Category: Historical Fiction

Book Tour/Feature Post and Mini Book Review: Echoes on the Wind by Helaine Mario

ECHOES ON THE WIND

by Helaine Mario



June 23 – August 1, 2025 Virtual Book Tour

Hi, everyone!

Today I am sharing my Feature Post and Book Review for ECHOES ON THE WIND (Maggie O’Shea Romantic Suspense Book #4) by Helaine Mario on this Partner In Crime Virtual Book Tour.

Below you will find a book description, my book review, and excerpt from the book, the author’s bio and social media links, and a Kingsumo giveaway. Enjoy!

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Book Description

TWO STRONG WOMEN, GENERATIONS APART, CONNECTED BY MUSIC…

In 1943 war-torn France, a young woman on the Night Train to Paris has a chance meeting with two very different men who will change her life, setting in motion a Dual Timeline story that will resonate like ripples on water for generations to come.

Many years later, classical pianist Maggie O’Shea is drawn to Brittany by a long-lost letter from her French grandmother and the stirring music of Chopin, whispering like echoes across the years. But as Maggie discovers the secrets of her past, her life spirals out of control, threatening her upcoming wedding and those she loves.

Set against the backdrop of World War II France, Maggie learns her grandmother’s story, chord by chord, through Chopin’s emotional Preludes. And, in one shocking moment, Maggie’s love story will take a heart-breaking turn that will change her life and echo into her future.

Past and present converge in this haunting tale of loss and sacrifice, friendship and family, courage and survival – and the transcendent power of hope, music and love.

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/214953814-echoes-on-the-wind

Echoes on the Wind

Genre: Romantic Suspense
Published by: Suncoast Publishing
Publication Date: June 18, 2024
Number of Pages: 364
ISBN: 9781735184975 (ISBN10: 1735184977)
Series: A Maggie O’Shea Romantic Suspense, Book 4

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My Mini Book Review

RATING: 5 out of 5 Stars

ECHOES ON THE WIND (Maggie O’Shea Romantic Suspense Book #4) by Helaine Mario is the exciting finale of the Maggie O’Shea series. This story has a dual timeline featuring Maggie in the present and her French grandmother during WWII. I have been waiting for this culmination of love vs. vengeance anxiously and was not disappointed. These books should be read in order because there are over-arching threads throughout the series with Maggie and the other main characters continually evolving.

WOW! I could not put this book down. Not only do you get Maggie in a final showdown ending, but you get the survival story of her grandmother Clair, who was in the French Resistance during WWII written in dual timelines with alternating chapters. The main characters are all fully developed, more so if you have read the entire series, and I feel like they could walk right off the page. This is an extremely emotional book in both timelines, but as in the entire series, family, love, and music, carry the main characters through the worst that is thrown at them.

All the books are intriguing, pull you in, and are worth reading. This series also had me continually listening to the classical music pieces mentioned throughout that Maggie practiced for her concerts, which was a fun reminder of my trips to the Cleveland orchestra when I was younger.

I highly recommend this harrowing romantic suspense/WWII historical fiction mash-up and the entire engaging series!

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Excerpt

OVERTURE

“Like so many things that matter, it began with an accident.”       David Ignatius, 12/28/98

NOVEMBER, 1943.  THE NIGHT TRAIN TO PARIS

Light and dark.

The bleak November landscape rushed past the train’s window.  Black tree branches against the dark night sky, then a sudden flash of light.  Then blackness again.  

The blackout had claimed the streetlamps and cottage windows.  Clair Rousseau stared out the rain-streaked glass, waiting for the next glimpse of light.  A lone lantern. Car headlights tilted down, a sliver of gold beyond a cracked curtain.  Sheet lightning over distant hills, a glimmer of light on water.  But all she saw was the blurred, pale oval of her reflection staring back at her.  Dark hair scraped back, framing huge eyes beneath winged brows, sharp cheekbones, the too-wide mouth. 

No hint of the emotions flowing through her, except for the deep purple shadows beneath her eyes.

The dim, four-person compartment was cold, and she pulled her coat more tightly around her body.  The seat beside her was still empty, thank God.  Across from her, two German officers.  One asleep, snoring loudly, his hands slack between thick gray-green uniformed knees.  The other awake, a Gauloises cigarette clamped between thin lips, a jagged line of white scars marring his left cheek.  The narrow fox-like face stared at her through thick round glasses and wreathes of curling blue smoke.  His jacket was heavy with insignia, oak leaves, medals.  Military Intelligence, she thought with a sudden chill.  A high rank, SD or Abwehr.  What was he thinking?  

