LAURIE BATZEL ~ With My Soul ~ Historical Christian Romance

 

With my Soul, A Historical Christian Romance

by Laurie Batzel

 

Book Summary:

Betrayed by her husband, Willa Jane Wilson and her daughter are left penniless and alone in post-war Germany. She returns to her hometown in rural North Carolina and prays that a new beginning will soothe the anger still raging inside her heart. But no matter how many miles Willa Jane puts between her and her shame, the peace she seeks is drowned out by ignorance and abandonment.

Her saving grace comes in the form of a new opportunity that she can’t pass up. Tasked with caring for children at a local orphanage, she dedicates herself to transforming the financially-strapped institution into a real home filled with love and faith. But when her fundraising mission lands her in the middle of Raleigh’s glittering social scene, she encounters PJ Townshend, a handsome young lawyer with a dedication to service that matches her own. There’s only one problem: PJ is on track to change the country from its political epicenter—Washington D.C.—and the closer they grow to one another, the farther apart their worlds seem to be taking them.

When a natural disaster of Biblical proportions threatens to part them for good, it also puts the orphanage and everything Willa Jane has worked for in peril. An offer for help arrives from the most unexpected source. Accepting it will require forgiveness of the past…but it might also reunite her with the person her heart desires most.

 

Excerpt: Willa Jane at a dinner party.

 

“I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again. Harry S. Truman is going to send this country

to hell in a handbasket.”

 

“Harold—” his female counterpart interjected feebly to no avail.

 

“It’s true. Any real Democrat would be focusing on the needs of our own country, not shipping off more resources to the daggone Krauts that started the whole mess in the first place. I heard he’s got a whole commission working on a plan to rebuild Germany. They’ll spend millions of our taxpayer dollars on what? The war’s over, what else could the bastards possibly need?”

 

Maybe it was the second glass of champagne that had lowered my inhibitions enough

to insert myself in what was clearly none of my business, but no amount of coaching or fancy jewelry could contain my natural inclination.

 

“Actually, there’s a great deal of need, sir.”

 

He leant forward to glare past his shrinking wife at me.

 

“Young lady, you have no idea what you’re talking about.”

 

“I don’t mean to offend you, sir, but I know very well what I’m talking about. I’ve been to Germany and seen the devastation. There are entire city blocks that are nothing but rubble, children exposed and starving on the streets. If it weren’t for our assistance, there would be no shelter, no clean water. Most of these ordinary people have had their homes and businesses destroyed through no fault of their own. It’s not a waste of taxpayer dollars. It’s simple decency.”

 

No longer caring which fork was the assigned utensil, I snatched one up and started digging into my steak with defiance. The older man’s face turned splotchy and he narrowed his eyes at me from underneath gray caterpillar eyebrows.

 

“I have never in all my life heard such absolute rubbish. What are you, some sort of Nazi sympathizer?”

 

The meat stuck in my throat and I swallowed so hard it hurt. My big mouth might have just landed me on the fast track to an interview with the CIA. Then another voice interjected, one that seemed as familiar as if from a dream.

 

“The young lady is correct. The situation overseas is an unparalleled humanitarian crisis, significantly worse than the aftermath of the first Great War.” The rich voice went on. “The purpose of Truman’s commission and aid plan for Europe is to lessen the suffering which, twenty-odd years ago, allowed a madman like Hitler to come into power.”

 

I tried to spy through the petals to catch a glimpse of my impertinent new friend, but the foliage was too dense. Returning my focus to the steak, I had until they served coffee to stand up and either thank him for the defense or tell him off for assuming I was incapable of fighting my own battles. As the waiter took my empty plate, I was leaning toward the latter. This was 1947, and I was a full-grown, working woman who had travelled overseas and back on my own. Almost exactly two years ago, a certain man had come to my rescue and I’d fallen under the spell of his chauvinism disguised as chivalry. I wouldn’t be making that mistake again.

 

Building up a head full of steam, I stood up, rounded Harold and Co.’s empty chairs and began the impassioned defense I had been crafting between bites of Duchess potatoes.

