Month: May 2024

Introducing Eleanor from With Each Tomorrow by Tracie Peterson and Kimberley Woodhouse

~ Cindy Thomson ~ Leave a comment

Welcome to Novel PASTimes! We are pleased you stopped by today.

Thank you for having me! I’m looking forward to meeting your readers. 

Tell us something about where you live.

Well, I grew up in New York City, in a lovely little brownstone with my parents. But after my mother died when I was 14, my father decided he had the flexibility to travel for work. But now, he’s looking to settle down somewhere and seems to have chosen this little town in Montana called Kalispell. So far it seems all right, but I’m a bit unsure about putting down roots here.

Is there anything special about your name? Why do you think you were given that name?

Nothing too special. Although my mother liked to call me Ellie. My father will call me that from time to time, but I really don’t like anyone else calling me that. 

Do you have an occupation? What do you like or dislike about your work?

I have traveled with my father, Samuel Briggs, for years now. I write notes about his work and organize engagements. I’m also privileged to attend important meetings where he is able to influence donors, congressmen, even the President, about preserving the land of our glorious nation. 

Who are the special people in your life?

My mother was the dearest woman to me. My life turned upside down when I lost her. I love my father fiercely but it seems as if we are growing apart a bit. I don’t quite know how to deal with that. That’s it really. I’m an only child, so no siblings. 

What is your heart’s deepest desire?

That’s a bit of a personal question. One that I would have to think about for a minute. I think I would like peace the most right now. I didn’t realize how much the travel around the country, though oh-so-grand, has worn me plumb out. There is a restlessness in me that I can’t describe or pinpoint. So peace would be a great relief.

What are you most afraid of?

Death. And I hate talking about it. Because I watched my mother die the most agonizing death one could imagine. I’m often terrified thinking about my own fate. Though I haven’t met many who aren’t. Except my hosts, the Ashburys. They have an incredible confidence and the aforementioned peace. One of the items on my current to do list is to talk with Mrs. Ashbury about that.

Do you have a cherished possession?

I suppose it would be my journals. They hold thousands of notes about meetings with interesting and influential individuals around America. There are many fond memories tucked in those pages. Oh! And my bicycle. That wonderful contraption gives me a profound sense of freedom no matter where we travel. 

What do you expect the future will hold for you?

More travel I suppose. I’m not really sure. As I mentioned earlier, Father is talking about settling here in Kalispell. It seems to be a thriving community, even though there is a bunch of hullabaloo about the railroad right now. I’m sure if you asked my hostess, Mrs. Marvella Ashbury, she would say my future holds marriage. But I’m not ready for that yet. 

What have you learned about yourself in the course of your story?

I am learning that Jesus can actually be trusted. My mother was a woman of deep faith. She trusted the Lord with her whole heart. But when He didn’t hear my prayers to save her, I fell into a deep depression and spiral of unbelief. It was hard to see that about myself. I can be so very stubborn and hardheaded. But I’ve learned that I am capable of changing my mind, and that I don’t always have to be right. Nor am I! 

Is there anything else you’d like people to know about you?

I truly love our great country and would love to see the lands preserved better for future generations. But I also see the value of our farmers and ranchers who own vast swaths of land and use that to feed citizens. I would love to see better harmony between these two groups of people because I think both are important to the flourishing of our country. 

Thanks for allowing us to get know you a little better!

Thank you for your questions – I am delighted to share a bit of my story. And I hope my journey encourages and blesses someone else who has struggled with fear and grief and knows that Jesus wants to bring them out the other side into life.

With Each Tomorrow by Tracie Peterson & Kimberley Woodhouse (The Jewels of Kalispell #2)

May 21, 2024; ISBN 9780764238994; Ebook ISBN 9781493446537; $17.99; Paper

Eleanor Briggs travels to Kalispell, Montana, with her conservationist father to discuss the formation of Glacier National Park, and sparks fly when she meets Carter Brunswick, despite their differences. As the town fights to keep the railroad, the dangers Eleanor and Carter face will change the course of their lives.

