Owners of large country estates in Britain offered their properties to serve as rest-and-recuperation homes, dubbed "flak houses" by the airmen. While the estate staff (cooks, laundry, grounds maintenance) were British, Red Cross Girls were in charge of creating and running the daily recreation opportunities. The women we saw riding bicycles with a group of men as Rosie and his crew arrived at Coombe House were likely American Red Cross Girls -- at the flak houses they frequently wore civilian attire as the goal was to help the men put the war out of their mind. 

The real Coombe House is located on a 50-acre estate at Shaftesbury in the Dorset countryside. It was a hotel when it was converted to USAAF Station 523 and open as a recuperation facility for USAAF officers in September 1943. In late 1945, it converted to a Catholic independent day and boarding school for girls, St. Mary's School, and operated as such until it closed due to financial difficulties in June 2020. 

In his chronicle "Flak Houses Then and Now: The Story of American Rest Homes in England during WWII," Edward Hohman notes that fliers who spent time at Coombe House recall the bar was situated below the grand ballroom and that the men wrote their names and bomb group number on the walls and ceiling. Unfortunately, unlike The Eagle, a historic bar in Cambridge which still sports similar grafitti as pictured here (photo from own visit to The Eagle as part of the National WW2 Museum's "Masters of the Air" tour led by Dr. Miller), the room was redecorated at some point during its time as a girls school. Hohman also notes that Coombe House was one of the flak houses where 8th Air Force psychiatric consultants studied the results of the flak house program. ​

"Flak houses" were intended to give battle-weary "flak-happy" airmen a place to spend time in healthy, outdoor recreation, such as riding, hunting, golf, tennis, croquet and the like (or puzzles, games, reading on rainy days). The objective of 8th Air Force commanding officers was to remove the airman from his base where he might often experience unrelenting psychological stress on some level -- even on days when an airman wasn't himself flying a mission, he might be worrying about a buddy who was or stressed out by the knowledge that today might be the last day he had. 

The military and the Red Cross coordinated operation of "flak houses" in all theaters of the war. In the Pacific, men who'd seen heavy combat in the skies in the various island campaigns would be sent to a "flak house" somewhere along the Gold Coast of Australia or in New Zealand, often for a fairly extended stay due to the distances involved. In India, men might be sent to a British planter's estate or a Maharajah's estate for hunting wild game and other outdoorsy pursuits. 

In Britain, the American Red Cross managed up to 20 different properties at the height of the war, and reports indicate they hosted up to 900 crewmen per week, with 87,000 airmen rotating through some time at one of the "flak houses." These properties were devoted to either officers or enlisted men -- rest time at a "flak house" was one of the few instances where a crew would be split up by rank. 

The Red Cross operations in WW2 were enormous, as they staffed thousands of recreation clubs, rest & recuperation centers (known in the ETO as "flak houses"), clubmobiles, trainmobiles, and snack centers all over the world. Though the women deployed overseas with the Red Cross served 2 full years (and many voluntarily stayed beyond those 2 years), personnel management was still daunting as ARC policy was to rotate women to different locations and different service responsibilities fairly frequently (which is a reality I've tried hard to convey in my novels). 

The GMC truck models pictured above were first introduced in North Africa and would become the primary Clubmobile used in continental Europe following the D-Day landings in summer 1944. This model was suited to rougher terrain than the Green Liner bus model used in the UK. 

The women assigned to the Clubmobile groups that followed the invasion forces across the Channel in summer 1944 were given a driving course (and instruction in basic maintenance and repairs) around London. It was fairly typical for each 3-woman crew to designate a primary driver, but they all took the course, and as pictured here, were expected to understand how to navigate muddy roads. 

The bus model interior was narrow, which affected their ability to navigate around one another easily. You can't see it in this photo, but the bus model also allocated a small amount of space for a lounge area, where some of the men could gather and play cards, read magazines or change out the records.

By contrast, the interior of the GMC truck model was more compact, but it was efficiently designed. As you can see, the doughnut machine is situated at the far rear right-hand corner. A large galvanized coffee urn is pictured at the front left. Loaded with all the supplies of doughnut mix, coffee, and the extras the women served (gum, candy, comic books, etc.), the interior would have been more cramped than it might appear here. While the Clubmobile groups deployed on the continent included one or two supply trucks, the interior space was often stocked with extra bags of doughnut flour, coffee, and other cooking supplies when the women made a longer-distance serving run. 

