how to merge fact and fiction.  So much of it comes down to instinct.

How do you select new stories to tell?     Somehow, the story has a way of selecting me.   I have no shortage of ideas, and only a few of those ever become full-length books.  The stories you’re supposed to tell let you know when it’s time to tell them.  Also, because writing a book is a lengthy and all-consuming process, I need to write a story and characters that I want to spend lots and lots of time with.  I’ve put a number of ideas aside simply because, at the end of the day, I didn’t want to revisit the character (or characters) and setting for months and months at a time.

What advantages do you think come from writing follow on stories as you have done with Velva Jean? Any disadvantages?     Writing a series is a great way to build a fan base of readers who (hopefully) will follow you from one book to another.  And it gives you a chance to build on that readership with each book.  However, the deadlines are tough.  My publisher wanted each Velva Jean novel to come out a year apart, which means I’m editing, editing, editing and promoting and publicizing one book while researching and writing another, and all within about nine months time.  It’s exhausting.

What techniques do you employ to write productively?     I’m lucky in that I’m a very disciplined person.  I have no trouble being productive, because writing is what I love to do most in this world.  I have trouble not writing!  My literary agent calls me one of the most, if not the most, compulsively writing writer he knows.  One rule I follow religiously is something I learned from Hemingway, which is always to leave off in the midst of what you’re working on at the end of your writing day.  This makes it easier to pick up the flow the next morning.  If you come to the end of something on a Monday, it’s that much harder on a Tuesday to go forward, right off the bat, with the same focus and energy.  I also remember something one of my high school English teachers taught me:  “pure economy of word.”  Most of my favorite writers write economically—there’s very little extra fat, if you will.  I write fast and long (my first drafts usually come in around 700 pages), but I have a fondness for dialogue, and an aversion to adverbs and too much description.  I whittle and edit and cut, cut, cut.  So much of writing is editing.  You have to be able to be ruthless with the material.

Do you think of yourself as having a brand? If so, how would you describe it and how do you reinforce it?     It’s so funny you ask this because lately I’ve been trying to figure out just what my brand is.  I’m not a chick lit author or a true crime writer.  I’m not easily classified.  I think my brand is that I’m a writer.  Period.  I write.  I write everything because I love writing.  And I tend to love stories about ordinary people facing extraordinary circumstances.  People with big dreams who aren’t afraid to go after those dreams.  People who are survivors.  I love the underdog, the ordinary, reluctant, unexpected hero.

What do you do to connect with readers?     I’m active on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Red Room, and I try to keep my website as interesting and dynamic as possible.  I have two amazing interns working with me, and we update our blog posts frequently and also try to include a range of content that will appeal to all types of readers.

What do you know about your readers?     I know that they are hard to pigeonhole as well because they are so diverse.  The readers of my historical fiction are fiercely devoted to my character, Velva Jean Hart (from Velva Jean Learns to Drive, Velva Jean Learns to Fly, and Becoming Clementine), to the point where they weigh in on plotlines and character choices, etc.  I love that they see Velva Jean as a real person and that they’re so invested in her and her stories.  On the other hand, the readers of my nonfiction, for the most part, want to know when I’ll stop “messing around with fiction” and go back to writing true-life adventure history.

What data do you collect about your readers?     I don’t really collect data so much as I pay attention to the things they want to see from me and from my characters.  It’s important to write what you love and what you feel passionate about—to honor the creative muse—but it’s also important to listen to what the reader wants.  After all, as Ralph Waldo Emerson said, “’Tis the good reader that makes the good book.”

What strategies guide your writing career?     I probably should have more of a strategy than I do because my work might be more classifiable and more easily branded.  That said, I write the things I believe in.  Whether I’m working in books or in television, if the idea doesn’t feel organic to me, if I don’t feel it in my bones, then I know I need to put it aside and move on to something else.  I write the things I want to read (or watch).

What would you do differently if you were starting again?     Honestly?  Nothing.  I wrote each book for a very good reason.  Just as I’ve shaped every story, each of those stories—and the experience of researching and writing and promoting and traveling with them, not to mention meeting and hearing from readers—has helped to shape the person I am.

Do you have any advice for writers of historical fiction?     Explore your family history.  There may be something fascinating there that you can incorporate into your story.  Weaving my family’s stories into the books makes Velva Jean’s own story resonate even deeper with me and for me—it makes me feel even more a part of her, of the characters, and of the journey.  I love to sit back and look at the book and see parts of my history in there—things no one else might recognize— and fragments of the people I love.  My other advice is to write what inspires you.  Write what you love.  Read, read, read.  Write, write, write. 

Is there a question you would like to answer that I haven’t asked?     Yes—who has been the most inspiring and influential person in my life?  The answer is my mother, Penelope Niven, who is an author as well.  From a very early age, she told me I could be or do anything.  She taught me not to limit myself.  She taught me to be kind and loving to others.  She passed along the research gene to me.  She taught me the importance of being silly.  She is a positive, gracious person, and imparted that to me as well.  In addition, she shared her love of reading and writing.  Ever since she instilled “writing time” into my childhood routine, I have loved a good story.  While she sat at her grown-up desk, I sat at my little one, crayons in hand, composing fanciful tales about ordinary people who did extraordinary things.  From her, I learned to find the story in everything, to appreciate wonderful characters, and to discover that I could actually realize my dreams of being a detective, an astronaut, an archaeologist, and an actress because a writer is adventurer, explorer, researcher, scholar, and chameleon in one.