Tracie Peterson (TraciePeterson.com) is the bestselling author of
more than one hundred novels, both historical and contemporary,
with nearly six million copies sold. She has won the ACFW
Lifetime Achievement Award and the Romantic Times Career
Achievement Award. Her avid research resonates in her many
bestselling series. Tracie and her family make their home in
Montana.

Kimberley Woodhouse (KimberleyWoodhouse.com) is an award-
winning, bestselling author of more than 40 fiction and nonfiction

books. Kim and her incredible husband of 30-plus years live in
Colorado, where they play golf together, spend time with their kids
and grandbaby, and research all the history around them.

Review: Shelterwood by Lisa Wingate

~ Cindy Thomson ~ Leave a comment
Release Date: June 4, 2024. Affiliate link used to support NovelPastimes.

This book is amazing on so many levels. First, it sheds light on some history that I wasn’t aware of. The author’s note about this is not to be missed. Second, the story drew me in from the beginning, rooting for a child who fights to survive in creative and ingenious ways and for a woman who struggles with grief and wants to prove that she is capable of doing her job. Third, the dual time periods were equally engaging, which is not something that is often done successfully.

The story is told from two points of view in two time periods. The first is 1909 and Olive, otherwise known as Ollie. She’s a vulnerable 11 year old who escapes an abusive household after one of the family’s charges, a 13-year-old Native American named Hazel, disappears. Suspecting her stepfather, and missing her father who died and her mother who’s addicted to opium, Ollie runs away, taking Hazel’s six year old sister with her. The story explores the tragic truth of homeless children in the woods in that era and Ollie’s determination to overcome and build a new town for them called Shelterwood. She’s sure her stepfather, however, is looking for her.

In 1990 we meet a park ranger named Valerie who, after the unexpected death of her husband, is starting over with her young son in a new national park. She has challenges being a woman in a male-dominated profession, but befriends a Native American tribal policeman. Valerie encounters a freak accident in the park, a runaway teenager with secrets, and remains of children buried in a cave. There seems to be something going on that no one wants to investigate.

Lisa Wingate weaves these two threads together while leading the reader on a journey that is both educational and suspenseful. As I was reading I was amazed at all the details that the author included. I thought she must have done a ton of research as she taught me many things I never knew about the early advocates for Native American children, the early statehood of Oklahoma, the duties of National Park law enforcement and more. How she learned all these things is throughly explained at the end of the story.

This was a 5-star read for me. Don’t miss it!

Reviewed by Cindy Thomson http://www.CindysWriting.com

I received an advanced copy from the publisher through NetGalley. This is my unbiased opinion.

Meet Miriam from Jarm Del Boccio’s The Heart Changer

~ Cindy Thomson ~ Leave a comment

Welcome to Novel PASTimes! We are pleased you stopped by today.

Is there anything special about your name? Why do you think you were given that name? 

My parents gave me the name Miriam or Maryam in Hebrew. It means “beloved, but also rebellious and bitter.” I was the beloved first child, and although I was a girl, I was cherished. Maybe a bit too much? I was independent and selfish, and, to be honest, proud at times. But when Abba Father took ahold of my heart and squeezed it, well, bitterness came out. It had to happen before He could change my heart.

What does a day in Shunemtown look like for you? What do you like or dislike about your life?  

Ima gave me many jobs each day to keep me out of trouble. I liked sweeping the dirt floors in our humble home that served also as a stable for one donkey, a goat, sheep and four chickens. I didn’t like the chickens—they were messy and and stunk awfully! I brought them food and cleaned their pens. Ugh!

I also helped Ima prepare our simple meals of bread, dates, goat’s cheese and occasional lamb during the holy festivals. I loved our marketplace in the center of town, so when Ima asked me to buy some fruit and vegetables, I immediately obeyed!

Who are the special people in your life?  

