A Bygone Era when Kindness was a Default by Eleri Grace

My immediate thought on learning of this month's theme was to spotlight an organization I've always intended to become involved in - Random Acts of Genealogical Kindness (RAOGK). But as I've never had the time to volunteer myself, it seemed like an odd choice for this month's blog. I will give it a brief shout-out here before moving on. RAOGK allows individuals to request a genealogical record look-up at a courthouse or a tombstone photo at a cemetery that is located too far a distance to visit in person. Local researchers commit to performing at least one act of genealogical kindness each month. Even though untold resources have now been digitized, we genealogists often really do need someone who can be boots-on-the-ground in places where maybe courthouse and other civil records are not yet fully online or where the cemeteries are sometimes tiny and located on private property. It's a great idea and I hope to one day be in a position to make someone's day by providing them with some treasured bit of genealogical data!

I decided I could be more specific if I instead focus on how kindness was often the default, not the exception, during the WW2 years. My Red Cross Girl heroines relied heavily on the good-hearted local people who could locate hard-to-find resources, explain the area's customs, connect the women to local artists, vendors, and tradespeople. I'm sure I've noted it before, but the Red Cross created and ran thousands of on-base and off-base clubs of varying sizes all over the world during WW2. Sometimes the military designated a specific building on a base to be used for a Red Cross club for the enlisted men, but it was almost always sparsely furnished and undecorated at best. To get a club up and running required the Red Cross Girls to exercise a good bit of ingenuity and persistence, plus call on a certain amount of charm, to obtain everything from paint for the walls to furniture, supplies, games, sports equipment, and on and on. They also relied on off-duty servicemen or local people to perform some of the labor - painting the walls, repairs, moving heavy furniture, hanging decorations, and so on. Granted, many of the men might had more than kindness in mind when they volunteered their off time to helping out the Red Cross Girls, who were often the only female presence in a male-dominated landscape! 

305th Bomber Group Aero-Club, Chelveston, England

But certainly an eagerness to be of help and be kind motivated so many people to come together in common purpose in those times. In the UK, the local villagers were especially pleased to not only invite lonely American fly-boys into their homes for a home-cooked dinner but also to provide resources to the bases. It was only a passing reference in my novel Courage to be Counted, but one local family who had sons serving overseas donated their piano to the 305th Bomber Group based at Chelveston, delivering it to the club on the back of a hay wagon. My heroines might need to do a little legwork, but they could almost always round up whatever supplies they needed for parties and special events by asking around in the area villages. 

Here's a few more examples of the kinds of events or clubs overall that required the kindness of strangers, a kindness that so many people didn't hesitate to extend in those uncertain war years -- enjoy!

You can read more about me and my writing on my website!  

Wartime Christmas Memories by Eleri Grace

Each Christmas I enjoy re-reading a blog post that a man wrote in tribute to his mother, who had served as a Red Cross Girl in Europe from 1943-45. Unfortunately, it seems the original blog is now behind a pay site, which is very sad as I don't think I ever printed out a copy. 

Thankfully I've blogged about it before and can refer back to my previous reflections. In the man's memory, there was such a contrast between the small tabletop Christmas tree decorated with simple handmade decorations (paper chains and ornaments, popcorn strings and the like) and the larger "real" tree that his family decorated for their living room each year. It wasn't until many years later, when he read his mother's wartime journal, that he understood why she always wanted to put up that smaller tree each season. Her journal recounts how she and her fellow Red Cross Girls set up a similar tree in Belgium in December 1944. 

For those that might not recall, the Germans launched a deadly counter-offensive (later known as the Battle of the Bulge) in mid-December 1944, and several Clubmobiles and their crews were unexpectedly caught behind or very near enemy lines. Even the crews who had been serving far back from the front in western Belgium were forced to trek back into France for safety. It was Christmas Eve before all the women safely reached their units back in France.

