What To Write ♦ Story Background ♦ Terri Wangard ♦ Giveaway

What To Write?

A guest blog post by Terri Wangard

with a Giveaway (see below)

After eight years of thinking, breathing, researching B-17s for my Promise For Tomorrow series, I was ready to disembark and concentrate on something else. But what? I had a vague idea of three friends who joined the WAC, the WAVES, and the WASPs, but nothing crystalized. Except for the WAC.

I didn’t want to completely turn away from flying, and I prefer topics that aren’t commonly known. How about a grasshopper pilot? My second character was on board.

I had toyed with the idea of a family generational series. A World War II story paired with a World War I story. But no, too unwieldy.

The WAC could have a sister, though, who stayed on the home front and did factory work. Oh, dear. I couldn’t completely stay away from B-17s. She’s building them.

She also needs a husband. He’ll be in the navy, and not on an aircraft carrier. A destroyer! I studied the list of Pacific destroyers and, oooh, the Spence. All kinds of possibilities there.

So there I had it: a sailor, his Rosie-the-Riveter wife, her WAC sister, and a grasshopper pilot. They’re all doing their part to help win the war, but sometimes the enemy isn’t obvious.

While researching the Pacific War, I came across the story of the USS Tabberer, a destroyer escort. I loved it, but I couldn’t use it in Wheresoever They May Be. It had nothing to do with my sailor.

When the opportunity to contribute a short story for a historical Christmas collection came, I immediately thought of the Tabberer.

A destroyer escort is among the smallest of warships, but the Tabberer has the heart of a giant. A typhoon threatens the US Fleet in the Pacific during World War II, days before Christmas. The men of the Tabberer stand tall as they rush to the aid of their fellow sailors. For Seaman Jerry Collier, the typhoon prompts a greater awareness of what he wants in life. First, though, they have to survive.

About Terri: 

Terri Wangard grew up in Green Bay, Wisconsin, during the Lombardi Glory Years. Her first Girl Scout badge was the Writer. Holder of a bachelor’s degree in history and a master’s degree in library science, she keeps busy as an associate editor of Classic Boating Magazine, a family business since 1984.

Connect with Terri:www.terriwangard.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/AuthorTerriWangard
Pinterest: www.pinterest.com/terriwangard/  
Twitter: @TerriWangard

About the Giveaway:
Terri is offering a free Kindle version of The Hope of Christmas to one of this blog's readers. Entering is easy ... Just leave your name and email address (disguised) in the comment section below, and answer this question:

Do you like to read WWII Stories?

Giveaway ends on Thursday, December 28 ... one week from today, at Midnight O'clock, CST. Spread the word!