 

“Listen, I appreciate what you were trying to do there, but what gives you the right to interrupt other people’s conversations? I was handling that ignorant old coot just fine, thank you very—”

 

My planned diatribe ground to a halt when I came face to face with my unsought defender. He was the owner of a handsome face that was as strangely familiar as the voice. Suddenly, I realized where I had seen it before.

~ ~ ~

 

Available in Print and in Ebook

FREE on Kindle Unlimited

Pick up your copy here;

 

About Laurie Batzel: 

Laurie Batzel is an author of contemporary and historical romance who lives in Northeastern Pennsylvania. With My Soul is her first published fiction. You can find her non-fiction essays on PopSugar.com, FilterFreeParents.com, and the print edition of Chicken Soup for the Soul: Angels All Around. When she’s not writing, reading, or continuing her quest to perfect her chocolate chip cookie recipe, Laurie can be found walking in
the woods outside her home with her four beautiful children and their devotedly vigilant corgi, Stuart. To read more of her ramblings on parenting, writing or random song parodies, go to her blog at rebacanyouhearme.wordpress.com

 Connect with Laurie: 

• Facebook: www.facebook.com/laurie.batzel
• Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/lbatc2_lou
• Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/lauriekendallbatzel
• Blog: http://Rebacanyouhearme.wordpress.com

 

THE GREATEST GENERATION ~ Cleo Lampos

                              Learning About the Greatest Generation

Retirement delivered many opportunities for speaking to senior groups and at extension classes of local colleges. Several historic fiction books hit the market, and life sailed along with my husband and cat in a Chicago suburb. Then, in November 2019, I read Jennie Allen’s book, Anything: The Prayer That Unlocked My God and My Soul.

I prayed that God would do anything in my life that would draw me closer to Him.

Gail Kittleson e-mailed me two days later.

An author of WWII historic fiction, Gail asked if I would want to co-write a book about the food that people ate during the war. After praying about this, I decided to jump full into the project. Research is one of my library skills honed over the years.

The range of material was vast. Trips to the library yielded books on WWII to read. The internet produced articles, memoirs, and PHD. Dissertations on the topics of military chocolate bars, ration kits, sugarless baking, foxhole foraging, the Victory Gardens, the Land Girls, Donut Dollies, and how the Dutch ate tulips. The women of North Platte, Nebraska, who served food to over 6 million GI’s in four years astounded me. Recipes and photos for all for all these topics bubbled from friends cleaning out their attics, historical archives, and government sources. A coffee table album on the topic complete with quotes, articles, photos and recipes resulted.

Then Gail and I decided to bring the sacrifices and ingenuity of celebrating Christmas during the war to the album format. Again, conversations with elderly friends, relatives, and reading memoirs gleaned so many insights. Reading books like Soldiers of a Different Fabric brought the stories of chaplains at Christmas to light. Compilations of accounts of POWs and GIs in the field at the season of Christ’s birth allowed the emotions of the time to come into our writing. Photos from private parties made their way to this book.

So much happened to me emotionally as these projects were researched.  My uncles enlisted during the war but spoke little about their experiences. Uncle Melvin took us to the cemetery in Des Moines, Iowa, every time we visited him so we would remember the Sullivan Brothers and see all the white crosses. Now, I read the accounts of the sailors and soldiers in foxholes and on ships in hostile countries sharing their fears and hopes.

 My appreciation for the Greatest Generation increased as I read the letters of mothers and wives who put up a brave front even as they scrounged every day to make ends meet. The words of President Roosevelt, the volunteering of Eleanor Roosevelt, and the inspiring quotes of Eisenhower, Nimitz and MacArthur stirred a piece inside of me that had long lay dormant.  The folks who lived through WWII represented the best of our nation.  They are in a class by themselves.

It is with humility and pride that Gail Kittleson and I present the companion books that give the present generation a glimpse into the valor and courage of our parents and grandparents. The Greatest Generation.

