Book Review: The Only Blue Door by Joan Fallon
Imagine my surprise at discovering a book that combines two time periods that hold great significance for me: World War II, the setting of my first book, and the British Child Migrant Program, known as the British Home Child Program, the setting of my second book which is still in progress.
It’s the early years of WWII. The Dunkirk evacuation is underway, and Ronnie Smith, the father of Maggie, Grace, and Billy, is over there somewhere, while his wife, Irene, is due to give
Music in WW2
The power of music to move us, to inspire us, to join or divide us, is never more apparent than in wartime. Music was an important tool to maintain morale, among the homesick men facing death and destruction on a daily basis, and among the lonely women, raising children alone, and working or volunteering for the war effort in the home country. Vera Lynn, Gracie Fields, Glenn Miller and many more, wrote and sung songs that my parents sang to me when I was a child. One of the f
Clothing in World War II
We've all seen the (mostly) black and white photographs of people in the 1940s, but when I'm writing a story, I want you, my reader, to have an image in your mind of how my main characters are dressed. In one scene, Renata, my heroine, borrows a dress for a fancy ball. I found the perfect dress for her on Pinterest, and here it is: "She collected her bead-encrusted evening bag and headed to the door. She wore a gown borrowed from a friend of Sofia's, a sheer golden silk with
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