Both models included a sink with running water, the doughnut machine, coffee urns, storage space for coffee mugs, the wire trays to hold the doughnuts, and counter work space. They both featured a fold-down serving counter, which we've seen in "Masters of the Air." Below you'll see a better view of the interior of the bus model with the doughnut machine in use!

I'll continue providing additional photos and details about the Clubmobiles and their service around the world in later blogs. Next up will be a closer look at the arrival of the Clubmobiles and their crews on the beaches of Normandy in summer 1944 and some details and photos of them in active service -- as one Clubmobiler noted, "we moved through Normandy like the Army -- fast and in the field."  

The Red Cross Girls based at Thorpe Abbotts had a good amount of screen time in this week's episode. "Masters of the Air" is adhering very faithfully to the experiences of Eighth Air Force airmen based in East Anglia, and there's much to appreciate about the depiction of the Red Cross Girls. We got a great look at the Clubmobile (which is, as I predicted in my previous blog, the GMC truck model like the one you see pictured here) in two different scenes. Helen is wearing the battledress Clubmobile Girl uniform in the pre-mission scene with Lieutenant Nash and later during post-mission service, and I loved the glimpses of her Red Cross pin worn at the collar of her shirt. I appreciate the implicit nod to how hard the women worked - it is absolutely historically accurate that the women were up at dawn to provide coffee and freshly-made doughnuts to the crews and that they were there again when the men returned. It was a nice touch to show that they were there both to greet the returning crews and offer the coffee and doughnuts as they went in for debriefing (you'll note that some of the men were downing shots of whiskey too) and again outside the debriefing hut with the Clubmobile. 

Obviously the producers had limited screen time to devote to the development of the Red Cross Girls -- the focal point of the series rightfully belongs with the sacrifices of the valiant Eighth Air Force crews. But I think even the small snippets of dialogue between Lieutenant Nash and Helen while dancing could have been an opportunity to give viewers a more nuanced sense of who these women were and the important role they played. Like Lieutenant Nash, most servicemen were astounded but grateful that these women had braved the dangers of crossing overseas on a troop ship to provide cheer, comfort and yes, coffee, to the soldiers engaged in active military duty. But Helen wouldn't have been all that likely to say "well I wanted to help and this is what I got," as though she'd assumed volunteering with the Red Cross would involve rolling bandages back home and instead found herself surprisingly at an airbase near an English village. The Red Cross Girls who made it through the exacting application and interview process (only 1 in 6 were successful at gaining an overseas posting) were, as one wrote in a letter to family, the "cream of the crop."  They were proud of being selected and understood that, like the men, they were in it "for the duration." I wish the dialogue for Helen had conveyed more pride in what she was there to do and what it had taken for her to get there. 

There were several Red Cross Girls in the background of the dance scene, notably Tatty Spaatz was the one near the bar (she stoops to pet Meatball) talking to a group of men just before they have a conversation about the trauma of aerial combat and the number of men who are becoming "flak happy" -- that was the slang term for what we now know would have been PTSD. I also appreciated that Tatty's presence in that circle of officers was accepted (she wasn't shooed off when the conversation turned more serious). ​

Like the one in Episode 2, this dance scene was clearly at the officer's club rather than the Red Cross Club for the enlisted men. If it had been at the ARC-run Aeroclub we would have seen the Red Cross Girls in a more active hostess role. The women did attend officer's dances (and yes, typically wore their dress uniforms to the officer's club events), but they also hosted dances, game nights, theater and musical productions, quiz bowls, and the like at the AeroClub most nights. Doubtless, while Helen and Tatty were enjoying the officer's club dance (yet knowing they must get up in mere hours to make doughnuts and coffee for the pre-mission service!), there were other Red Cross Girls hosting some sort of social event for the enlisted men on the base. ​

