Tag: Gail Kittleson

Meet William Parker from Gail Kittleson’s Land That I Love I Love

~ Cindy Thomson ~ 1 Comment

Hello, Mr. Parker. Albert Fritz of the Fredericksburg Standard—so good of you to take the time for an interview with me today. I hear you are new to our area, straight from Nottinghamshire, England. Welcome to our isolated corner of Texas!

How do you do? Pray do not let my accent put you off—one might think me a bit standoffish at first. Being a butler in the 1920’s and 30’s for an important figure in our city required a rather formal exterior.

Hmm…did this cause you problems here in the United States? 

Since I traveled with my employer’s grandson, the way was paved for us in New York city. Our time there and the long train ride provided a taste of the many dialects and personalities in this large country. But when we arrived in Texas Hill Country, people surely saw us as an oddity.  

Still, they welcomed us with great kindness—greenhorns like us needed a lot of help. For one thing, it was nearly winter, and we had no harvest to rely on. 

The area’s isolation surprised us somewhat. We knew we were bound for an agricultural locale, but Loyal Valley is…ahem…quite distant from any major city. Our first visit to a church three miles away made all the difference. 

From one member, we might purchase a regular supply of milk and cheese. Another had an ample egg supply, and a third just butchered, so we purchased enough hams and beef to last the winter. Having reliable food sources close at hand, we entered our first cold season. 

Is that cows mooing—you must have developed your own herd? 

Oh yes, as soon as possible. You see, I come from a long line of cheesemakers. Soon, we acquired laying hens, too. Let me show you our barn. See here—even a small horse for Donnie, Everett’s son, plus geese and ducks galore. 

And out there, behold the orchard Everett cares for. The trees produce plenty of fruit and nuts. He makes jams and butters to sell and has developed a good business. To the South, you will note . . . 

You have a garden—why, it’s enormous! 

Yes, with its produce and good pastureland for the herd, we have everything we need. If only our people back in Nottingham could say the same. 

Ah yes . . . what a terrible time in England right now, with the Luftwaffe bombing many cities.  So much danger and destruction. I imagine you listen to the war report on the radio nightly? 

Indeed. That plus newspapers and letters from friends back home keep us informed. Who would ever have thought this war would last so long?

Certainly not your American neighbors. Why, it’s been three years since the Pearl Harbor attack, and our boys still face such obstacles. 

Indeed they do. I daresay, did you hear that? I believe t’was my new prize bull, so I had best go and check on him. A right testy old fellow. He bears watching. 

Thank you for your time. So glad to see how well you’re adjusting to your new homeland. 

            Perhaps some did, but most accepted us immediately. We provided an interesting diversion, I suppose, but this area is so isolated, they soon came around. Since we arrived just before winter and had no vehicle, everyone realized our need. 

After missionary work in North Africa, Gail taught English as a Second Language and college expository writing. She and her retired Army Chaplain husband of forty-four years live in North Iowa where they enjoy grandchildren, gardening, and historical research. 

Dare To Bloom, Gail’s website, comes by its name honestly—it took time to acquire the courage to put her writing “out there.” Eventually, her memoir developed, which led to writing World War II fiction. 

Her Women of the Heartland brand honors the era’s make-do women and men, and includes eight novels, two novellas, and three non-fiction books. Despite daunting trials, her heroines and heroes embrace their strengths, contribute to the war effort and reveal the determination, loyalty, faith and tenacity so needful in our society today.

Gail hosts other authors on her Author Visits page and enjoys encouraging writers through facilitating workshops and retreats.

http://www.gailkittleson.com/
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Purchase link: 
https://www.amazon.com/Land-That-Love-Gail-Kittleson/dp/1952474841

Meet Addie Bledsoe from In Times Like These a Women of the Heartland story by Gail Kittleson

~ Cindy Thomson ~ Leave a comment

Addie, do you ever feel you need help? 