My Ima and Abba —and of course, my baby brother Zacheus. Oh, and my friend Jonas, the widow’s son, whom Elisha the prophet brought back to life.

What is your heart’s deepest desire?   

I know I can be selfish and hard-hearted at times, especially when it comes to chores. Obedience isn’t easy, especially when I have to put aside MY wants and do the things my Ima has assigned to me. Although I love my baby brother, taking care of him is a full-time job. I can’t go out and play on the hills with Jonas and my other friends when I’m responsible for him. 

I wished—no—I prayed I’d learn to be unselfish, not always wanting my own way. But that meant Jehovah God had to discipline me because He loves me. But I wasn’t ready for what the future held—how it came about. I wanted my light to shine for Jehovah, no matter where I was, so when I was captured and sold to Naaman, the captain of the Syrian army, I learned the hard way. But, in the end, I made a difference in my master’s household. They now believe in the one true God!

What are you most afraid of? 

Losing my family and my home has been my greatest fear. They meant more to me than anything —well, except for our Abba Father in Heaven! But I held onto hope in those dark days of captivity. I discovered if you have hope, you have everything you need!

Do you have a cherished possession? 

Well yes, I have three. 

The leather collar from my pet lamb, who was taken for a sacrifice during our Day of Atonement. I wept bitterly, especially knowing he died for my sins. Just thinking about it now, years later, still makes me cry. 

Then, there was a simple blue cloth my ima wove that was used to swaddle me at birth. The blood stain brought to mind the pain my dear Ima bore to give me life. 

Lastly, a dried pomegranate flower that reminded me of our garden back home, which I miss dreadfully!

All three were lost when the soldiers destroyed our village years ago.

I’m sorry to hear that. What do you expect the future will hold for you?  

Although I’m not quite sure, but I think Commander Naaman is grateful for my part in his healing. Possibly, he will give me my freedom? I’ve enjoyed serving his wife, Adara, and would not want to leave her household if she still needs me. We’ve created quite a bond. Maybe someday I will marry my childhood friend, Jonas and have children of our own!

What have you learned about yourself in the course of your story?  

I can make plans, but God writes my story! He knows what is best for me—what will draw my heart to Him. I would choose an easy life, but I know myself—I would forget my God and go my own way if life was trouble-free.

Is there anything else you’d like people to know about you? 

Yes. I thought being separated from my family and taken captive to Syria would have been the worst thing that could happen to me, but I was wrong! Having a hard and unforgiving heart displeases God my Father and makes me miserable, knowing I have not let my light shine as I should. 

Thanks for allowing us to get know you a little better!

  • As a former educator and librarian, Jarm Del Boccio gives young readers a fresh perspective of history, offering them a real-life hero in her award-winning middle-grade novel, The Heart Changer.

Now, in her silver years, Jarm looks forward—not backward. With transparency, resourcefulness, and passion, Jarm helps maturing women flourish for God’s glory. www.jarmdelboccio.com/ 

You can find a teacher’s guide and book trailer here: https://www.jarmdelboccio.com/my-books.html

The Heart Changer

Introducing Sheriff Ty Dawson from Baron Birtcher’s Ty Dawson Series

~ Cindy Thomson ~ Leave a comment

BY WAY OF INTRODUCTION, TELL US A LITTLE ABOUT YOURSELF:

            My name is Tyler Dawson, but most folks call me Ty. I reside in a small town in southeastern Oregon. Town by the name of Meridian. A couple years ago, my neighbors pressed me into service to act as their Sheriff, since the man who preceded me had turned out to be a lying bag of –. My apologies. Let’s just say he was a dishonest and disagreeable man. Before they made me their sheriff, I was a rancher. And a Korean War veteran. Three generations of my family has run a cattle and horse operation out here in the wilds since the late 1800s. Seen a lot of change in those years. Some of it good. Some not so much. 

What else do you want to know? 

YOU’RE NOT FROM CONTEMPORARY TIMES, ARE YOU?