It seems I was somewhat off-base in my interpretation of this scene between Helen and Lieutenant Nash from the trailer snippet last month. He's throwing her own flirtatious words from their dance the night before back at her ("you might be the last pretty face I ever see"). But her smile slips just for an instant as she recognizes that this man whose company she's already enjoying could very well die in that day's mission. She's not, as I had predicted, a new Red Cross Girl who doesn't appreciate the odds, doesn't know she will experience the anguish of losing men she had chatted or joked with, danced with, kissed or fell in love with. No, Helen is aware, her flirty banter aside, that Nash's odds of returning that afternoon are much lower than she would like. The expression on her face when Lieutenant Rosenthal confirms that Nash and his crew didn't return segues quickly from shock to grief to stoicism. The Red Cross Girls had to be tough, physically and emotionally. "Masters of the Air" is showing us this, and my hope is that readers of this blog will gain a stronger appreciation for the nuances of their depiction. 

​In the “what’s next on MASTERS OF THE AIR,” we got a brief glimpse of a crew of Red Cross Girls serving from a Clubmobile.
 
The Clubmobiles provided entertainment, cheer, and treats to men in the field (and later at the front lines). They were frat house, Elk’s Lodge, corner drugstore soda counter, and Mom’s living room all rolled into one. And the servicemen loved them – they loved the Red Cross Girls, even when the women abandoned the snappy, feminine, formal uniforms with skirts and blazers in favor of the ARC’s official battledress uniform -- more practical woolen trousers with matching jackets and topped with Army field jackets and GI boots. Each week, the soldiers looked forward to the day when the ARC Clubmobile service would roll around to their unit in the field.

It appears to me from the brief glimpse of the Clubmobile that they’ve used the retrofitted “Deuce and a Half” truck model that was in service beginning in June 1944 (the "Magnolia" model pictured in the first photo in this blog).  Before that, the Red Cross Girls serving in the UK would have provided Clubmobile service from the converted English single-deck Green Liner buses (such as the one pictured above) that were first introduced in late 1942. These early Clubmobiles were driven by an English driver, often a man who’d seen service earlier in the war and been wounded or was otherwise not physically able to serve. In addition to serving coffee and doughnuts, the Clubmobile crews quickly saw a need to distribute cigarettes, gum, candy, and magazines. From the beginning, the Clubmobiles included a phonograph and speaker and a selection of records, as well as a lounge area where the men could relax and chat.
 
General Eisenhower was an early fan of the morale boost the Clubmobile service (and the Red Cross Girls themselves) provided to the men, and he directed military planners to coordinate with the American Red Cross to plan for Clubmobile service to follow the soldiers to the continent as quickly as possible after D-Day. I’ll share more details about this service in future blogs, but just know that the Clubmobile model it seems we’ll see in next week’s episode is the GMC truck model rather than the Green Liner bus version that would have been typical at the East Anglia bomber bases in fall 1943.
 
I’m anxious to see the full depiction of the Red Cross Girls next week and will look forward to sharing more details of their service with you as the remaining episodes of MASTERS OF THE AIR stream over the coming weeks.

Though the screen time of the Red Cross Girls was brief in Episode 2, several things about the dance hall scene struck me as worthy of discussion. Red Cross Girls worked grueling hours that often began at dawn and were then expected to plan and/or attend all evening social events on base. At a dance such as the one in Episode 2, the women would have been dancing non-stop and wouldn't have had even a moment to gather among themselves. The dances were also often hosted in the base's Red Cross Club (sometimes called the AeroClub). This dance seems to have been hosted at the officer's club, so the Red Cross Girls would have been invited guests (most of the women you see dancing with the servicemen in this scene would be local village women, along with a mix of Red Cross Girls and base nurses). 

When Rosie Rosenthal gestures to a group of Red Cross Girls and says he plans to go chat up one of them, Captain Murphy asks him if he's got his eye on General Spaatz's daughter or the other one. General Carl "Tooey" Spaatz did have a daughter who served as a Red Cross Girl in the European Theater, Katherine "Tatty" Spaatz. She served in England and then crossed the Channel with her Clubmobile Crew after D-Day. 

General Spaatz was the Commander of the 8th Air Force early in 1942 before taking over command of the USAAF Strategic Air Forces in Europe. He was based primarily in North Africa throughout 1943, returning to England in early 1944. 