Featured Books Will Release in September 2020

The Food That Held the World Together

World War II Christmas Scrapbook

Authors: Gail Kittleson and Cleo Lampos

Publisher: Wordcrafts Press

Genre: Historical non-fiction

Two companion books

Target Audience: High school to adult seniors who love history

Gail Kittleson

Gail Kittleson creates women’s historical fiction from her northern Iowa home where she lives with her husband, a retired Army chaplain. She is a frequent speaker and workshop presenter at libraries and other venues.

Cleo Lampos

Cleo Lampos is a retired schoolteacher who speaks to adult extension classes at local colleges, writes fiction, enjoys quilting, and helps her urban gardener husband on their Chicago suburban plot.

THE WOMEN OF WWII ~ Linda Shenton Matchett - Giveaway

What’s New Wednesday with Linda Shenton Matchett

w/Giveaway

Spies & Sweethearts, my latest historic romance released today. The story is inspired by the brave women who worked undercover with America’s Office of Strategic Services (OSS) and Britain’s Special Operations Executive (SOE). Located all over the globe, these women were often stationed in enemy-occupied territory. Their identities are only now being revealed as more and more documents are being declassified, but many of the gals went to their graves never having shared their role in the fight against evil.

Women who raised their hand to work as spies, saboteurs, cryptographers, cartographers, analysts and experts in propaganda, recruiting, and communications came from all walks of life. Wealthy, poor, single, married, and divorced, they were secretaries, actresses, socialites, royalty, nurses, home makers, musicians, mothers, teachers, and telephone operators to name a few.

I’d like to introduce you to just a few of these stalwart women who served in France:

Virginia Hall: A native of my hometown, Baltimore, Maryland, Virginia transferred from SOE to OSS in April 1944 after her cover was blown in occupied France where she established agent networks. Well-known by the Gestapo for her exploits, they wanted her dead, and the sooner the better. Nicknamed the Limping Lady, she wore a wooden prosthetic leg as a result of a hunting accident when she was a young woman. Reports indicate that she often hid important items in the leg. She changed her image, transforming herself into an older woman and was sent back into occupied France where she organized three units of more than 300 agents that took part in sabotage against the Germans. She also maintained radio contact with London, sending vital information to headquarters.

Many Frenchwomen worked for OSS in occupied France. Hélène Deschamps was the daughter of an officer in the French colonial army and took on the responsibility of reporting Nazi activities along the Mediterranean. She spied on German defense works and fortifications, the strength and movement of enemy troops, and the transport of equipment and ammunition. Jeanette Guyot was a member of the Pathfinder mission during which she was charged with locating parachute fields, organize reception committees, and arrange for safe houses and local informants.

Betty Lussier was born in Canada, the daughter of a decorated WWI RAF pilot. Her family moved to Maryland while she was a child. A pilot in her own right, she headed to England at the age of twenty to join Britain’s Air Transport Auxiliary. Angry that only male pilots were allowed to fly into combat zones, she resigned. A month later she was recruited by the OSS, and after completing her training was assigned to Algeria where she collected intelligence and sent it to headquarters. She then moved to Cannes, France where she tracked down Nazi spies, many of whom she managed to turn into double agents.

Each of these women risked her life to save a world at war. I don’t believe I have what it takes to serve as an undercover agent. Do you?

About Spies & Sweethearts:

A secret mission. A fake bride. A run for their lives.

According to the OSS training manual, the life expectancy of a radio operator in Nazi-occupied France is six weeks. Partnered with one of the agency’s top spies, Gerard Lucas, newly-minted agent Emily Strealer plans to beat those odds. Then their cover is blown and all bets are off. The border to neutral Switzerland is three hundred miles away—a long way to run with SS soldiers on their heels.

Will Emily and Gerard survive the journey?

And what about their hearts? Nothing in the manual prepared them for falling in love.