The watchful, unblinking eyes made her afraid.  Like a snake’s eyes, waiting to strike.  She looked away, forcing herself not to reach for her satchel, touch her identity papers for reassurance.  

The carriage’s glassed door slid back and forth with an unnerving rattle as the train rocked around a bend.  From the hallway came the sharp scent of burning coal, wafting back from the old steam engine several cars ahead.  A cloud of steam billowed past the window like sudden fog.   

She could feel the vibration beneath her, hear the rumble of the train’s wheels speeding along the tracks.  The lonely call of a train whistle, echoing in the night.  A quick flare of light, illuminating the rain like silver threads streaming down the window.

Light and dark.  Light and dark.

Movement at the edge of her vision.  A tall figure appeared in the hallway, beyond the door.  Her chest tightened.  Would she ever feel safe again?

A sharp crack of thunder, a sudden bright flash lighting her face.

“Mademoiselle Clair?”

Startled, her head came up.  The stranger had stopped, was staring into the compartment.  Across from her, the watchful German stiffened and slid pale eyes toward the voice.

Be careful.

There was something familiar about the gaunt face, the faint, questioning smile just visible above a thick woolen scarf.  She stood quickly, stepping between the German and the carriage door to block the officer’s view.  

“Oui,” she said softly, peering into the dim hallway.  The man nodded and moved closer.  Something about those gentle eyes, the arch of silver brows.  Memory surged.  Father Jean-Luc.

She flashed him a warning glance for silence and stepped into the train’s narrow corridor, closing the door firmly behind her.  “Mon Père, is it really you?”

“Oui, ma petite, c’est moi.”  The priest pulled the scarf down to offer a glimpse of his white Roman collar, then lost his smile as he gazed over her shoulder and saw the Germans.  “But we cannot talk here.  Come with me.”

He slipped a hand beneath her elbow and guided her to the end of the dark passageway, where an open exit door led across shifting metal plates to the train’s next car.  She felt the sudden bite of night wind on her face, cold and wet with mist.  Here the clatter of the train wheels was loud enough to hide their conversation. 

They sheltered just inside the doorway, in the shadows, away from the rain.  Outside, the countryside of France rushed by, then disappeared in a billow of black smoke.  In the dim corridor, the planes of the priest’s face were lit by a tiny, flickering overhead bulb. 

Light and dark.  Light and dark.

The priest looked down at her, shook his head.  “Little Clair Rousseau,” he murmured.  “Now such a beautiful young woman.  It’s been – what? – four years since we met?  You were just thirteen, I think.  Playing the piano in your parents’ apartment.  Bach, yes?  It was so beautiful, so stirring.  I hope you are still playing?”

She shook her head.  “You need hope to create music, Père.”  She looked back toward her carriage compartment.  The hallway was empty.  “But I remember that day.  The war was coming.  You asked us to help you remove the stained-glass windows from Sainte-Chapelle.  To save them from the bombing.”  

“You were fearless, Clair.  I remember watching you, swaying at the top of that impossibly high ladder.  The morning light was coming through the stained glass, spilling over you like shimmering jewels.  I’ll never forget it.  I told myself, Clair means light, she is perfectly named.”

He leaned down.  “And I can still see your sister, Elle – too young to help us, bien sûr – dancing around the altar.”

Her expression softened.  “Elle loved to dance.  It was the last happy day I can remember.”  She lifted her eyes to his, took a breath.  “Paris was another lifetime, Père.”

“You cannot lose hope,” he told her.  “The glass pieces are in a safe place.  Beauty and goodness cannot be destroyed.  You will see the stained-glass windows back in Sainte-Chapelle when the war is over.  I know it.”

She shook her head.  “I wish I had your faith.”  

“God has his plans.  There is a reason we’ve met by chance on the night train to Paris.”  Concern flashed in his eyes.  “But you’ve been in Brittany?  Dangerous times for a young woman to be traveling alone, Clair.”

She looked out at the black trees rushing past the doorway, and felt the blackness deep in her heart.  “I am alone now, Père.”

“Mon Dieu.  What happened?”