Though they were thrilled to mark the holiday with simple decorations and whatever food and liquor they could scrounge from supplies, the women were also mourning the loss of one of their own. A Red Cross Girl, recuperating from a mild illness in a hospital, was killed during a bombing raid on the hospital, and word of her death reached the others shortly before Christmas. 

Putting up this small simple tree was one of the ways his mom coped with stressful memories of her wartime service. Many Red Cross Girls, like the servicemen who fought, returned home changed in no small measure and continued to be affected for years afterward. His mother also nestled photos of "her boys" in the branches of that small tabletop tree -- that bitterly cold and uncertain Christmas of 1944 lived powerfully in her memory for the rest of her life. 

My wish for 2025 is that we might all recall the selfless spirit of the Greatest Generation and be guided by the kindness, generosity of spirit, and optimism for a brighter future that motivated both the servicemen and servicewomen of that bygone era. Wishing all of you a festive holiday season, a Merry Christmas, and New Year filled with health, happiness, and love!

You can buy my books on Amazon and learn more about me and my writing on my website. 

The Stuff of Nightmares - A Blast from the Past

This post was first published on October 13, 2020. WW2 Romance Author Eleri Grace can be counted on to write thrilling romantic stories that immerse her readers in the realities of llfe during WW2.

By Eleri Grace

I too don’t write horror, suspense, paranormal or another genre that might have a classic “scary scene.” I write WWII historical novels – what’s scary about that?

            Well, more than might be readily apparent. As Judith noted, real life presents plenty of scary situations, and war certainly amplifies dangerous situations.

            One of the scariest scenes I’ve written tracks along with what is a fairly common nightmare for many people. How many times have you jerked awake, heart pounding, with the sense that you are free falling? Probably at least a few times in your life, I would wager.

            Fairly early in my drafting process for my debut novel, I realized that my hero Jack Nielsen was afraid of heights. A common fear, sure, but Jack is a pilot. How can a pilot cope with a fear of heights? It seems counter-intuitive, and I was initially intrigued with whether that was too outlandish. So I googled “pilots fear of heights,” and it turns out that research shows that acrophobia is markedly, dramatically higher in the pilot population than among non-pilots. Some studies indicate up to 90% of pilots have a fear of heights. So I asked my teenage son, an avid flight simulator who wants to be a pilot and spends quite a bit of time with like-minded young adults: “Yes,” he nodded. “Most of us are afraid of heights.” It turns out that, as my son indicated, most pilots feel very in control in the cockpit, thus keeping their natural acrophobia at bay.

            But in combat? No, in combat, a pilot faces far more threats than usual to his or her ability to feel – and be -- in control of the plane. And that was the stuff of nightmares – both for Jack and for ME.

           

I read so many non-fiction accounts of WW2 bailout scenes that I woke up with that free fall sensation far more in that one year than at any other time in my life. But I knew that Jack would have to jump eventually, and I forced myself to write it, knowing his experience might yank me from sleep for many months or years to come.

 

    “No more time! Out!” Hank pushed him closer to the hatch.

    Jack froze. His stomach lurched and dropped to his ankles, and his heart thrumped in his throat like a staccato fusillade of artillery. He swayed and gripped a handle on the hatch door with his good hand. “Go ahead,” he yelled.

    Hank shook his head violently. “You gotta jump!” he screamed in Jack’s ear.

    Waves of dizziness roiled him. Jack’s legs were as numb as his injured hand. No. No way. There was absolutely no way he could jump out into the clouds.

    Hank pried at Jack’s fingers, locked around the hatch handle in a death grip. “Damn it, let go!” He pulled hard on Jack’s waist, and they stumbled back to the narrow catwalk of the bomb bay.

    Before Jack could clamp his hand around the handle again, Hank put the chute rip cord into Jack’s uninjured hand and closed his fingers around it. Then he shoved hard with both hands in the middle of Jack’s back.

    Jack was out, free-falling in the icy slipstream, tumbling end over end. Out of control, exactly as he had always dreaded in his imagination.