Born in San Antonio in 1921, Tatty, General Spaatz's eldest daughter, didn't meet the Red Cross age requirement (25) when she arrived in England in the summer of 1943 (perhaps her father's role helped her avoid that requirement). She was based, at least for some period of time, with the 306th bomber group at Snetterton Heath. She worked with the "North Dakota" Clubmobile in England, and then she served with the crew of the "Sitting Bull" Clubmobile on the continent after D-Day. She and her "Sitting Bull" crew mates landed at Utah Beach on July 16, 1944. As part of Clubmobile Group B, Tatty and the "Sitting Bull" crew celebrated the liberation of Paris in August 1944 (claiming that theirs were the first doughnuts served in Paris!) before moving on Belgium by early September, hot on the heels of US Army V Corps. Within a month or two, a history of Clubmobile Group B reports that the women were taking their Clubmobiles into Germany to serve groups operating in connection with the Siegfried Line offensive. Group B was based out of Eupen, Belgium when the Germans launched a counteroffensive in December 1944 (the Battle of the Bulge). Within a few hours, the military evacuated the Red Cross Girls further back from the battle lines to Herve. After an account of their time in Herve, this chronicle unfortunately tapers off, though there is a note at the beginning that Clubmobile Group was at Pilsen, Czechoslovakia on V-E Day in May 1945. 

In 1948, Tatty married Walter Bell, an English diplomat and MI6 officer, and they both lived into their 90s (she died in London in 2005).

Tatty is still often the face of photos used to highlight the origins of National Doughnut Day.

I'm thrilled that the Red Cross Girls are featured in "Masters of the Air" and hope to continue sharing some insights into their service and how and where the series depiction might deviate from history. ​

​And the Red Cross Girls and the soldiers certainly did have fun and experience lighter moments. That was the point, that was the reason the government and the military so readily accommodated the Red Cross mission to bring comfort and cheer to the servicemen. But the Red Cross Girls could no more avoid the pain, heartbreak, and reality of war anymore than the men who fought it.  This publicity photo of Red Cross Girls placing flowers on the graves at a military cemetery in France, though still a staged photograph, was the only one I could find that would give us a mood-appropriate photo for this blog. 

What I thought was cinematically so incredibly perfect about the snippet in the official trailer (around the 1:00 mark) is how the woman's half-flirty smile changes in an instant as the handsome airman reminds her, with such a matter-of-fact manner, that he might not live out the day, that he and many of the men she sees loading into the Jeeps with parachutes and flight gear might not return from the day's mission. "You might be the last pretty face I ever see," he reminds her.



​We might surmise that she is likely a new Clubmobile Girl, not yet hardened to the reality of what the airmen of the 8th Air Force faced on a daily basis. Before D-Day, each 8th Air Force crewman had at best a 25% chance of surviving to complete his tour of 25 missions (and odds didn't increase dramatically even later in the war after the P-51 Mustangs had the range to accompany the bombers deeper into enemy territory). 

The Red Cross Girls bore an enormous emotional burden, day after day of watching men hoist themselves into planes, knowing that a good number of them might not return. Recognizing the toll this would take on the mental health of the Clubmobile Girls, the Red Cross moved them from one base to another regularly. The image in the Masters of the Air trailer shifts from her expression of dawning recognition to a view of her silhouetted, poised on the edge of the Clubmobile, watching him and the other men load into the Jeeps to head to the flight line, which casts exactly the right historical note. It also is a scene very reminiscent of one from my novel, Courage to be Counted. 

Vivian, watching the flight crews readying to leave one morning after serving them coffee and doughnuts: "Watched the men, shrouded in the dawn's misty fog, as they collected their parachute packs and Mae West life vests. Watched the silhouetted figures, tall and proud, gather around their ship to hear their pilot's pre-mission pep talk. Watched those courageous men follow their pilots into a ship that might serve as coffin rather than shelter."  

During WWII, the American Red Cross operated 2,000 clubs and hundreds of Clubmobiles, staffed by 39,000 paid staffers and over 7.5 million volunteers. The Clubmobiles were vehicles driven directly to soldiers in the field.  Thousands of the paid Red Cross staffers were the women known as “Red Cross Girls” who served overseas alongside American troops. They were stationed in every theater of the war, providing cheer and comfort to the troops in every far-flung corner of the globe.
 