“My father knew that war was inevitable.  Not long after we saved the glass my parents moved us from Paris to the coast near Saint-Malo to be safe.  Such irony.  They had no idea how dangerous Brittany would become.  And then…”  

She could not stop the sudden rush of tears that filled her eyes.  “The Gestapo shot my father last year, in a retaliation roundup for an act of sabotage by the Resistance.  He was with the Liberty Network, they had bombed a train track.  He stepped forward, admitted it, hoping to save the others.  But still they took thirty innocent people from our village, murdered them in the square.” 

“Oh no, Clair.”  The priest made a quick sign of the cross.  “I am so sorry.  And your mother, your sister?”

“I don’t know, Père.  I was studying in Paris, I begged them to come stay with me.  But Maman refused.  When I returned last month to see them, the house was empty.  They were just… gone.  The neighbors said the Germans took them, in the night.  The mayor was told they were being relocated to Poland.”   

The priest paled.  “Désolé.  I will pray for their souls.”  

Anger erupted, spilled out.  “Prayers did not help my family!  I have no time for prayer now.  Or sorrow.  Even avenging my father will have to wait.  I need all my energy now to find my mother and my sister.”

He bent toward her.  “I am afraid you are still too fearless for your own good.  Tell me what you’re doing, little one.”

She turned once more to scan the dark hallway, then leaned closer.  “I excelled in languages in my lycée studies these last years,” she whispered.  “I am fluent in several languages, including German and English.  I hope to find a new job, in the Hotel Majestic in Paris, where the German High Command is quartered.  Then I will join the Resistance, find a way to get news of Maman and Elle.  I must find them!”  

He gazed down at her for a long moment, then put a hand on her shoulder.  

“Perhaps I know of another way,” he murmured.

The sound of a door opening.  Wavering shadows spilled into the train’s corridor.  Then the red glow of a cigarette, a spiral of smoke.  She froze as the German officer turned toward them.  

“Find me at Èglise Saint-Gervais, in the Marais,” the priest whispered quickly.  “I am with the Resistance there.  You could work with me, we need someone like you to –”

A sudden terrifying screech of metal wheels.  Clair felt herself thrown to the floor as the train braked, slammed to a shuddering stop.  Stunned, Clair reached out, felt the still body of the priest beside her.  “Mon Père…”

Shouts in German in the darkness, the clatter of heavy boots.  When she raised her head she saw flashing blue lights against the night sky.

Light and dark.  Light and dark.

Copyright June 2020

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Author Bio

Best-selling author Helaine Mario grew up in NYC and is a graduate of Boston University. Now living in Arlington, VA, this mother of two, grandmother of five, and passionate advocate for women’s and children’s issues came to writing later in life. Her first novel, The Lost Concerto, won the Benjamin Franklin Award Silver Medal. Echoes on the Wind is her fifth novel and the fourth in her Maggie O’Shea Classical Music Suspense Series. Royalties from her books go to children’s music and reading programs. Helaine recently lost her husband, Ron, after 57 years together. Her new book echoes with loss, grief, and, ultimately, the healing power of love.

Catch Up With Helaine Mario

HelaineMario.com
Amazon Author Profile
Goodreads
BookBub – @helainemario
Instagram – @helainemario.author
Facebook – @helaine.mario

Purchase Links

ECHOES ON THE WIND (Book 4)

Amazon – https://pictbooks.tours/2VGD8cbW

BN – https://pictbooks.tours/SzoO3yjp

Goodreads – https://pictbooks.tours/djXve0d5

BookShop.org – https://pictbooks.tours/1gkhrUom

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KINGSUMO GIVEAWAY

https://kingsumo.com/g/1072ev3/echoes-on-the-wind-by-helaine-mario-gift-card

Feature Post and Book Review: Switchboard Soldiers by Jennifer Chiaverini

Book Description

In June 1917, General John Pershing arrived in France to establish American forces in Europe. He immediately found himself unable to communicate with troops in the field. Pershing needed telephone operators who could swiftly and accurately connect multiple calls, speak fluent French and English, remain steady under fire, and be utterly discreet, since the calls often conveyed classified information.

At the time, nearly all well-trained American telephone operators were women—but women were not permitted to enlist, or even to vote in most states. Nevertheless, the U.S. Army Signal Corps promptly began recruiting them.

More than 7,600 women responded, including Grace Banker of New Jersey, a switchboard instructor with AT&T and an alumna of Barnard College; Marie Miossec, a Frenchwoman and aspiring opera singer; and Valerie DeSmedt, a twenty-year-old Pacific Telephone operator from Los Angeles, determined to strike a blow for her native Belgium.