            No, ma’am. The year I’m living in is 1976 – our nation’s Bicentennial. Like I said, I fought in Korea, returned to the States and worked in Hollywood as a wrangler for a time while I got my head back on straight after the war. Met my wife, Jesse, while I was working on the studio lot. We moved back to Oregon after we got hitched. We have a daughter, nearly grown. We call her Cricket. She’s in college now, over in Colorado.

YOUR EYES LIGHT UP WHEN YOU MENTION YOUR WIFE AND DAUGHTER.

            Can we talk about something else, please?

OKAY. YOU SAY YOU LIVE IN THE 1970s. WHAT CAN YOU TELL ME ABOUT THAT? 

            Listen, things in Meridian, Oregon, haven’t changed much since my grandfather started this ranch. For that matter, the whole county hasn’t changed much. Not until recently. 

WHAT DO YOU MEAN?

            What, are you kidding? Vietnam? Watergate? Woodstock, ‘free love,’ LSD, marijuana, chaos and bloodshed at Wounded Knee, students shot by the National Guard at Kent State… Five years ago, gas was 36 cents; it’s nearly double that now. The economy is a mess, and nobody trusts anything that comes out of Washington DC, not that I blame them. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not a political man. It just breaks my heart to see what has happened. 

YOU’RE A ‘LAW-AND-ORDER’ MAN, THEN?

            You think there’s something wrong with that? 

I CAN SEE YOU ARE A MAN WHO APPRECIATES PLAIN TALK. TELL ME WHAT YOU HAVE LEARNED ABOUT YOURSELF SINCE YOU’VE BEEN SHERIFF. 

            I’ve learned I don’t care to brook any bullcrap. People around here just want to live their lives. That goes for me, too. I love my wife and my family. I love my ranch and my town. Lately, we’ve had to put up with liars, thieves, murderers and interlopers of every stripe, and I’ll tell you this: If you want to get along in my town, you’d best treat the folks around here with respect, and we’ll do the same in return. You do that, we’ll get along fine; you don’t… well, that’s going to become a different kind of problem for you.

THAT SOUNDS LIKE A THREAT

            I’ve never made a threat in my life. I’m merely informing you beforehand as to what’s going to happen. I believe it’s only fair that people understand in advance how things work. It’s still a free country. Nobody has to stick around here if they don’t want to.

I UNDERSTAND THERE HAVE BEEN BOOKS WRITTEN ABOUT YOU, SHERIFF DAWSON.

            Yes, ma’am. Four of ’em so far: SOUTH CALIFORNIA PURPLES was the first one. Then there was FISTFUL OF RAIN, followed by RECKONING, and most recently, KNIFE RIVER. 

THE BOOKS HAVE EVEN WON SOME AWARDS?

            That is a fact. A number of them, actually. Turns out, we’ve got quite a few stories to tell, here in Meriwether County. 

IS THERE ANYTHING ELSE YOU’D LIKE PEOPLE TO KNOW ABOUT YOU, SHERIFF DAWSON?

            I prefer not to talk about myself all that much, if it’s all the same to you. Everything you need to know about me is written in those books I just mentioned. There’s more books coming, too, I understand. There’s no shortage of things going on around here, that’s for sure…  Hear that sound? That’s a radio call coming in. Sorry, but I’ve got to go. Nice to meet you, ma’am. Drop by again anytime. 

Baron Birtcher is the winner of the Silver Falchion Award (Hard Latitudes); Winner of Killer Nashville Readers Choice Award (South California Purples); and Best Book of the Year Award for Fistful Of Rain.

He has also been nominated for the Nero Award, the Lefty, the Foreword Indie, the Claymore, and the Pacific Northwest’s Spotted Owl Awards.

Baron’s writing has been hailed as “The real deal” by Publishers Weekly; “Fast Paced and Engaging” by Booklist; and “Solid, Fluent and Thrilling” by Kirkus. 