    The ground rushed toward him. Slow down, slow down, slow down!

    The ring. The ripcord D-ring. Hank had put it in his hand. Jack jerked his hand downward.

    The parachute burst out of the chest pack and opened above him with a resounding crack. His body jerked upward.

    A loud, sustained bang sounded behind him. Jack turned his head, horrified to see his trusty, much-loved ship exploding in mid-air, engulfed in fiery flames.

 

Being the hero, Jack does land safely. But does he connect up with Allied troops or the German forces who imprison him in a wretched POW camp? Does he encounter German civilians who might decide to exact vigilante justice against him as another terror flieger?

You can read more of his experiences and his love story with Red Cross Girl Vivian in my debut novel, Courage to be Counted.

As the bombs fall on Europe, their love affair must survive a deadly war…

Vivian Lambert wants to do her part. When she wins a coveted overseas post with the Red Cross, she focuses on her war service. Falling hard for a sexy pilot wasn't part of her plan.

Jack Nielsen has a mission. Motivated by patriotic duty and desire to avenge the death of his best friend, Jack commands a ten-man B-17 crew. Keeping himself and his men alive in the fire-filled skies over Europe will require Jack's full focus. Romancing a headstrong Red Cross Girl is a distraction he knows he shouldn't indulge.

While Vivian's work takes her across France and into the heart of Nazi Germany, mounting casualties drive Jack to confront his dwindling odds of survival. As Allied forces converge on all fronts, can Vivian and Jack's relationship withstand an excruciating battle between love and duty?

Courage to be Counted is the first book in the Clubmobile Girls series of sizzling hot historical romances. If you like brave military heroes, trailblazing heroines, and romance under fire, then you'll love Eleri Grace's page-turning tale.

 

 

Learn more about me and my writing on my website, and you can also find me on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Instagram. 

13 Momentous Years by Eleri Grace

 Happy 13th Blog-O-Versary to Romancing the Genres and its wonderful founders Judith & Sarah!  

In thinking about all the changes in my own life over the last 13 years -- divorced, saw my two fabulous kids mature into young adulthood and pursue their own dreams with passion and energy, strengthened some friendships and made new ones, reentered the workforce, launched my dream of becoming a published author, and founded a thriving and growing entrepreneurial venture (my college counseling business) -- it occurred to me to wonder what the 13 year time periods around WW2 looked like for many Americans. 

The years spanning 1933- 1945 profoundly shaped our history and national spirit in so many ways. 

• FDR was President for just under 13 years during these defining years
• Hitler ascended to power in January 1933
• In March 1933, in his first inaugural address, President Roosevelt notably assured Americans that the only thing we have to fear is fear itself. 
• By the end of 1933, FDR had launched the Civilian Conservation Corps, the Public Works Administration, and the Public Works of Art Project, formed the FDIC, and signed the Securities Act of 1933. 
• Notable accomplishments over the next few years included the Social Security Act, the Works Progress Administration (WPA), the Rural Electrification Administration, the National Labor Relations Act, the US Housing Authority, the Fair Labor Standards Act, and a host of federal programs aimed at preserving our national heritage and its cultural/artistic works
• Even as the American people finally began to feel some relief from the years of poverty and want, the winds of war are swirling around the globe, and by the end of 1941, the US, with the attack on Pearl Harbor, enters the war
• It will take nearly another 4 years and millions of lives lost before the war at last comes to an end in August 1945

Since we're all about books here, I also thought it would be fun to highlight a few of the bestselling books of this 13-year slice of time.

In early 1933, as FDR took office, the bestseller was Ann Vickers by Sinclair Lewis (interestingly, I just finished Becoming Madam Secretary by Stephanie Dray, centered around the life of FDR's Secretary of Labor, Frances Perkins (first female Cabinet member). Perkins was a romantic interest of Sinclair Lewis at one time, and she was incensed when she learned of Ann Vickers, convinced their mutual social circle would assume the protagonist was based more on her own life than was strictly the case. 