They were among the first women sworn into the U.S. Army under the Articles of War. The male soldiers they had replaced had needed one minute to connect each call. The switchboard soldiers could do it in ten seconds.

Deployed throughout France, including near the front lines, the operators endured hardships and risked death or injury from gunfire, bombardments, and the Spanish Flu. Not all of them would survive.

The women of the U.S. Army Signal Corps served with honor and played an essential role in achieving the Allied victory. Their story has never been the focus of a novel…until now.

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/58984691-switchboard-soldiers?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=Yh5s4Y3V3M&rank=1

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My Book Review

RATING: 4 out of 5 Stars

SWITCHBOARD SOLDIERS by Jennifer Chiaverini is an engaging and informative historical fiction novel featuring the first young women ever to be able to enlist in the US Army’s Signal Corps and serve overseas as switchboard operators during WWI. The story follows three main protagonists from different parts of the country with varying immigrant family stories as they serve in the great war overseas.

As General John Pershing arrives in France to oversee American forces to fight alongside the French and British forces in the “war to end all wars” against the Axis forces, he realizes he needs professional female operators fluent in both French and English to be able to communicate all over the fields of operation. AT&T operators answered the call to serve from all over the country.

Grace Banker is an AT&T switchboard instructor in New Jersey and an alumnus of Barnard College, Marie Miossec is in Cincinnati with her French parents who are professional musicians working in the states, and Valerie DeSmedt an operator in Los Angeles whose family has immigrated from Belgium, are all accepted after an arduous vetting. Deployed to France, they cross the dangerous waters of the Atlantic facing dangerous German U-boats, the bombardments of the enemy forces throughout France as they are assigned to work closely to the frontlines, the danger of mustard gas and the Spanish flu.

These women served throughout France with honor and valor and were essential to the success of the Allied forces.

I had no idea that these American women switchboard operators were involved in the war effort during WWI. You hear about nurses and the YWCA volunteers, but not this group. I was so impressed by the magnitude of research throughout this novel. The author’s descriptions brought me right into the action. This story does jump around a bit as you follow the different paths and experiences the three main characters follow so occasionally, I felt it was a little disjointed, but in a way, it needed to be, so it fit in with the different journey of each. Just like so many other historical women’s stories in history, these brave young women were not recognized as true soldiers of the Army and received no VA benefits or legal recognition until 1977.

I highly recommend this story of amazing women answering the call to service.

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About the Author

Jennifer Chiaverini is the New York Times bestselling author of FATES AND TRAITORS, MRS. LINCOLN’S DRESSMAKER, MRS. LINCOLN’S RIVAL, THE SPYMISTRESS, MRS. GRANT AND MADAME JULE, and other acclaimed historical novels. She also wrote the beloved Elm Creek Quilts series, as well as six collections of quilt patterns inspired by her books. A graduate of the University of Notre Dame and the University of Chicago, she lives with her husband and two sons in Madison, Wisconsin. About her historical fiction, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel writes, “In addition to simply being fascinating stories, these novels go a long way in capturing the texture of life for women, rich and poor, black and white, in those perilous years.”

Social Media Links

Website: https://www.jenniferchiaverini.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JenniferChiaveriniAuthor

Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/jchiaverini.bsky.social

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

BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/books/switchboard-soldiers-by-jennifer-chiaverini

Feature Post and Book Review: Blonde Dust by Tatiana de Rosnay

Book Description

Pauline, a young chambermaid who works at the legendary Mapes Hotel in Reno, Nevada, is asked to step in for a colleague and clean Suite 614. Although she was told the rooms were empty, a dazed, sleepy woman appears before her. This is Mrs. Miller, aka Marilyn Monroe, whose stay in Reno coincides with the breakdown of her marriage to Arthur Miller and the filming of what was to be her last film, The Misfits.
 
Set in the American West in 1960 where the mustang horses run wild, an unexpected friendship unfolds between the most famous movie star in the world and a young cleaning woman whose life will be changed forever through the course of a few weeks. A testament to the enduring power of female friendship and a reimagining of a side of Marilyn Monroe that has never been seen before.

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/222139778-blonde-dust?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=N2kOECCNN7&rank=1

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My Book Review

RATING: 4 out of 5

BLONDE DUST by Tatiana De Rosnay is a spellbinding mash-up of historical fiction and women’s fiction that features a first-generation young French woman’s life as well as how in the heat of Reno, Nevada in 1960, a mega movie star’s unlikely friendship changed the course of her life. This standalone story will pull you in and take you on an emotional and nostalgic journey.

