A Little History Anyone?

I am fascinated by WWII.  The history and events are very interesting, but I love reading about the people who suffered and gave so much to protect the freedoms we all appreciate so much.  I love reading any historical fiction about that era, but it drives me crazy when I discover that the events writers add to their stories are just as fictional as the characters.  When I read a historical fiction story I expect it to have actual historical knowledge and base.

I recently re-read a book a good friend gave me called Summer of My German Soldier by Bette Greene.  It is a good story, but I, being the romantic I am, didn't like the not-so-happy ending.  So to calm my ruffled emotions I decided to write my own WWII story.

Prior to this experience I had never had the desire to write historical fiction or anything that was realistic.  I am more of a fantasy writer.  But my determination was set.  I started out by deciding on a story line.  Of course I didn't want to copy what someone else had already done, so I took my setting and adjusted it a bit to create a different frame of mind.  Then, I called my brother who is a pilot and asked for any information he had on B17 bombers.  He gave me a few great books to look through and I learned a lot more about those amazing planes than I ever planned to.  Next, I researched battles and air strikes and everything I could to understand what the United States Air Force role was in WWII.

After about six months of research and writing I had my story.  Another few months and I had the ending I wanted and excellent editing.  I tried it out on a few people and asked a dear friend to double check my German.  I was excited to have the story finished and I was pretty happy with it.

So now I am going through the whole process of trying to get it published.  I'm hoping one day it will come about, but for now I will stick with posting sections here on my blog.

Check out The Line That Divides Chapter 1.  This material is copyrighted by M M Mason. Any retranscription or reproduction is illegal.