Oh my goodness. How did you know? If I could just stop causing my husband Harold’s outbursts and violent behavior…if I could only understand what it is about me that makes him so angry…

Ah, so your marriage is troubling you? 

Definitely. Besides that, since the Pearl Harbor bombing, when Harold lost his best friend Joe on the Arizona, it’s been…rough. I know he’s grieving and wants to go fight the enemy, but the county draft board has deferred him for farm work. That has to be so hard, and I feel for him. We’ve only been married three years, so surely things will get better.

Hmm. I can understand. What kinds of support to do find out here on the farm? It’s a bit isolated, isn’t it? 

Yes, but my down-the-road neighbor Jane is a wealth of wisdom. She’s gone through so much, and I’m learning a lot from her about gardening. Her gruff exterior hides a heart of gold, and I’m so glad we got  to know each other. 

Your garden is important to you? 

Yes, I feel a special peace when I have my hands in the soil. And it’s important to our nation, too. It’s a Victory Garden, you know. 

Wonderful—do you have any other friends?

Oh yes! My dear friend Kate is clear across the Atlantic in London, searching for her downed RAF pilot husband. She’s sort of an amateur psychologist, and is always encouraging me about Harold. And there’s my mother-in-law—she’s been changing, and for the better! I never dreamed she would become a confidant, but  that seems to be gradually happening. 

And then there’s our mailman, George Miller. I know I can trust him to keep quite about my correspondence with Kate—Harold would be furious about this. 

He doesn’t like Kate?

Not at all—maybe it’s because Kate and I are so different. She says what she thinks, for one thing. And she’s a real risk taker, doesn’t care what anybody thinks. That would absolutely not be me. I wish I were more like her, to be honest. 

Are you saying you have some inner fears? 

I sure do. What people think bothers me a lot, and I’m afraid to speak up most of the time. Harold is very sensitive, you know, so I watch my P’s and Q’s—I wouldn’t want to disturb him. 

You have to tiptoe around him?

That’s it exactly. But don’t get me wrong, I’m certain that through faith and perseverance, our marriage will get better. He really is such a strong, intelligent person—it’s just that…well, I need to learn how to communicate with him…need to understand what I can change to make him happy. 

I see. Well, good luck with that, Addie. Thank you so much for your thoughtful answers. 

Writing has always been Gail’s passion. Her Women of the Heartland series honors make-do Greatest Generation women who sacrificed so much for the cause of freedom. 

Gail and her husband live in northern Iowa and retreat to Arizona’s Mogollon Rim Country in winter. They also enjoy grandchildren and gardening. It’s no secret why this  late-bloomer calls her website DARE TO BLOOM, and she loves to encourage other writers through facilitating workshops. 

Meet Kate Isaacs from Gail Kittleson’s A Purpose True

~ Cindy Thomson ~ 3 Comments

Good morning, Miss Isaacs.

Just call me Kate. Actually I’m Mrs., but my husband … he was a pilot in the Royal Air Force…

Is that a tear glinting?

Oh dear. Did you lose him in the war?

         Yes, and long story short, that’s why I’m here. 

A familiar tale these days—so many widows want to do their bit for the war effort. 

         Absolutely.

I’ve been told a little about you, that you and your husband eloped, and you searched for him throughout London…

         And found him—we had a brief Christmas together, and then …

Your superiors say you’re sharp-witted and well read. Tell me about your background…your formative years and education. 

My Aunt provided so well for me. She had great aspirations for my future, but I’m afraid I disappointed her. Alexandre and I were rash to run off and marry, but I’ve always been impetuous. 

So you grew up in a small Midwestern town?

Yes, in Iowa, although I was born out on the East Coast just after the Great War. I still have a best friend there named Addie. We had great teachers, especially in literature class. Mrs. Morford did so much to instill a love of learning in us. 

Sounds idyllic, but we all have our ‘druthers, don’t we? If there were one thing about your childhood you could change, what would it be? 