This story features three timelines while telling Pauline’s life story. You have the description of how Pauline came to America, fell in love with the wild mustangs, and became a single mother and maid with no prospects at The Mapes Hotel and Casino in Reno, Nevada. You also have a timeline which shows the development of Pauline and Marilyn Monroe’s friendship as she cleans Marilyn’s Suite 614 while she is filming on location for The Misfits, her last full-length movie. And the final timeline has Pauline looking back on her life and friendship with Marilyn as she attends the January 30, 2000, demolition of The Mapes.

The descriptions of both downtown Reno in 1960 and the landscapes outside of town on the film set and the mustang rescue ranch made me feel as though I was right there. As the timelines interweave, I was never lost or confused because each part of the story always left me wanting more. The research is obvious and blended throughout the story without interrupting the story.

There are so many aspects of this story to love; the unlikely friendship, the trajectory of a life changed, both emotionally and physically, the wild mustangs of the West, and a researched look into three short months in Marilyn Monroe’s tumultuous personal life. There are also dark moments of alcoholism and drug abuse, sexual coercion, and animal cruelty interspersed throughout.

I recommend curling up in a comfy chair and letting this mash-up of historical fiction and women’s fiction take you away.

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About the Author

Tatiana de Rosnay was born on September 28th, 1961 in the suburbs of Paris. She is of English, French and Russian descent.

Tatiana was raised in Paris and then in Boston, when her father taught at MIT in the 70’s. She moved to England in the early 80’s and obtained a Bachelor’s degree in English literature at the University of East Anglia, in Norwich. Returning to Paris in 1984, Tatiana became press attaché for Christie’s and then Paris Editor for Vanity Fair magazine till 1993.

Sarah’s Key was published in 40 countries in 2007 and has sold over eleven million copies worldwide. Kristin Scott-Thomas stars in the movie adaptation by Gilles Paquet-Brenner (2010).

Her novels are published in many countries and five of her books have become movies. Tatiana lives in France with her family.

Social Media Links

Website: (In French) https://www.tatianaderosnay.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tatianaderosnay

Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/tatianaderosnay.bsky.social

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tatianaderosnay/?api=1%2F

BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/books/blonde-dust-by-tatiana-de-rosnay

Feature Post and Mini Book Review: Solitary Walker: A Novel of Mary Wollstonecraft by N.J. Mastro

Book Description

England, 1787. Mary Wollstonecraft is an avowed spinster. At 28, she moves to London to live independently as a writer. With her publication of A Vindication for the Rights of Woman a few short years later, she emerges as a leading figure for women’s equality. But when a humiliating faux pas threatens her reputation, Mary travels to Paris to write about the French Revolution, where she unexpectedly falls in love with American adventurer Gilbert Imlay. Her ill-timed affair occurs just as the Reign of Terror begins, forcing Mary to decide whether to leave Paris—and Imlay. Her writing has branded her a revolutionary. If she stays, she is sure to face a trip to the guillotine. The choice Mary makes alters her life forever.

Readers of biographical fiction will embrace this carefully researched novel about the woman historians widely consider the world’s first feminist. Told against the backdrop of Wollstonecraft’s incredible rise as a writer, the French Revolution, and a solo journey along the remote shores of Scandinavia, Solitary Walker is the timeless story of women forging their own path.

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/223914620-solitary-walker?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=DXMjWpefiL&rank=1

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My Mini Book Review

SOLITARY WALKER: A Novel of Mary Wollstonecraft by N.J. Mastro is a captivating biographical historical fiction about a woman many consider one of the leading and most influential eighteenth-century writers on women’s rights and rational feminism. This book covers her life from 1787 when she was 28 and moved to London to attempt to make a living by her writing to her death only ten years later in 1797.

In this short number of years, she was a prolific author and reviewer in London, moved to Paris during the French Revolution, went on solo travels through Scandinavia, and returned to London for her final year before her death. While I knew of her philosophy of equality for all people, I did not know the more personal aspects of her life which are well researched and written into this engrossing tale. Her interactions with the men in her circle of society, who were also notable philosophers, writers, and artists of the time, led to triumphs and heartbreaks. This is a more personal look at her personal emotions and motivations. Also, the author’s writing made me feel like I was back in the late 1700s as I was reading with vivid descriptions of the buildings, clothes, economics and historical events of the time.