Bestselling author, Don Winslow, has said, “You want to read Baron’s books, then you want to live in them.”

NYT Bestseller, Reed Farrel Coleman says: “Birtcher is part poet, part philosopher, and a consummate writer. You need to read his books.”

I invite you to join me on the ride with Sheriff Ty Dawson, and to (re)visit those heady, turbulent, beautiful and terrifying times of the 1970s; and to join me on Facebook and Instagram at: 

            Facebook: www.facebook.com/BaronRBirtcher

            Instagram: www.instagram/BaronBirtcher_author

Books in the Ty Dawson series: 

            South California Purples

            Fistful Of Rain

            Reckoning

            Knife River

>>> They can be purchased by using this link:   https://linktr.ee/baronrbirtcher

Meet Mira Covington from The Song of Sourwood by Ann H. Gabhart

~ Cindy Thomson ~ Leave a comment

Mira Dean is reconciled to her life as a spinster schoolteacher until preacher Gordon Covington shows up in town with an audacious marriage proposal. Following him to the mountains takes courage, but Mira will see that doors she thought closed forever may be opening after all.

Welcome to Novel PASTimes! We are pleased you stopped by today, Mira.

Thank you so much for having me. I love to talk about The Song of Sourwood Mountain. It is so incredible to have people interested in my story. 

Tell us something about this Sourwood Mountain.

You should come visit. It is the most beautiful place with the best people. There is a Sourwood Mountain, but most of the people live in the hollow. The people there would shake their heads at me saying hollow. They would definitely say they live in Sourwood Holler. I am what they call “brought in.” That is, not from that area. I went there from the big city of Louisville. That was quite a change for me. In Louisville I lived in some rented rooms in the upstairs of a brick house. In Sourwood I live in a log cabin like everyone else. We are surrounded by trees, and in the spring the rhododendron bushes cover the hillsides in blooms. Wildflowers pop up everywhere. Of course, the same as anywhere, everything isn’t all good there.

Wait. Maybe we should back up here and let you introduce yourself and let us know exactly why you went from Louisville to this Sourwood Mountain. 

Oh dear, I should have told you that first off. You have to understand I’m a little nervous talking about myself. My name is Mira Dean Covington. I’m a schoolteacher. Most women schoolteachers have to be unmarried. The administrators for the city schools think that is best so a woman’s thoughts won’t be divided between her family and her student. Anyway, whether you think that is sensible or not, I was resigned to being a spinster after my fiancé died a few years ago. 

But an old schoolmate came to my church to talk about his mission in the Eastern Kentucky Appalachian Mountains. He has established a church there and at the time, was hoping for contributions to help start a mission school as well. He needed a teacher, and before we had hardly said hello, he shocked me by saying the Lord had nudged him to ask me to be that teacher. I love teaching children, and when I thought about the poor children in those hills not having a way to learn to read, my heart was touched. Still, I might not have agreed to his outrageous plan – I hadn’t seen him for years – but I lost my teaching job and the rooms I was renting. It did feel as if the Lord was pushing me to be the Sourwood Mission schoolteacher. 

You say the place is beautiful, but somehow sourwood makes one wonder about that. Sourwood sounds unpleasant.

I suppose it does, but the name actually comes from a tree called sourwood that grows in the hills there. When they bloom, the trees are beautiful and the flowers have the most amazing scent. I know you would love the trees if you were to come to Sourwood Mountain in June when they are in bloom.

What do you like or dislike about being a teacher in Sourwood?

The children are what I love best about teaching. It’s wonderful when I see a child’s face light up when he or she suddenly understands something I’m teaching. I don’t like it when a child acts up or tries to bully another child. I make sure that doesn’t happen in my school, or at least I try to. Children, the same as any of us, are not perfect. They must learn proper behavior and good attitudes as well as arithmetic and reading.

Who are the special people in your life?