Here's a sampling of a few more of the bestselling books during the Great Depression and WW2 years (not in any particular order):

I should also note that among my personal favorites are the Little House novels by Laura Ingalls Wilder, which were published from 1932 - 1943 (roughly corresponding to these dates)!

I hope you've enjoyed recalling the history and some of the bestselling books of another noteworthy 13-year era! 

You can read more about me and my WW2 novels on my website and purchase my novels on Amazon!

Christmas Unity by Eleri Grace

 Each Christmas I am reminded of a lovely blog post from several years ago that a man wrote in tribute to his mother, who had served as a Red Cross Girl in Europe from 1943-45. He recounted a special tabletop Christmas tree decorated with simple handcrafted decorations -- paper chains, popcorn strings and candy canes -- that he and his mother put up every year. It was many years later before he understood the significance of that small, humble tree, which stood in such contrast to his family's far larger "real" Christmas tree in the front living room. His mom's wartime journal described the small simple tabletop tree she and her fellow Red Cross Girls created for themselves and the units they were attached to at the time in December 1944. 

What her journal doesn't describe was that her Clubmobile group likely had made a sudden move back into France from Belgium or Luxembourg. The Germans launched their Battle of the Bulge counteroffensive in the early morning hours of December 16, 1944, and several Clubmobiles and their crews were caught behind or very near enemy lines. Even the ones who had been situated reasonably back in western Belgium were forced to trek back into France for their safety. It was Christmas Eve before all the women reached their units back in France.

Though happy to see the safe return of their friends, that Christmas was also marked with mourning for one of their own who died while recuperating from a mild illness in a hospital that was bombed in battle. The women also, as his blog described, continued to be profoundly affected by their work with soldiers who had been in the thick of battle and were left physically wounded and/or psychologically scarred. His mother often included photographs of "her boys" nestled into the small Christmas tree -- that bitterly cold and uncertain Christmas of 1944 lived powerfully in her memory for the rest of her life. If you wish to read the entirety of his blog post, you can find it here.

As always, my wish for 2023 is that we all might recall the selfless spirit of the Greatest Generation and be guided by the kindness, generosity of spirit, and optimism for a brighter future that motivated both the servicemen and servicewomen of that classic era. Wishing all of you a very festive holiday season, a Merry Christmas if you celebrate, and a New Year filled with love, hope, and happiness! 

Google your Way to Genuineness by Eleri Grace

Setting plays an important role in my novels, but I mostly make do with experiencing the setting from afar. Much as I would love to travel and do first-hand research, some of my settings are simply too far-flung or currently dangerous for that to be a viable option! For those novels, Google has become my best friend, and I'm grateful to have so many resources at my fingertips. It's hard for me to imagine how I might have created the level of detail that I do in my novels without the internet and all its fabulous resources. 

Restored control tower and base of 100th Bomber Group, Thorpe Abbotts, England (2016)

For my first novel, set primarily on a US bomber base in southeastern England, it was easy to draw on my experiences from having lived in that very area while studying abroad in 1989 and from a more recent research trip led by the National WWII Museum. That tour allowed me the opportunity to not only visit two of the restored air bases but also to chat with some of the locals who were children during the war and have vivid memories of those years with all the American airmen who served there. While we did not visit the base that I had already chosen as the focal setting for Courage to be Counted, it was still incredibly helpful to see these bases and imagine how similar they were to what my characters experienced at Chelveston. 

Historical re-enactors: 95th Bomber Group, Horham, England (2016)

St Andrews Church, Quidenham, England, stained glass window in honor of USAAF 96th Bomber Group

Red Cross Girls doing laundry in a river in New Guinea, circa 1943

My second novel Carry a Crusading Spirit followed my heroine from Australia (that would have been a great trip if I could have managed it!) to New Guinea and then to Tinian Island in the Northern Marianas. Time and finances didn't allow me to visit these places in person (and New Guinea is not particulary safe either), but I made great use of online sources. Google Earth is an extraordinary resource for authors looking to get a better feel for the topography, and I used it often for my hero's New Guinea flight scenes. In addition to photos, maps, and Google Earth, I have had great luck with videos -- not only current ones that show a general idea of the lay of the land, but many historical videos are available online. 