The Red Cross Girls often served closer to the front lines than even the combat nurses. In a history of the Red Cross work during WWII titled “At His Side,” author George Korson notes: “These Red Cross Clubmobile girls had one of the most extraordinary experiences of the war, performing an unprecedented service with enthusiasm and a contempt for personal danger that had the whole Army tossing its helmets into the air. They had a ringside seat at one of the greatest dramas of all time, moving with more freedom than many soldiers. Even war correspondents could not drive in and out of the battle lines as they did every day. In and out of the rain and mud they moved with the headlines, from hedgerow to plain, from orchard to orchard, amid bomb craters, shell holes, and crumbled towns. To the boom of artillery and the whistle of shells, they took their freshly made doughnuts and steaming coffee right to the GIs on highways, in hospitals, rest areas, gun sites, and even to the edge of foxholes.”
 
The Red Cross Girls were self-starters who could draw on a range of varied life experiences to do this important work on an unprecedented scale. They were trailblazers in more than one sense. If they had a college degree and some professional experience (in any field), they might secure an interview. But only 1 in 6 applicants was ultimately successful – not only because so many women were clamoring to be considered for these coveted positions but also because the Red Cross had exacting – and subjective -- standards. Most of the women possessed, on some level, a combination of poise, charm, conversational skills, self-assurance, independence, ingenuity, resourcefulness, adaptability, stamina, and creativity. They were also women who could walk a thin line – the Red Cross recruiters knew they needed women who could hold their own in a male-dominated environment, women who could sing bawdy songs, laugh at dirty jokes and deflect sexual advances with good grace, all while projecting that All-American “girl next door” image.
 
One intangible element that likely played a large role in the hiring process was a perception of the woman’s stamina and motivations. Successful Red Cross Girls were motivated by a strong sense of duty and patriotism and understood they weren’t in this wholly for adventure or a fun time. Red Cross Girls were in it “for the duration” (while they could request a transfer back to the US after completing 2 years of overseas service, most of them remained overseas despite the drain on their physical and emotional well-being). Just as the servicemen, these women faced so many unknowns. In the words of my Courage to be Counted heroine Vivian: “Destination unknown. Duration unknown. Dangers unknown.” They didn’t have a crystal ball to know the war would end in August 1945. I’ve often wondered, in my years of researching and writing about the Red Cross Girls, how daunting it must have been to leave behind your family and friends, everything that was familiar, knowing it would be some uncertain number of years before you might return.
 
And when they did return, most of them were forever changed. Marked by years of emotionally draining and physically grueling service, marked by all they had seen and experienced, all they could never forget. I’ll expand on that theme in another blog because there’s much to say about this topic.
 
In sum, the Red Cross Girls were extraordinary women who stepped up in a time of enormous uncertainty and danger, serving with grace, courage, and resilience.

2. What's coming up in this series?

I plan to write at least 5 Clubmobile Girls novels. Red Cross Girls served all over the world, so I expect to set the five novels in Europe, the Pacific theater, India, the Mediterranean theater (North Africa into Italy), and China. I may also write novels or novellas set in Iran, Cuba, Iceland, Alaska and the Aleutian Islands, and Burma.

3. What is the most challenging part of writing this series?

Balancing the need to provide authenticity and a clear period feel without inundating the reader with too much historical backstory is a battle in every scene. I hope historical details and slang add color and context without overwhelming readers with too much information.

4. What was the best money you ever spent as a writer?

I adore my developmental editor, now a friend, Laura Mitchell. I am also quite pleased with my custom illustrated cover art created by Rafael Andres of Cover Kitchen. As an indie author, it's smart to invest as much as you are able in top-notch editing and quality cover art.

5.  What kind of research do you do, and how long do you spend researching before writing a book?

I typically start with a few big-picture sources, and I then make notes on angles that I might want to focus on further. For each of my first two Clubmobile Girls novels, I probably spent a few months reading broadly and generally about the relevant theater of operations (Europe or the Pacific). I then read every Red Cross Girl memoir written by women who served in that locale. I spent another month or more reading and conducting online research to narrow down the military role for my hero and the various locales in which I wanted to place both my hero and heroine. People who served in the Pacific theater moved frequently -- not just the military personnel but also the Red Cross Girls, combat nurses, and Women's Army Corps as well. Once I settled on where they would be stationed, I began to request more specific research materials through interlibrary loan. I gathered an immense amount of research material during trips to the National Archives in 2017 and 2019. My research is also ongoing to a large extent. I research some details at almost every writing session, as many small questions pop up in the course of mapping out a scene.

