It’s funny how we perceive time. My fourth novel is closing in on publication and, to me, it feels like it has been a year since I sent it off to the editor.
Paper Doll, the story of three brothers who come of age during the Great Depression and World War II, is only a few weeks from publication. Written as a novel, it is the true story of my grandfather and his brothers—one brother becomes a shipbuilder in northern California, one goes to the European Theater of Operations, and the youngest goes to the Pacific Theater.
Paper Doll was the name of my great-uncle’s B-24 Liberator.
I know many people on my email list signed up because I write sci-fi. Hang tight; I am about a quarter of the way through the first novel of a sci-fi trilogy. Others are here because of my thrillers—they will return, too. I felt the need to write Paper Doll, despite the incredible amount of research needed to write a true story, because there were so many interesting and even fascinating events which happened to and around my family. I started on this project over 20 years ago.
For those who do not ordinarily read war stories, be aware Paper Doll is not a military strategy book, and it’s not a gory blow-by-blow account of warfare. Instead, it’s the story of what your family went through during the 1930s and ‘40s. When your grandfathers and great-uncles went off to war, this is what many of them experienced.
It just so happens that my family was always really interesting. The mother in this story (my great-grandmother) had premonitions on a routine basis, and they play a role in events. Additionally, my family was (is) a “take the bull by the horns” type of people, and when needed, they did just that.
Plenty of interesting events propel this story, and it’s a moving tale that will tug at your heart.
Throughout literature, war is the stuff of glory, bravado, and tales to be told by strong men who never showed fear. Some historians would argue that was even the case before the mechanized era. Since World War I, war has had little glory, outside of brave men who became famous (Audie Murphy, Desmond Doss). Our fathers and grandfathers and uncles saw things no one should have to see and did things they could never forget, no matter how much they tried. And yes, they were scared on many occasions.
Paper Doll is not a story about the glory of war, but of the strength of family and the love that carried soldiers and family alike forward, to continue persevering.
If you don’t ordinarily read “that kind of book,” you’ll still find reason to enjoy it: it’s interesting to learn about what life was like for your family of another generation, who sacrificed a lot so we could live so well today.
Watch your email box. Paper Doll is coming soon.
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Time for that usual plug. Check out my prior novels: a sci-fi adventure and two psychological thrillers, available online via the links below.
My next email to you will be the announcement that the novel has been published.
Take care.
Brian W. Peterson
Somewhere on the edge of the Great Plains