My latest novel in progress is set in India and Burma (now Myanmar). Obviously Myanmar is not a safe destination at the moment. I found quite a few travel blogs -- most of which relate to trips taken prior to the last couple of years -- with great photos and details. One travel blogger drove the old Ledo Road, and he included some incredible photos that show how arduous the construction must have been. Speaking of video research, just this past weekend, I found myself wondering if it was possible to kill a tiger with a bow and arrow, and lo and behold if I don't find a video (circa 1963 no less) that literally shows a skilled archer bringing down a tiger in India. 

Red Cross Girl in India, circa 1944

So even though I don't have personal photos in my collection from these Asian locales, I've been intrepid enough to locate some pretty amazing sources that have added depth and variety in bringing the settings of my novels to life. 

You can buy my books on Amazon, learn more about me and my writing on my website, and follow me on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterest. 

Extraordinary in the Ordinary by Eleri Grace

 In case you missed it -- this was a post from 2019 not long after I began posting here regularly. This seems an appropriate one for Memorial Day month too!

A "superhero" is a fictional character with extraordinary or superhuman powers or an exceptionally skilled or successful person.

Rather than paying tribute to the numerous actual people who populate my life and have exceptional or superhuman perseverance, strength, and empathy for others, I decided to write today about a group of women who straddle both worlds in a sense. The heroines of my Clubmobile Girls novels are fictional, yet they are rooted firmly in our documented history. Based on the thousands of women who answered the call to wartime service with the American Red Cross, my heroines have a strong sense of duty and patriotism, resilience, an adventurous and independent streak, and exceptional courage.

Courage is the first word in the title of my first Clubmobile Girls novel, and it is the attribute my heroines call forth more than any other. As all good fictional characters do, my heroines must summon their mental strength to withstand and extricate themselves and others from dangerous situations. But my heroines evidence mettle from the beginning way before they are in any sort of perilous situation. Indeed, they have built up and drawn on an enormous reservoir of tenacity before my readers meet them. Of course, most American women served in some capacity during WWII, whether working in a factory or defense plant, enlisting in one of the auxiliary military service units, volunteering with the USO, the Red Cross, or a local hospital, or tending a victory garden and economizing in her household. But the women who secured the overseas assignments with the American Red Cross evinced particularly exceptional spirit and drive.

Well before the first women shipped out, before their overseas work was operational, the Red Cross intuited that the women who would organize and staff their clubs and mobile units all over the world must be self-starters with stamina, confidence, and adaptability. Most of the women who applied (only one in six would be successful) were poised, charming, and accomplished professionals who could draw on a varied life experience. They were good conversationalists who could hold their own in a male-dominated environment, who could laugh at a dirty joke but retain "girl next door" respectability, who could offer comfort and stability to both the homesick and shell-shocked soldiers. But it was her inner fortitude that likely won her the job, and it will be that same strength that will see her through it all.

Stand in her shoes and close your eyes. It's 1942, and you've just signed up for the duration. You don't know where you will be posted (a bomber base in southeast England or in the large cities of southeast Australia, a club in Algiers, Calcutta, or Chungking, a train serving men working in the deserts of Persia, a naval base in Iceland or Cuba) or what your day-to-day work will entail. You don't know when you might next see your parents or family and friends. Tied to that, of course, is the dawning realization that you don't know what the "duration" actually means. You have no crystal ball that shows a return to normalcy by 1946. You don't know how the war years will shape and change you profoundly forevermore, how those years more than any others will stand out as having been the most meaningful of your entire life. But you know one thing for certain: you wouldn't trade this opportunity to serve your country with courage for anything.