There are two children I do love more than the others. I try my best not to favor them over the others in the school room, but Joseph and Ada June are in and out of my house all the time. Joseph loves to be of help there and at the church. Ada June is a special little girl who lost her mother at a young age and has so wanted to be a true part of a family since then. She has the sweetest heart, and she has found a place in mine. 

What is your heart’s deepest desire?

Ever since I was a little girl, I wanted to have my own family. To marry and have children to love. And then the man I thought I would marry died of tuberculosis. I thought my dream was forever lost and that the children I taught would be the only children I would have to love. But sometimes the Lord opens a door you didn’t know was there and finds a way to give you the desires of your heart.

 Do you have a cherished possession?

I do. My mother had a ceramic blue bird that she treasured. Before she died, she gave it to me and told me to remember how much she loved me whenever I looked at it. It is on the mantel in my cabin in Sourwood. When I hold it, I somehow get courage to face whatever challenges come my way. I have to admit that I’ve held it so much over the years, that some of the ceramic feathers have lost a little of their blue. 

It’s so wonderful to see the blue birds in the mountains. One built a nest in a small hollow in the oak next to our school. Seeing them brings the happiness promised when you see a blue bird.  

What do you expect the future will hold for you?

I hope to teach for many years and learn more about my Sourwood neighbors. And that dream of having my own family may be in my future too. 

What have you learned about yourself in the course of your story?

Maybe what I have learned most about myself is that I should always trust the Lord and embrace the blessings He showers down on me and mine.

Is there anything else you’d like people to know about you?

Oh heavens, I think I have already told you more than anyone could ever want to know about me. I am simply so happy that the Lord opened the opportunity for me to teach the children in Sourwood. He aimed good for me and for that I am more than thankful.

Thanks for allowing us to get know you a little better!

Thank you for inviting me over to talk with you.

Ann H. Gabhart is the bestselling author of many novels, including
In the Shadow of the River, When the Meadow Blooms, Along a
Storied Trail, An Appalachian Summer, River to Redemption, These
Healing Hills, and Angel Sister. She and her husband live on a farm
a mile from where she was born in rural Kentucky. Ann enjoys
discovering the everyday wonders of nature while hiking in her
farm’s fields and woods with her grandchildren and her dogs,
Frankie and Marley. Learn more at AnnHGabhart.com.

Review: An Audiobook Musical: “19: The Musical” (Through the 4th Wall) from creators Jennifer Schwed and Doug Bradshaw

~ Cindy Thomson ~ Leave a comment
Amazon Affiliate Link used to benefit the blog.

This has to be the most unique historical fiction I’ve reviewed. You’ve all heard of the stage musical Hamilton, and probably most of you have either seen it live on stage or on TV. The musical 19 has a similar feel.

Here’s some info from the press release:

Delving into the contentious nature of the suffrage movement, the book highlights the marginalized roles of these women and focuses on the remarkable contributions of underappreciated figures such as Alice Paul, Carrie Chapman Catt and Ida B. Wells. Spanning the life of Alice Paul’s entrance into the suffrage movement in the early 1900s through to the ratification of the 19th Amendment in 1920, the musical chronicles the sacrifices and setbacks faced by suffrage luminaries. The racially diverse cast brings a contemporary spin to historical events.

I was excited to listen to this, but I was puzzled about how it would work. The key was not to expect a typical audiobook. You are listening to a musical with the help of stage directions and a narrator. It worked well. I found it very entertaining and educational, which is exactly what I look for in historical fiction. Like Hamilton, it the fun and humor balance very serious historical occurrences. For instance, President Wilson says, “Mansplaining, mansplaining, mansplaining…” You may not have read in the history books that Wilson was late jumping on the suffragist bandwagon. That, along with other issues with his policies, helped to elected Warren G. Harding once women were voting in 1920.

I recommend this, 5 stars! Scroll down to listen to a clip.