I’d have a normal childhood, with my mother and father alive and well. I have only the vaguest memory of them, you know.” 

How did you lose them? 

In an airplane crash when I was very young. It’s all quite mysterious. I remember a woman taking me to my aunt in Iowa and that it all had something to do with the Great War, but doubt I’ll ever discover the truth. 

And now you are bound for service with the Secret Operations Executive? You must be very brave, indeed.

Or foolhardy—there’s only a fine line between the two. However, you know quite well that I’m unable to disclose any other specifics. 

Indeed. But I am aware that you and your comrades have learned to parachute behind enemy lines. How did you like that portion of your training?

         Oh, it was the best! What a thrill to sail through the air, even for such a short time.

My, my, but you are adventurous! Does your friend Addie like wild escapades, too?

Not at all, yet she’s still courageous in her own way. You might say we’re polar opposites, but still find so much in common. Addie’s all the family I have now.

What a wonderful friendship! Oh, I see our time is up. Godspeed and a safe return to you.

A Secret Agent’s Inner Life

On the outside, Kate Isaacs, the heroine of A Purpose True and With Each New Dawn, strikes us as an inveterate risk-taker, a woman able to do anything. She wastes no time pondering proposed actions—she’s too busy doing something! At first glance, she wastes not a moment watching life pass her by, and we applaud her “go for it” attitude.

People are drawn to this sharp-witted, well-read young woman. She eloped with her husband straight out of high school, followed him to London after his Royal Air Force plane was downed, and searched for him far and wide. Nothing can stop her. 

But I caught her in one of her quieter moments and posed a simple question. “If you could change one thing about your life, what would it be?” Her immediate response revealed a vast, yawning hunger in her soul. 

“I’d have a normal childhood, with my mother and father alive and well.” 

Ah…when I was writing Kate’s story, the old spiritual, “Sometimes I feel like a motherless child…” never entered my mind. But looking back, it’s clear that the huge hole in Kate’s emotional being helped shape her into the adult she’s become.

Her mentor back in London warned her that waiting for an assignment would trouble her, and her sojourn as a secret agent in Southern France provided plenty of solitary times. During those periods when she had little control over anything, her mother’s face appeared from photos Kate had seen, and the reader finds her carrying on a conversation with this woman who gave her birth and died during Kate’s early childhood. 

         Kelly McDaniel, LPC, writes: “Hope Edelman’s book Motherless Daughters…offers help for women who experience early maternal death… ‘at some very deep level, nobody wants to believe that motherless children exist. …in our psyches …mother represents comfort and security no matter what our age.’ Italics mine.” https://kellymcdanieltherapy.com/wp-content/uploads/MotherHungerExplanation.pdf

         Kate may seem independent and in charge, but the look in her eyes tells another story. When all is said and done, when she’s avoided the Gestapo again in a heart-pounding near-disaster, when she’s all alone in an isolated cave and the future seems so tenuous, this mother hunger rises from a place deep within. 

         But it’s World War II, and no therapist or support groups exist. Kate’s role often demands solitude. In these honest moments when her hunger envelops her, she confronts her great need. She speaks with her mother…declares her longings out loud. And sometimes, in a way she finds difficult to verbalize, she senses her mother near. 

         Each confrontation of her deepest fears increases her breathing space a tiny bit more. As she risks her life for the freedom of la France, her own freedom grows, as well. This universal premise rings true for us all—facing our fears, though it’s terrifying, strengthens us in ways we could never have imagined.

Writing has always been Gail’s passion. Her Women of the Heartland series honors make-do Greatest Generation women who sacrificed so much for the cause of freedom. 

Gail and her husband live in northern Iowa and retreat to Arizona’s Mogollon Rim Country in winter. They also enjoy grandchildren and gardening. It’s no secret why this  late-bloomer calls her website DARE TO BLOOM, and she loves to encourage other writers through facilitating workshops.