Becoming Clementine: It’s summer 1944 and Velva Jean has just become the second woman in history to pilot a bomber across the Atlantic Ocean as a member of the WASP (Women Airforce Service Pilots). After flying the B-17 Flying Fortress into Prestwick, Scotland, she volunteers to copilot a plane carrying special agents to their drop spot over Normandy. Her personal motivation: to find her brother Johnny Clay who is missing in action. But when the plane is shot down over France and only Velva Jean and five agents survive, she is forced to become a fighter; to become a spy; to become Clementine Roux.

Jennifer – many thanks for visiting A Writer of History. I wish you lots of success for Becoming Clementine.

Dieppe – 70 years ago

20 Monday Aug 2012

Posted by in Historical Fiction, Writing about WWII

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Yesterday marked the seventieth anniversary of the Dieppe raid on France. A cross-channel effort so badly flawed that Allied troops were massacred as they landed. Almost 60% who made it ashore were either killed, wounded, or captured. Apparently the Germans were on high alert having been warned by French double agents of British interest in the area. If that wasn’t bad enough, those planning the raid failed to discover the extent of German fortifications and manpower.

A novel I’m writing includes a scene about Dieppe for which I transcribed a live radio broadcast archived by the CBC. On August 20, 1942 Edward and Ann Jamieson and their two children, Emily and Alex, are at home. Edward fought in WWI and is involved in Canada’s espionage training program during WWII – all strictly secret, of course. The previous night they listened to the first reports of Dieppe.

The next evening the whole family gathered to hear Brian Burgess, a war correspondent on one of the tank landing ships, give a first-hand account.

“I am broadcasting now about the Dieppe raid at a time when details are just becoming available. I saw our men die, but never have I seen men die more bravely or fight with such great heart as our Canadian troops. The word Dieppe may rank with Vimy Ridge in our history and our hats are off to …” Edward listened to the list of Canadian units involved, thinking of soldiers he knew.

“… a lot of those men will never return to Canada. I believe more will return after the war if the German announcement of fifteen hundred prisoners is correct.”

Hearing the number of prisoners, both Ann and Emily gasped.

“This was a combined operation, playing an equal part with our troops were the airforce, marines, commandos and the navy … at least nine aircraft fell to Canadian guns and many more were damaged. What a marvellous job they did in the face of intense fire from accurate and powerful German shore and AK AK batteries. Our losses haven’t been sustained without reason. We’ve learned a most valuable lesson … we know now how the German coastal defences operate and how best to attack. We know the tremendous weight of artillery the enemy can bring to bear on the beaches …”

“Sounds like the Army is trying to create something positive out of disaster,” muttered Edward.

“Sshhhhh, Dad,” said Alex, grabbing a chunk of his light brown hair. “Gerry said he thinks his brother was there.”

“We moved large forces across the channel unnoticed by the enemy. We landed men on six beaches; we landed tanks in our new tank carrying vessels. Costly as it has been to Canada, the raid was definitely a success. Without this experience a second front would have been suicide. The plan was a closely guarded secret and the men weren’t briefed until on board the ships. We set sail in crafts of all types and in cover of darkness. The men were quiet as we slid out into the darkness and soon we said goodbye to the shores of Britain. And now I’ll read to you from notes I scribbled while on the water …

“Our bombers are at work … more heavy flash of coastal guns and bombs … our aircraft are flying in close to the water … the ships are weaving in front … heavy thuds are shaking us even this far out … destroyers are slinking along beside us … there are fighter patrols like flocks of geese … fast troop carrying ships are passing us … the coast has suddenly loomed up in front of us with its white hills … the destroyers are laying a smokescreen to windward turning broadside and blasting the town with their guns … a spitfire has just crashed off our starboard bow and into the sea like a stone, we can see the pilot trying to get out but he can’t …”

Emily put her hand across her mouth, eyes wide with horror.

“… two Messerschmitts have tried to attack us … we’re shore bound and in we go … we have to back off … I can see casualties in the water … machine gun bullets are winding around us … the tank landing craft ahead of us got its tanks ashore but she’s sinking now … the German shore batteries are shooting at us, our barrage is unbelievable, shells falling on all sides of us … we can’t get into the beach … three pilots are coming down by parachute … the Germans on the cliffs are throwing hand grenades … and now dive bombers are attacking us … some of our men are wounded … our aircraft are suffering heavily … they’re fighting like fools on shore … it’s been a bitter hard fight.”

When the broadcast ended they sat without moving, overwhelmed by what the reporter described. No one spoke. Edward thought again of Julian and Louise. Still no news.

If you have a chance, listen to the live radio broadcast and just imagine.