I highly recommend this biographical historical fiction.

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About the Author

N.J. Mastro is historical fiction writer and book blogger who publishes Herstory Revisited, a blog dedicated to biographical novels about audacious women from the past, Mastro has a master’s degree and a doctorate in educational leadership. Besides being an experienced public speaker, she is also an avid reader, master cook, and wine enthusiast.

Social Media Links

Website: https://www.njmastro.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/njmastro

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nancy.a.mastro/

BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/books/solitary-walker-a-novel-of-mary-wollstonecraft-by-n-j-mastro

Friday Feature Author Interview with Elise Cooper: The Hunt for the Peggy C and Rescue Run by John Winn Miller

Book Descriptions and Elise’s Thoughts

The Hunt for The Peggy C and Rescue Run by John Winn Miller has life and death decisions that lead to daring escapes.  The stories display how the hero, Captain Jake Rogers and the heroine, Miriam Maduro, have both courage and resilience. Both books’ plots show how the hunter and the hunted navigate their way through the war zones of the North Sea, the Atlantic, Europe, and the Mediterranean.

 The Hunt for The Peggy C has Captain Jake Rogers of the aging tramp steamer, The Peggy C, smuggling contraband merchandise, for money. While in Amsterdam he is paid by Miriam’s father, Mr. Maduro, to smuggle to Gibraltar his most perilous cargo, a Jewish family of six: Uncle Levy, a rabbi; his three young children; and two sisters, Miriam and Truus. But things do not go as planned when a U-Boat commander forces the ship to be boarded by three of its crew members in search of contraband. Unfortunately, they see too much, and the Peggy C crew is forced to take them prisoner. Out for revenge for being humiliated, the U-boat commander Viktor Brauer doggedly pursues the ship hoping to torpedo it to smithereens.

The sequel, Rescue Run, has Captain Jake Rogers returning to the North Atlantic as commander of a US Liberty ship with many of his crew. Unfortunately, it breaks down and they end up in Ireland.  While there, Rogers learns from Dutch sailors that the Nazis have arrested the father of Miriam Maduro and have deported him to a concentration camp.  In the first book Miriam and Rogers have become lovers and realize they care for each other. Rogers and crew sneak back into Holland aboard a gun-running ship from neutral Ireland and contact a resistance group to help them get Maduro to safety.  While in Holland they learn that Miriam is in grave danger in a Nazi prison and has been tortured.  Determined to rescue her they once again ask a resistance group to help in a daring rescue attempt.  This is where the cat and mouse games begin, as a Nazi bounty hunter is in hot pursuit to get the reward put on Miriam’s head. Now the heroes must navigate informants, imposters, gangsters, and double agents to escape to safety by using disguises, fake documents, subterfuge, and guns.

These stories have nonstop adventure and intrigue that keep readers in a perpetual state of suspense. The nail-biting tension mixed with heartwarming moments makes for a page turner. A bonus are the true historical details about the war and the countries involved that lend to a powerful authenticity.  If readers want to learn more about the characters at the end of the second book are additional reading materials, research notes, and blurbs about the historical figures and their fate.

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Author Interview

Elise Cooper: How did you get the idea for the story?

John Winn Miller: Years ago, I watched a bad TV adventure movie with my family. I knew I could write a better story. The next day I woke up from a dream and knew the first scene, the last scene, and the name of the ship. Because I had no personal experiences with U-boats, Merchants ships, or the settings in the plot, I took several years to do the research and get the facts straight.

EC: What was the role of Peggy C in the first book?

JWM: It is the name for the cargo ship. A Jewish family was rescued by the ship’s captain, Jake Rogers.  The ship is chased by a Nazi U-boat. It is thirty years old but did well in the cat and mouse game with the U-boat. I wanted to use a slow ship to make it hard to get away. The ship was like a character in the story.

EC: What was real in the story?

JWM: The drug Pervitin was used to give the Nazis a jolt of energy and euphoria. It made them confident, courageous, and fearless. It helped people stay awake for several days. Hitler’s pirates are real. Pirates originated from the idea of Winston Churchill during WWI.  The Nazis decided to use that idea in WWII. The more bizarre, the more I made sure it was real.