About Linda: Linda Shenton Matchett is an author, speaker, and history geek. She writes about ordinary people who did extraordinary things in days gone by. A volunteer docent and archivist for the Wright Museum of WWII, Linda is also a lecturer with the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute through Granite State College. She is also a trustee for her local public library. Linda was born a stone’s throw from Fort McHenry in Baltimore, Maryland and has lived in historic places all her life. Now located in central New Hampshire, her favorite activities include exploring historic sites and immersing herself in the imaginary worlds created by other authors.

Connect with Linda:

Website/Blog: http://www.LindaShentonMatchett.com

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/LindaShentonMatchettAuthor

Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/lindasmatchett

Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/lindasmatchett

Goodreads: http://goodreads.com/author_linda_matchett

Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/Linda-Shenton-Matchett/e/B01DNB54S0

BookBub: http://www.bookbub.com/authors/linda-shenton-matchett

About the Giveaway:

Linda is offering an eBook copy of Spies & Sweethearts to one reader of this post who leaves a comment below with name AND contact information. This is  so we can let you know if you are our winner. 

Giveaway runs for one week from today, ending at Midnight, CDT, April 22, 2020.

For an extra chance to get in the drawing, become a follower of Whispers in Purple (see sidebar at left) and mention it in your comment.

Thank you Linda for being my guest today. I'm a sucker for WWII stories.

ANNIVERSARIES ~ Pat Jeanne Davis ~ Giveaway

ANNIVERSARIES

by Pat Jeanne Davis (Giveaway offered)

Today marks one year since When Valleys Bloom Again released. In several ways having my first full length novel published has changed my life. The work doesn’t stop with finally seeing your book in print. In order to promote and market my debut novel, I needed to learn how to be a businesswoman. Also, it has been necessary to become more outgoing and to step up and engage with readers after speaking at historical societies, book signing events at churches, fairs and at bookstores, sometimes traveling miles from my home to the area in which my novel takes place. To my surprise, I’ve enjoyed being at these events and answering question on the research for my WWII novel and about family members who served with the military in the war. I’ve also enjoyed being a guest on many blogs over the months and connecting with new readers there. During these months my Heavenly Father has been so gracious supplying all my needs along the way.

In the excerpt below, Abby Stapleton, the heroine in my novel, also arrives at a significant one-year anniversary.

August 1940

One year since her arrival. Though Abby wanted to return to England, she couldn’t exclude the possibility that Jim might be part of God’s plan for her life. That her aunt had thrown up a road block only intensified her longing for him. Chafing under her aunt’s prohibition and hating herself for submitting to it, she took refuge in the belief that Jim would keep his job.

She’d botched her attempt to explain things to him. “Something’s come up, and I can’t work with you for a while,” she had told him. What was that supposed to mean? No wonder he’d looked confused. But Jim had taken it with good grace, nodding while she fidgeted and groped for a reason.

Abby scheduled tasks in the greenhouse for Sunday afternoons—the only day Jim was off. Infrequent encounters with him during the summer had been accidental. She gleaned from a remark Jim made that he attributed these absences to anxiety over her family. Abby let the impression stand. Soon she’d be returning to Weston for her junior year and be away most of the day. Still, she wanted to talk with him as before.

Today, as she went about her work Abby consoled herself with the realization she moved in the same space Jim had yesterday. She cherished the written instructions he’d left on the potting table, pinned down with a smooth, shiny stone from the garden. He asked her to “snip the blooms from the sweet peas to keep them flowering,” and to “pay special attention to watering the container plants.” He’d underlined the last task. Abby ticked off each one as she completed it. Boy, Jim was so clever. Thorough, too. Her uncle made a good choice with him. As she puttered about, Abby kept up a running dialogue with Jim in her head.

Abby consulted the final item on his list. “For You,” Jim wrote. At his suggestion, she cut for herself yellow, orange, and salmon gladioli, taking care not to remove all the leaves from remaining stems. Jim had said these leaves feed the bulbs for the following year’s growth. Cradling her bouquet, Abby left the greenhouse, shutting the door behind her. Regardless of what her head told her, her heart pulled irresistibly to him. Oh, yes, and double-yes, she’d fallen in love with Jim. Where would it all lead?

