Hello, Kindreds!
I suppose this is a bit premature, but I wanted to ramble about the book I'm working on. Mostly because I'm so excited about it I can't see straight! I'm also so nervous and stressed I can hardly sleep.
Some of you might've already read some of it, since I posted the first six or so chapters on here... It's called (somewhat temporarily) "The Duty That Lies Before Us". I'd lost interest shortly after I first started, mostly because it seemed such an intensely overwhelming project, but thanks to a chance comment from Seonaid, I looked back over it and decided to pick it up again. And now I'm head-over-heels obsessed with it... 😆
Skipped ahead a bit today and wrote a proposal scene coming later in the book... It's currently my favorite proposal scene I've ever written... 🥴 I shall not tell you who is proposing to whom though and what 'twas the answer... I shall now leave you to suffer with curiosity... 😆
A bit about the book... It's set beginning in a small town called Jefferson in rural Ohio, during the middle of the Great Depression in 1934. The book will follow the lives of several young people, all good friends, who grow up to become involved, more-or-less, in World War Two. Developing true-to-life characters who are deep, three -dimensional, interesting, and relatable is the most challenging and yet the most fun aspect of writing a book. Almost every character I write is inspired in part by either a real-life person or another fictional character. And sometimes I mix aspects of people to create a new character. And, as an author, these characters are like my children... I put a piece of myself into every single one.
Meet the Characters...
Robert "Rob" Hayes is a middle-aged farmer, slightly crippled in one leg due to an old injury during the Battle of Amiens in World War I. He married his highschool sweetheart seventeen years after his return from the war, they having been separated by unforseen circumstances. He's a tall man with dark hair sprinkled with grey, laughing green Irish eyes, and a deep, booming voice. He's passionate about farming and loves being close to nature. He holds traditional values such as honor, duty, and respect in high regard.
Myra Hayes is the wife of Robert Hayes. Sweet and motherly, she is known for her mouth-watering pies and cookies. She is tender and gentle with the little creatures around the farm and takes all the new baby animals under her wing as well as plays second mother to many of the children of Jefferson. She's a slim, almost frail-looking woman, although stronger than she seems, with hair the color of "ripe wheat" and big, soft blue eyes.
Joshua "Josh" Campbell Hayes is the adopted son of Rob and Myra. Thirteen years old at the start of the book, he is shy and awkward at first, but warms to his new family. He becomes best friends with Ronnie, the boy next door and sort of friendly rivals with Ronnie's younger sister, Emma. They tease each other mercilessly all through their childhood. Obsessed with machinery and its inner workings, Josh hopes to pursue a career in mechanics. Growing to slightly taller than average height, Josh looks similar to Rob with wavy dark hair and green eyes.
Ron "Ronnie" Stewart (never actually called by his full name Ronald) is the oldest son of the family next door. Fourteen at the beginning of the book, he is quiet and yet friendly, best at home out-of-doors and working on his family's farm. A natural-born leader, he's a sort of "big brother" figure to the boys of Jefferson as they all look up to him to take responsibility and keep everyone in line. Excellent with animals, he hopes to take over the farm someday and add high-quality breeding stock to the farm's assets. Growing to above-average height, Ronnie is wiry and strong, wears glasses, and has blond hair and grey-blue eyes. Personally my favorite character too... 😏
Emma Ruth Stewart, is twelve at the beginning of the book. Energetic and positive, her enthusiasm is catching. She knows how to draw out the best in people and is known for her compassion and care for others. She loves to read and devours every book she can get her hands on, often using book phrases in everyday life and relating people to the characters she loves. As she grows older, her love of caring for others leads her to pursue a career in nursing. Growing to average height, slim and strong, she has dark hair and lively, sparkling dark eyes.
Kathryn "Katie" Stewart is ten at the beginning of the book. Inheriting some of her sister's spunk and some of her brother's calm, she forms a mix between the two. Sweet and loving, she forms friendships with everyone she meets and manages to bring joy and comfort into many lives. She sometimes considers a teaching career, but prefers the idea of staying at home and someday becoming a wife and mother. Small and slightly-built, she has light brown hair and large dark eyes.
Michael "Mickey" Stewart is six at the beginning of the book. The baby of the family, he dreams only of high adventure and runs wild with his buddies playing cowboys and pirates and soldiers. He promises to grow as tall as his brother and is dark with blue eyes and a generous sprinkling of freckles.
Melissa "Lissie" Gilbert (yes, last name a nod to Gilbert Blythe) is twelve years old at the beginning of the book. Best friends with Emma, she is timid and shy, but grows more talkative upon further acquaintance. The doctor's daughter, she shies away from her father's career and is terrified of anything medical. The only thing she and Emma have in common is their love for books and they grow somewhat distant as they grow older. Considered by many to be the prettiest girl in Jefferson, she is small and slim with golden hair and big hazel eyes.
More Minor Characters...
Jim and Donna Stewart (nods to Jimmy Stewart and Donna Reed from It's A Wonderful Life) are farmers and close friends with Rob and Myra, their relationship dating back to the first grade.
Andy is a shy and timid farm boy from Iowa. Drafted into the army during WWII, Andy thinks only of returning to home, family, and the girl he loves. Based on a real-life person and his true story... my great-grandpa's army buddy in WWII. (Name changed for privacy)
Rachel is a young German-Jewish woman fleeing the Holocaust in Nazi-occupied Belgium with her baby Benjamin.
Mary is a young African-American woman serving as an army nurse during the war.
More characters yet to meet... I'm still only barely scratching the surface with this project! It'll be a while before I can start posting chapters... I have found through trial and error that it's best to have a book at least mostly written before turning it over to the readers. Could be anywhere from weeks to months and I'm not making any promises. I'm currently buried up to my ears in research and it's great fun. Articles, scholarly journals, firsthand accounts, podcasts, original broadcasts, actual footage, documentaries... You name it!! But even as an author, I simply can't find the words to express the overwhelming and slightly-terrifying stress and anxiety I've been feeling about writing this book the way I dream of...
Maybe sometime soon I'll post the list of resources I'm using... It's all terribly fascinating. At it's got me in a turmoil of emotions too... For example, I just listened today to a dramatized account of five American POWs who attempted escape from a German POW camp. Note that I said there were five of them... and the title of the story is "Four Went Home". Managing to unlock their cell door, they make it out of the building when there is sudden commotion and they can hear the Germans running and yelling. The youngest of the POWs has a panic attack and starts absolutely freaking out. In a desperate attempt to keep him quiet, one of the men grabs him and accidentally strangles him to death. They then realize that the gates are open... The camp has been liberated. If they only had waited ten minutes more... The story ends with the accidental murderer sobbing heartbrokenly.
I cried. And then listened to an old WWII Abbott and Costello broadcast to recover.
And now you may wonder why I'm researching POWs... 😉
Anyway, wish me luck!! And now back to writing...
'Til Next Time!
Juliette
P.S. Sorry for a boring post with no pics... I'm on an ipad and haven't figured out how to put pics on here with this kind of device yet... I'm being too lazy right now to pull out my laptop... 🙃