You can buy my books on Amazon, learn more about me and my writing on my website, or follow me on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Instagram. 

This Land is Your Land by Eleri Grace

 

As the lyrics of folk singer Woody Guthrie's classic "This Land is Your Land" note, we all share in the joy and splendor of nature's bounty "from the redwood forests to the Gulf stream waters." I would go further and say that the song is a call to action, a reminder that we all share communal responsibility for preserving our land and resources.  

It's important to note the underlying history of what many view as an alternate national anthem and tribute to the varied and dramatic landscape we Americans call home. Guthrie was annoyed by how frequently Kate Smith's "God Bless America" played on the musical radio programs of the day -- he understood it was meant to stir up feelings of patriotism and nationalism in the face of a looming European war that many believed would surely involve America at some point. But Berlin's lyrics to "God Bless America" stood in sharp contrast to the America Guthrie had seen in his travels.  His original title "God Blessed America for Me" more than hints at his anger at the socio-economic disparities within America, the land of "plenty." Like so many others from the Dust Bowl states, Guthrie migrated west during the Depression years. He criss-crossed the country at a time before interstate highways existed and at a time when people didn't have money or time for leisure travel. What he saw of America then inspired the sharp social commentary that underpins his music and writings. His music influenced the folks songs of the 60s as well as more contemporary artists such as Bruce Springsteen. 

Guthrie served in the Merchant Marines in WWII, and he recorded the original version of "This Land is Your Land" in 1944 while on shore leave. The original recording included a verse that was later excised when the song was released in 1951, but it was the sixth and final verse that was never recorded that perhaps best illustrates what motivated him to write and record this enduring American classic folk anthem: 

“One bright sunny morning in the shadow of the steeple,
by the relief office I saw my people.
As they stood hungry,
I stood there wondering if God blessed America for me.”

I fear I've gone far astray from my original point, but the more I researched the song's lyrics and origins, the more it fascinated me. While it can certainly be viewed as a tribute to the concept of a beautiful landscape that stretches from sea to shining sea, "This Land is Your Land" has quite a lot more to say about the social inequities in America that persist to this day. 

I originally intended to use the song title to springboard into a discussion of how much the Red Cross Girls who served in WWII appreciated the opportunity to see more of the world and appreciated the natural surroundings in which they served, so I'll share a few of the photos that I originally intended to include. 

Boat trip on the Nile (from Cairo)

Relaxing at a rest camp for Navy flyers - Gold Coast of Australia

May 1944 - Poggia, Italy

If you are interested in learning more about Woody Guthrie, and the history underlying "This Land is Your Land" in particular: this NPR piece, a Blackwing blog, and this Kennedy Center piece may be of interest.

You can find my Clubmobile Girls series on Amazon, and you can learn more about me and my writing on my website and on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterest. 

I Got the Sun in the Morning by Eleri Grace

Gotta admit -- this month's prompt threw me a curve ball. I frowned when I saw it and put off writing or even thinking about it for over a week. Obviously relationships/partnerships can cover a wide range of non-romantic relationships (as evidenced by some of the blogs already posted this month -- I loved Robin's humorous take on her love affair with her shoes). But as a divorced woman who would enjoy finding love again, my thoughts turned immediately to what I lacked. 

As is my habit with these blogs, I usually turn on some 40s music, seeking a catchy title and inspiration for my WW2-themed content. You can imagine that many of these songs relate heartbreak at wartime separations. That wasn't helping my mood at all! 

I turned to the 1945-46 songs, hoping for a song that conveyed that post-war optimism that parallels what we are feeling as pandemic conditions ease more and more here in the US.

The 1946 song "I Got the Sun in the Morning" from the Broadway musical "Annie Get Your Gun" spoke to my usual sunny outlook and refocused my energy on what I do have, not what I lack at the moment. 

