Seashells in My Pocket
German-Brazilian
Isabel Neumann delights in creating seashell art, but it’s her mathematical
ability that lands her a job at the American air base in Natal, northern Brazil
during World War II. She doesn’t need a calculator to determine the correct
weights and balances for the Air Transport Command’s cargo planes.
Daniel Lambert, an American transport pilot based at Natal, endures the
taunts of combat pilots that he is “allergic to combat.” His flying skills win
him respect, however, and his friendship with Isabel deepens, even as a new
source of trouble looms.
Isabel is caught in the crosshairs of a German saboteur who is obsessed
with her. He insists that she belongs with him, and demands that she help him
sabotage the Allied base. Her growing relationship with Daniel angers the Nazi,
who will do anything to get of rid him. What will happen to Isabel if the
madman captures her?
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The Storm Breaks Forth
World War I rages in
Europe, and now the United States joins in. Peter Bloch heads to France with
the Wisconsin National Guard, but his wife Maren is the one under attack. She's
German born, and anti-German hysteria is running high.
Simple suggestions
for coping with wartime measures lead Maren into an active role in the
community, but her service doesn't help deflect suspicion from her. Zealous
patriots target her with a vengeance.
Peter caught the
eye of a major who seems intent on using him as a spy. He's been fortunate to
avoid injury so far, but these activities are likely to get him killed.
Peter and Maren dream of
the day they will be reunited, but more and more, that day appears to be a
mirage.
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Roll Back the Clouds
Geoff and Rosaleen Bonnard receive a once-in-a-lifetime voyage to England aboard the fabled Lusitania in 1915. Europe is embroiled in war, but that shouldn't affect a passenger liner.
As they approach Ireland, a German submarine hurtles a torpedo into the grand ship. Rosaleen and her new friend Constance scramble into a lifeboat, but where are their husbands? She searches the morgues in Queenstown, heartsick at recognizing so many people. Geoff is finally located in a Cork hospital, alive but suffering a back injury.
While waiting for him to recover, Rosaleen is thrilled to meet her mother’s family, but a dark cloud hovers over her. The battered faces of dead babies haunt her. She sinks into depression, exasperated by Geoff’s new interest in religion. Her once happy life seems out of reach.
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Friends and Enemies
A heartbroken German
widow. A grieving American airman.
They meet when he’s
shot down. She agrees to help.
Then they’re
betrayed.
Widowed seamstress Heidi Wetzel finds new meaning in life by caring for
evacuated children on a farm in war-torn western Germany. Never a supporter of
National Socialism, she takes pleasure in passive resistance, but must exercise
caution around neighbors who delight in reporting to the Gestapo. Having lived
in the United States, she wonders about her friend Rachel.
Flying cadet Paul Braedel’s wife dies while he trains for the U.S. Army Air
Corps. Following bereavement leave, he joins a navigation class. He’s lost his
zest for life and heads to England, not caring if he lives or dies.
When he and his crew are shot down over Germany, he evades capture and, for the
first time since Rachel’s death, hears the voice of God whisper guidance. “Find
Heidi.”
Heidi meets a man she recognizes from her high school days in America. Aiding a
downed airman is punishable by execution, but she agrees to help.
She takes him to the farm to pose as a convalescing German soldier. Through her
brother’s underground contacts, Paul acquires German ID papers. Before he can
journey along an escape route, they’re betrayed and the Gestapo comes calling.
Together, Paul and Heidi flee across Germany in a desperate journey for Allied
lines.
2013 Category 5 Contest Historical
Winner
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No Neutral Ground
Germany rejected him.
America took him in. Now he’s back,
at war with his
homeland and his father, who turned his back.
After
his father divorces his mother because of her Jewish ancestry, Rafe and the
rest of his family flee Germany. As a B-17 navigator, he returns to Europe. On
the ocean voyage, he meets Jennie, an artist journeying to Sweden to work with
the OSS.
Flying
missions against his former homeland arouses emotions that surprise Rafe.
Despite being rejected, he is troubled by the destruction of Germany and his
heart still cries for his father’s love.
Sweden
may be neutral, but it’s full of intrigue. Jennie assists the OSS at the
American legation in Sweden. She thought she’d be doing passive,
behind-the-scenes work. Instead, she’s pushed into an active role to gain
intelligence and frustrate the Germans.
How can Rafe and Jennie
succeed in their dangerous roles when they are so conflicted?
2012 ACFW Genesis Historical
Finalist, 2014 Genesis Semi-Finalist
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Soar Like Eagles
She wants to do her
part for the war, but struggles to maintain her ideals.
He joins the air force,
hoping to find peace.
Carol becomes a Red Cross doughnut
girl, serving GIs and boosting their morale.
Believing
wartime romances are doomed to disappointment, she attempts to avoid entanglements
and transfers to France, away from Chet, the airman she’s falling for.
Chet’s father always belittled him.
Now a well-regarded navigator, he longs to prove him wrong. He’s ditched in the
North Sea, parachuted into France, and been called before a review. His focus
changes to staying alive and winning the Red Cross girl he keeps crossing paths
with.
2013
ACFW First Impressions Historical Winner
Wheresoever
They May Be
A sailor, his Rosie-the-Riveter wife, her
WAC sister, and a grasshopper pilot.
Frank
Swanson has plans. He has good job prospects, maybe even broadcasting in
Hollywood. He has a beautiful wife. The war is an interruption to a good life
he’s eager to get back to.
Lily
Swanson longs to be a mother. Soon Frank should be home for good and they can
furnish a nursery. Maybe even find a bigger house.
Joe
Gallagher grew up in a small house with plenty of siblings. He loves the
solitude of flying, but the war has dragged on for so long. He’s ready to go
home.
Susan
Talbot has a bad attitude. She’s estranged from her family and she doesn’t
attract friends. But war can bring out the best in people and Susan’s surprised
to realize she’s happy.
They’re
all doing their part for the war. The enemy kills none of them, but sometimes,
the enemy can be hard to identify.
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_________________________________________A WWII Novella
A Heart For the Sailor
Working as a Winnie the Welder during World War II, Evelyn
builds submarines. She’s good at her job, but men begrudge women taking jobs in
heavy industry. She dreams of the day her sailor comes home and the life
they’ll have, but does Jerry dream about her?
When a typhoon threatens the US Fleet in the Pacific, Jerry and his shipmates aboard the USS Tabberer rush to the aid of their fellow sailors. The typhoon prompts a greater awareness of what he wants in life. First, though, they have to survive.
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