Reviewed by Cindy Thomson, Novel PASTimes

Book and lyrics by Jennifer Schwed and Doug Bradshaw | Music composed by Charlie Barnett March 2024 | Through the 4th Wall | Musical Theater / Historical

Audiobook, ISBN: 9798218392208

Officially launched in 2014, Through the 4th Wall has en­deavored to excite and challenge audiences with the fantastic, the unexpected and the thought-provoking. TT4W is an award-winning theater, film and media company that creates, writes, directs and produces its own original works. Princi­pals Jennifer Schwed and Doug Bradshaw are playwrights, filmmakers and multimedia storytellers. Past projects have spanned media and genres such as, “Jules & James,” a serialized audio drama podcast and multimedia story; “A Dream Within A Dream,” an immersive play about the mad genius of Edgar Allan Poe; and “The Upside of Iris,” an enchanting and whimsi­cal story about a girl who sees the world upside down, produced as an animated ebook. These past artistic ventures have garnered both critical and audi­ence acclaim. TT4W looks forward to introducing audiences to “19: The Musical,” a story 100 years in the making.

Social Media: Facebook: @19TheMusical | Instagram: @19_themusical

Listen to a clip

Meet Grace Deroy from The Mapmaker’s Secret by Jennifer Mistmorgan

~ Cindy Thomson ~ Leave a comment

Welcome to Novel PASTimes! We are pleased you stopped by today.

Thank you for having me! It’s a pleasure to be here.

Tell us something about where you live?

It’s a delicate situation. My family’s home in Lincolnshire, England, was requisitioned by the Air Ministry to function as a mapmaking facility. I had to clear out all our family’s possessions and watch while the Air Ministry converted the whole thing into offices. (They were absolute thugs when it came to the soft furnishings!) They even changed the name of the place from ‘Broughton Hall’ to ‘Bartondale’. I loved my job working in the map room at RAF Bottesford, but I wanted to keep an eye on my family’s home. So I ask for a transfer to the library at Bartondale. Now I work in what used to be my home, and live in what used to be our caretaker’s cottage with my companion Sarah and a child evacuee called Olive.

Do you have an occupation? 

I have to be careful what I say about it. Official secrets, you understand. But I can tell you that I work in the library, managing all the documents required to make the maps. I like putting everything in order.

What do you like about your work? 

There is a new American, Jack Marsden, who has started working with us. The girls and I call him O.A.F … Our American Friend. It was my job to show him around on his first day. He’s quiet, almost tongue-tied, with me even though he seems chatty with everyone else. He looks in pain every time he has to speak to me!

Who are the special people in your life?

The special people in my life are my parents and my two brothers, Peter and Teddy. Peter is my twin. Teddy is the baby of the family and has just joined Bomber Command as a navigator. I don’t think he is enjoying it very much. Then there’s my dear friend Maggie. We met when we worked together at RAF Bottesford and she’s been like a sister to me ever since. We tell each other all our secrets. Well, almost all of them. There are some things that I won’t tell anyone. Ever.

What are you most afraid of? 

It feels odd confessing this to you but I am most afraid of people discovering the very foolish thing I did at university. I am ashamed of who I was then, and for people to know about … I’m sorry I don’t want to say anything more about it. It’s too upsetting.

What do you expect the future will hold for you? 

It’s war, so there’s no telling what will happen! But if I’m honest, I’d love to get to know Jack a little more. He might be quiet but I sense he has a lot going on under the surface. 

What have you learned about yourself in the course of your story?  

I’ve learnt that I truly am a new creation in Christ and that I can do all things in His strength. And I’ve learnt to forgive. Trust me when I tell you that both are very hard lessons to learn.

The Mapmaker’s Secret by Jennifer Mistmorgan is a historical romance set during WWII. It is available in both paperback and ebook. 

Australian author Jennifer Mistmorgan sometimes feels like she was born in the wrong era. So she writes romantic historical fiction set in the 1940s, against the backdrop of WWII and its aftermath. She infuses her sweet romances with wartime drama and a dash of intrigue. She lives in Canberra with her family and a wonky-eared West Highland terrier.