EC: There is a powerful quote in the book that can also be used today after October 7th. Please explain

JWM:  You are referring to, “You and your kind make evil leaders like Hitler possible and yet you pretend you are only fighting for country.” It was the typical defense of the Nazis; I was just following orders. There is no moral responsibility to stand up to evil whether soldiers in the German army or collaborators in the occupied countries, apart from Denmark.

EC: How would you describe the U-boat Commander Brauer?

JWM:  He is based on three real U-boat captains. He is deranged and cruel. I took the worst traits of the worst U-boat captains. He is very much convinced of the righteousness of what he is doing. He is a war criminal and what he did is based on a true story. I based him on a real captain that had a troubled career. Brauer wanted revenge against Rogers after being humiliated.

EC: How would you describe the heroine, Miriam?

JWM: A reader, smart, impulsive, courageous, fighter, tough, optimist, and determined.  She starts out to a damsel in distress but becomes a hero by the end of the story.

EC: Do you think Miriam changed in the second book after she was tortured by the Nazis?

JWM: Yes.  She got a heavier heart, became more suspicious, not trusting, with feelings of gloom, anxiety, dread, and anger. She was a young medical student but now had to fight back and become tough to save her family.  She grows more than anybody in these books. She realizes that those who told her not to fight back were wrong and thinks of them as fools, especially the Jewish Council in Amsterdam.

EC: How would you describe the hero, Rogers?

JWM: He is a cynic, loyal, a good navy man, clever, caring, with a bit of a temper. He is self-educated.

EC: What about the relationship?

JWM: Rogers and Miriam have a bond they share with the love of books. They care for each other but must navigate their differences because they come from entirely different cultures and religions.

EC: Why did you make a cat and mouse plot in both books?

JWM: I love the Bourne movies and realize that the tension is ratcheted up, especially as they get closer to each other in proximity. I enjoy the chase where they are trying to outrun and outsmart the enemy. Rogers realizes he is not as strong as the enemy, so he must use his brains to escape, many times getting ideas to think his way out from the books he read.

EC:  Why the quote at the beginning of the second book, Rescue Run?

JWM:  You mean this one, “To the brave heroes and heroines who gave their all, and often their lives, to defeat fascism’s heinous ideology of intolerance, racism, nationalism, and anti-Semitism.” There were soldiers and others who had the courage to stand up. Many of them are actual historical figures where I tried to remain true to who they were. For example, Miriam’s friend, Tineke Butcher, who hid them. She, her mother, and her grandmother, hid more than 100 Jewish refugees.  The Gestapo raided her home eight times, arrested her nine times, and beat her; yet she never revealed any secrets. Even at great personal peril.

EC:  Was the resistance leader, Miss 2000, real?

JWM:  Yes. Very few did I make up.  She was the only woman to create and lead a resistance movement during the war. She and her group sheltered more than 4,500 during the occupation, providing them with food, clothing, rations, and false identity papers, as I wrote about in the books. I hoped I highlighted her courage and her wanting to stand up for what was the right thing to do.

EC:  What about Hitler’s bounty hunters like the character, Janssen?

JWM: I stumbled across this book, Hitler’s Bounty Hunters, about them and could not believe it. Janssen has no morals and no convictions.  He was in it for the money and what made it more fun for him is that he did not like Jews. He has pure greed.

EC:  What about your next book?

JWM: The title is Miriam in The Shadows and will be published March 2026. The plot has Miriam and Rogers sent to France on separate missions by the English Intelligence Agencies. There will be double crosses, double agents, and interjacencies that have dirty deals.

THANK YOU!!

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BIO: Elise Cooper has written book reviews and interviewed best-selling authors since 2009. Her reviews have covered several different genres, including thrillers, mysteries, women’s fiction, romance and cozy mysteries. An avid reader, she engages authors to discuss their works, and to focus on the descriptions of their characters and the plot. While not writing reviews, Elise loves to watch baseball and visit the ocean in Southern California, with her dog and husband.

Book Tour/Feature Post and Book Review: The English Wife by Anna Stuart

Hi, everyone!

Today I am sharing my Feature Post and Book Review for THE ENGLISH WIFE by Anna Stuart on this Bookouture Books-On-Tour blog post.

Below you will find a book description, my book review, and the author’s bio and social media links. Enjoy!

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Book Description

Her husband is trying to save the country, but can she save him?

1940, England: Clementine Churchill stands alone on a rooftop in London as bombs rain down on the city. A nearby explosion almost knocks her off her feet, but she gets back up again and shouts into the night: ‘Hitler will not take Britain; not on my watch.’

