New Year, New Covers by Eleri Grace

Yes, despite the title of my post, I do realize we're now in February!  I just couldn't come up with a catchy title that conveys the content of this blog, and I couldn't think of a great way to relate it to our prompt this month. Going rogue!  

On January 26th, the new blockbuster WWII mini-series "Masters of the Air" premiered on AppleTV+ -- and because Donald Miller's book of the same title influenced my own series so very much, I launched new cover-art for my series, and revitalized my author blog with a promise to my readers that I would blog about each week's episode of "Masters of the Air" and share some additional tidbits in my author newsletter. 

So without further adieu, let me introduce you to the stunning new covers I've launched for my novels:

For this one, I love the backdrop of the old Norman English church, which looks so very like the one where Vivian often visited the pastor in the village of Chelveston. Vivian's gaze is turned slightly upward to the bomber formation soaring overhead amidst the perpetually gray English sky, perhaps they are returning from a mission, and she is watching for some sign that one of the B-17s is Jack returning safely back to base. 

I absolutely love the lushness of this cover design, a clear signal that this novel takes place in the Pacific Theater. The distant mountain ranges represent New Guinea's coastal topography. Hadley has her musette bag slung over her shoulder and is wearing the less formal Tropical Red Cross Girl uniform (the formal one was a seersucker suit). She too is watching a distant B-25 bomber, likely hoping that it's Skip returning safely from that day's mission. 

Again, I'm also so excited to share here a link to my blog where you too can follow along as I describe for readers what we're seeing in the depiction of the Red Cross Girls in "Masters of the Air" (and what is not conveyed on the screen but is happening behind-the-scenes). I hope you'll check out my ongoing blogs here -- the first 3-4 blogs are spoiler-free for the series, though my latest blog for Episode 4 does include some mild spoilers. 

I've focused my blogs on the portrayal of the Red Cross Girls in "Masters of the Air." I'm delighted that they are featured in several episodes -- they absolutely should/could have been included in "Band of Brothers" and "The Pacific."  I participated in a "Masters of the Air" tour of the East Anglia bomber bases and other related UK sites, led by Dr. Donald Miller, author of "Masters of the Air," in 2016. The tour was hosted by the National WW2 Museum in New Orleans and was an exceptional all-around experience. Dr. Miller was a wealth of resources and would often respond to my many emailed follow-up questions within hours. He was not, however, familiar with the Red Cross Girls really at all, and I spent the entirety of the tour advocating for their inclusion in the mini-series, which was already underway at that time. I'd like to think I played some small part in their inclusion in the series and am honored to share my thoughts about what the series is getting absolutely right about the service of these remarkable women (and what could have perhaps been handled better in some cases). 

I also plan to continue blogging regularly to share tidbits from my "Masters of the Air" tour with Dr. Miller and other historical details relating to the Red Cross Girls and their WW2 service. 

I hope you'll enjoy those blogs and the extraordinary series, with new episodes being released each week through mid-March.  

You can learn more about me and my writing on my website and follow my blog and find me on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Pinterest.