BIO:

 

PAT JEANNE DAVIS lives in Philadelphia, Pa with her British-born husband, John. They have two grown sons. She enjoys flower gardening, genealogy research and traveling with her husband. Pat has published essays, short stories and articles online and in print. She has a keen interest in twentieth-century American and British history, particularly the period of World War II. Pat’s father-in-law served in the British Eighth Army during the war. When Valleys Bloom Again is her debut historical inspirational romance set in that era. She is a member of the American Christian Fiction Writers (ACFW). Pat loves to hear from her readers. Subscribe to her newsletter here www.patjeannedavis.com

Links:

When Valleys Bloom Again can be purchased here:

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Valleys-Bloom-Again-Jeanne-Davis/dp/1948888920/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=154

Barnes & Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/when-valleys-bloom-again-pat-jeanne-davis/1130351044?ean=9781948888929                                          

Social Media:  

Website:  https://www.patjeannedavis.com

Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/pat.j.davis.7

Instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/patjeannedavis/

Goodreads:  https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/43600391-when-valleys-bloom-again?from_search=true   

Amazon Author Page:  https://amazon.com/author/patjeannedavis 

LinkedIn:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/pat-jeanne-davis-34290422/                   

Pinterest:  https://www.pinterest.com/patjeannedavis/   

 BookBub:  https://www.bookbub.com/books/when-valleys-bloom-again-by-pat-jeanne-davis

About the Giveaway: Pat is generously offering to give away one print copy of When Valleys Bloom Again to one of my readers in the US who leave their name and email information in the comments section below. Giveaway ends one week from today on Thursday, January 23 at Midnight, central time. 

THE GALS WHO WROTE THE WAR ~Linda Shenton Matchett

The Gals Who Wrote the War

Guest post from Linda Shenton Matchett

As a former Human Resources professional, I am fascinated by the history of women in the workplace, especially during World War II when millions of ladies stepped into positions formerly held by men. Some of the newer types of commerce such as aircraft manufacturers welcomed women. In fact, Minneapolis-based Strato Equipment, a designer of high-altitude pressure suits for pilots, boasted a female workforce of 100%. The only guy in the factory was a department store dummy! Other industries such as the quintessential male profession of war reporting were tougher to break into.

Initially, the military used the accreditation process to control war correspondents, refusing outright to accredit women. A lengthy process that required background checks on the applicant, as well as his or her family, weeded out many candidates. According to photojournalist Margaret Bourke-White, “By the time you are accredited you have no secrets from the War Department and neither do your ancestors.”

By the end of the war, of the nearly 2,000 accredited war correspondents in WWII, 127 were women. Accreditation acted as a contract: The Army or Navy transported reporters, fed and sheltered them, and sent their dispatches home. In return, correspondents followed military law and censorship. Correspondents who defied rules lost credentials.

They received a pocket-sized “Basic Field Manual” of rules (which frightening enough included a waiver of liability for injury or death). Correspondents carried a green accreditation card and wore uniforms without symbols of rank, to indicate they would neither give nor take salutes. Instead, they wore green “WC” armbands, which evolved into “U.S. War Correspondent” patches, and were treated as captains, a rank that allowed them to eat with officers and facilitated POW exchanges if taken prisoner.

Nearly every commander in the Allied forces refused to allow women near combat. They feared women breaking under pressure, balking at a lack of women’s latrines, or influencing soldiers to take risks to protect them. Needless to say, this frustrated most of the female reporters.

Journalist Martha Gellhorn is considered to be one of the greatest war correspondents of the 20^th century. She said, “I have too frequently received the impression that women war correspondents were an irritating nuisance. I wish to point out that none of us would have our jobs unless we know how to do them and this curious condescending treatment is as ridiculous as it is undignified.”

Some accredited women did see combat. Sometimes the front shifted, catching women in the thick of action, as was the case with Ruth Cowan in North Africa. Others asked officers to write letters of introduction to combat zones, as did Bourke-White in Italy. A few got there “by hook or by crook.”