Taking stock of what I have and what I haven't

What do I find? The things I got will keep me satisfied

. . . 

I've got the sun in the morning and the moon at night

And with the sun in the morning and the moon in the evening

I'm doing all right

Sometimes all we need is a reminder to look on the bright side and count our blessings. I may not have a spouse or romantic partner at the moment, but I have my kids, a close family, and numerous friends. I've got two careers I love, hobbies that bring me joy, and good health. There's so much to appreciate and enjoy in life -- thanks to Irving Berlin for the timely reminder. I'm doing all right.  

 

 

 

 

 

As Time Goes By - Eleri Grace

Congratulations to the Genre-istas of Romancing the Genres on their 10 years of providing fabulous content for romance readers the world over!

As all of you now know, I like to tie my blogs in with my WW2-era writing, so for this month's #10 theme, I thought it might be fun to visit some Top 10 lists for songs, books, and films of the era when my heroes and heroines were dancing cheek to cheek. 

TOP 10 SONGS

There are many "top songs" lists, but the following are both indisputably popular and on my personal Top 10 Songs of WW2 list.

1. Bugle Call Rag -- love the upbeat, fast tempo, particularly the Glenn Miller version

2. Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy -- Andrews Sisters classic

3. Coming in on a Wing and a Prayer -- the lyrics to this song are so on target for my books where my heroes are often struggling to bring a plane safely home

4. In the Mood -- iconic Glenn Miller

5. Gonna Take a Sentimental Journey -- bluesy Doris Day version is my favorite

6. Accentuate the Positive -- I've always loved these optimistic lyrics

7. We'll Meet Again -- Vera Lynn was known as the "Forces Sweetheart" in Britain 

8. The White Cliffs of Dover -- another Vera Lynn classic

9. Straighten Up and Fly Right -- Andrews Sisters

10. G.I. Jive -- who can resist this one?

TOP 10 BOOKS

Rather than books published during the 1940s (of which I'm sad to say, I have read very few), I am sharing some of my personal favorite books set during WW2. 

1. Tanamera by Noel Barber -- Noel Barber's novels, written later in his life after a long career as a foreign war correspondent, inspired my desire to write WW2-era romances. This one is set in pre-war and WW2 Singapore and is a book I re-read every few years. 

2. A Farewell to France by Noel Barber - Barber takes readers to WW2 Europe in this one

3. Catch-22 by Joseph Heller -- the biting satire and dark humor, along with the historical accuracy, make this one a stand-out among WW2 novels

4. A God in Ruins by Kate Atkins -- painstakingly detailed and accurate research and memorable characters

5. Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein -- strong characters and a gripping plotline that will stick with readers long after they've closed the book

6. The Winds of War/War and Remembrance -- a two-volume multi-generational saga, Wouk's work was among the first novels set in the era that I recall reading in high school

7. The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah -- the story of the two sisters is breathtaking and heartbreaking

8. The Alice Network by Kate Quinn -- though not set directly in WW2, one of the storylines connects to events in war-time France

9. Goodbye Mickey Mouse by Len Deighton -- fabulous look at the experiences on an American bomber base in England during the war 

10. The Rose Code by Kate Quinn -- brilliant interwoven stories of three very unique young women thrown together at Bletchley Park during the war and the secrets that continue to affect their lives in the years following the war

TOP 10 FILMS

I again went with films set during WW2 rather than released during the war.

1. Band of Brothers -- HBO mini-series

2. Saving Private Ryan

3. Jewel in the Crown mini-series

4. Twelve O'Clock High

5. Darkest Hour

6. Dunkirk (2017 version)

7. The Pacific -- HBO mini-series

8. Schindler's List

9. U-571

10. Atonement

I hope you've enjoyed a brief tour of some of my favorites of the era! Enjoy the rest of this month's celebration of 10 years of Romancing the Genres!

You can learn more about me on my website or follow me on my social media accounts at Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterest. 

You can find my Clubmobile Girls novels on Amazon.