Rushing back to 10 Downing Street, Clementine is relieved to see the famous building is still standing despite the heavy bombing. It means the Prime Minister – her husband – is alive. Stepping through the door and into Winston’s arms, she is reassured by his steady heartbeat. Every day has been a fight for survival, with people losing loved ones all around her. She prays that this war will not cost her Winston.

Her husband has always dreamed of being Prime Minister; she knew from the moment they married thirty years ago that he wanted to lead the country. Since then, they’ve been a partnership in love and in politics. But, with the war against Hitler, it’s a much bigger responsibility than either of them ever expected. The world needs Winston, and Winston needs her.

While Winston co-ordinates battles across Europe, Clementine finds herself in the spotlight for the first time. Her husband’s name may be on the lips of every soldier and politician but she knows as she visits hospitals and air raid shelters, that the ordinary people speak her name just as much. She realizes she has the potential to make a difference – not as Winston’s shadow in the background but as Clementine Churchill.

One evening, as she looks into Winston’s dear face, Clementine can tell his bravery comes at a cost. Can she help the man she loves finish the fight for freedom – or will this war cost them everything?

This is a fictional novel inspired by the remarkable life of Clementine Churchill. It is a story of the power of love and courage. It is the story of how a husband and wife saved the world. It is a story like no other…

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/222824426-the-english-wife?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=dDZf8GSrzq&rank=4

Purchase Link: https://geni.us/B0DR388G6Zsocial

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My Book Review

RATING: 5 out of 5 Stars

THE ENGLISH WIFE by Anna Stuart is an engrossing and inspiring historical fiction novel with dual narrators, Clementine Churchill, the wife of Prime Minister Winston Churchill and Jenny Miller, a fictional American journalist from the beginning of WWII to V-E Day in England. While featuring the life of Clementine Churchill, the author gives the reader insight into two strong, fascinating women during war.

Clementine Churchill knew what she was getting into when she agreed to marry Winston Churchill. They are a love match and while they have the freedom in their marriage to pursue their personal passions, Clementine always will be by his side to support him, and this is especially evident during England’s darkest hours during WWII.

Jenny and Ned Miller are a young married couple who are journalists sent to England to cover the turmoil in Europe for CBS radio. While Ned’s star is rising, Jenny is only allowed to report on women’s social issues. The two soon become known to the Churchill’s and while Winston is interested in Ned’s ability to aide in war correspondence, Jenny becomes friends with Clementine and the two soon are working together on issues for the English war time population while also dealing with personal issues in their homes.

This is a wonderful look at Clementine’s life, not only as Winston’s wife and soulmate, but as a woman who learns she is stronger and more capable than she believes during these terrible years of war. Jenny and Ned Miller appear to be loosely based on Edward R. Murrow and his wife during their time in England. Clementine and Jenny are friends that emotionally bolster each other through personal difficulties, they demonstrate the differences between American and English sensibilities, and they also discuss and display the differences in their beliefs in the liberation of the women. The historical characters and places throughout the novel are well researched and interesting. In just the short number of years this novel covers, Ms. Stuart takes the reader on an emotional journey that is heart wrenching as well as heartwarming and I found it difficult to put this book down.

I highly recommend this engaging historical fiction novel!

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Author Bio

Anna Stuart lives in Derbyshire with her campervan-mad husband, two hungry teenagers and a slightly loopy dog. She was hooked on books from the moment she first opened one in her cot so is thrilled to now have several of her own to her name. Having studied English literature at Cambridge university, she took an enjoyable temporary trip into the ‘real world’ as a factory planner, before returning to her first love and becoming an author. History has also always fascinated her. Living in an old house with a stone fireplace, she often wonders who sat around it before her and is intrigued by how actively the past is woven into the present, something she likes to explore in her novels. Anna loves the way that writing lets her ‘try on’ so many different lives, but her favourite part of the job is undoubtedly hearing from readers.

Social Media Links

Website: https://www.annastuartbooks.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/annastuartauthor

BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/books/the-english-wife-a-completely-gripping-and-inspirational-world-war-2-historical-novel-inspirational-ww2-stories-by-anna-stuart

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/English-Wife-completely-inspirational-Inspirational-ebook/dp/B0DR388G6Z/ref=sr_1_1?dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.78PdTdDq4bI2Ogeza9xJziL9cin9y