Martha’s career lasted sixty years, and she covered nearly every major event that occurred during that time, occasionally taking matters into her own hands to ensure she was there. In order to reach the beach and report on the D-Day invasion, she sneaked aboard a hospital ship and hid in the bathroom during the entire voyage then impersonated a stretcher bearer to disembark. She got the story, but lost her credentials. Her response? “I followed the war wherever I could reach it.”

The grit and gumption of these 127 women enabled them to provide eyewitness accounts to the harrowing events of WWII. I hope my Ruth Brown mystery series honors these ladies in a small way.

Book Blurb for Under Fire: Set in April 1942, Under Fire tells the story of Ruth Brown whose missing sister Jane is declared dead. Convinced her sister is still alive, Ruth follows clues from their small New Hampshire town to war-torn London trying to find her. Discovering that Jane has been murdered results in a faith crisis for Ruth, and she decides she must find Jane’s killer.

Purchase Link: http://www.amazon.com/dp/ B0743MS95H

Books 2 (Under Ground) and 3 (Under Cover) are now available for pre-order! Visit my website for more information.

Bio: Linda Shenton Matchett is an author, speaker, and history geek. She writes about ordinary people who did extraordinary things in days gone by. A volunteer docent and archivist for the Wright Museum of WWII, Linda is also a lecturer with the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute through Granite State College. She is also a trustee for her local public library. Linda was born a stone’s throw from Fort McHenry in Baltimore, Maryland and has lived in historic places all her life. Now located in central New Hampshire, her favorite activities include exploring historic sites and immersing herself in the imaginary worlds created by other authors.

Social Media Links:

Website/blog: http://www.LindaShentonMatchett.com

Newsletter signup (receive a free short story): https://mailchi.mp/74bb7b34c9c2/lindashentonmatchettnewsletter

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/authorlindamatchett

Amazon author page: https://www.amazon.com/Linda-Shenton-Matchett/e/B01DNB54S0

BookBub: http://www.bookbub.com/authors/linda-shenton-matchett

Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author_linda_matchett

Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/lindasmatchett

Twitter: @lindasmatchett

The Pruning ~ Author Jan Cline ~ Wahoo Wednesday

THE PRUNING

a Book Spotlight for Whispers in Purple

by author Jan Cline

Not everyone likes historical fiction. It’s just not in everyone’s realm of interests. In my case, I was raised to appreciate everything to do with American History. My repertoire, designed by my dad, was anything from a roadside marker to museums to a brand new set of encyclopedias. It stuck with me and when I started to write fiction as an adult, I naturally turned to the historical genre. I like writing from a Christian world view, so here I am, finishing up a series, American Dreams, which dates from 1935 to 1944.

 Book two is the latest release for this series and it’s titled The Pruning. Its story follows the Wilding family from book 1, Heaven’s Sky. Both books tell of the hardships our parents and grandparents endured during some of America’s most trying times. Not enough is said about these events in school history books, and I find many adults today don’t have a clear picture of the era. I love sharing the stories from the heart of the American experience.  

Here is a peek at The Pruning:

Clarissa Wilding can’t run away from her past. Moving from the drought-ridden Kansas plains to the green hills of the Pacific Northwest has only drawn her secrets to the surface, threatening the new life she has built with her husband, Frank, and their boys. When Frank introduces her to his brother, everything changes, and Clarissa must deal with new revelations that test their family bond and may forever alter their happiness.

This series is full of relationship challenges and authentic settings I think you’ll like.

One reviewer states: “Jan truly has a gift for storytelling. Her characters come to life on the page, and the setting becomes tangible wilt her descriptive narrative.”

Book 3 will be out by the end of 2019 and will wind up the series near the end of WW2. Join my email list for news about upcoming releases and receive a free short story. https://jancline.net

Follow me on Goodreads; like my Facebook author page here

Link to buy The Pruning: https://amzn.to/2n5NkN9

Jan’s Bio:

Jan Cline writes from her home in northern Idaho where she lives with her husband and spoiled dog, Cooper. She enjoys traveling, golfing, and crafts, but most of all re-purposing old things.