6. How many hours a day do you write?

This is an evolving answer! Generally, I devote 2-3 hours on weekdays to writing. Weekends may yield more writing or none at all, depending on family plans.

7. How did you choose the titles for your Clubmobile Girls novels?

The titles come from the speeches and writings of first lady Eleanor Roosevelt.

Courage to be Counted

"When you have decided what you believe, what you feel must be done, have the courage to stand alone and be counted." -- Eleanor Roosevelt

This quote is always included in compilations of "greatest quotations" from Eleanor Roosevelt. Tracking down where and when she said it, and most importantly, her motivations or the context of the remark has been challenging.

It possibly is connected to Eleanor's involvement in a controversy surrounding African-American opera singer Marian Anderson. Howard University had invited Anderson to sing as part of a concert series, but they lacked a venue space large enough to accommodate the expected audience. Howard University requested permission to host the event at the DAR's Constitution Hall, but DAR policy at the time only permitted white performers. First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt resigned her DAR membership. Howard University then approached the federal government to ask if the concert might be held outdoors on the National Mall. Secretary of the Interior Harold Ickes arranged for Anderson to sing on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial and introduced her. The concert attracted an audience of at least 75,000 people and marked an important step in the struggle for civil rights. She performed at Constitution Hall at the invitation of the DAR in January 1943 and several times in the decades thereafter.

Carry a Crusading Spirit

"Human beings forget so fast, if the generation that fights today is to lay the foundations on which a peaceful world can be built, all of us who have seen the war at close range must remember what we see and carry a crusading spirit into all of our work."
        Eleanor Roosevelt, "My Day" column, 30 August 1943

Eleanor Roosevelt wrote this column from Wellington, New Zealand, one of the first stops on her month-long tour of the South Pacific in 1943.

In this particular column, though she has only begun her tour, Eleanor pays tribute to the nurses and the Red Cross Girls. "There are never enough people to do the work, and yet it gets done. My hat is off to every woman working in this area."

8.  What is the first book that made you cry?

Where the Red Fern Grows by Wilson Rawls. If I ever needed to cry on command, I only need to recall Old Dan and Little Ann and that red fern. See, now I'm crying!

9. Have you ever gotten reader's block?

Yes! After I devoured Stephenie Meyer's debut novel, Twilight, I found myself unable to read anything else for a period of time. It lasted at least a month, and as a life-long bookworm, it was terrifying.

10. Do you expect each book in the series will be a stand-alone novel, or are you trying to build a body of work with connections between each book?

Generally speaking, each Clubmobile Girls novel can be read on its own.  Several historical figures may appear in multiple novels. Curtis LeMay commanded the 305th bomb group in Chelveston, England, as depicted in my debut novel, Courage to be Counted. His career took him from India to Guam, and he does make a brief appearance in Carry a Crusading Spirit. He very well may appear in the CBI books as well.

Vivian Lambert, my heroine in Courage to be Counted, roomed with several other Red Cross Girls while she trained in Washington, D.C. in late 1942. Those roommates, though there are only passing references to them in Vivian's story, will be the heroines in later books and will likely hear from or make reference to Vivian and the other heroines.

11. Have you read anything that made you feel differently about fiction?

The French Lieutenant's Woman profoundly influenced me as both a reader and a writer. Author John Fowles inserts himself directly into the narrative, both interrupting the action to speak directly to the reader at different points and physically appearing as a character in one scene. In these authorial intrusions, Fowles essentially engaged in reader response theory. Reader response theory holds that readers are not bound to the author's interpretation or even the text itself within a work of fiction. This literary theory posits that readers are active participants in creating the novel as they read it and on equal footing with the author in its creation and individual interpretation. Fowles left the reader with three possible endings and ultimately challenged readers to consider whether any or all of these three endings were valid and cogent resolutions for the characters. Fan fiction communities thrive through adherence to reader response theory.

12.  What authors do you like to read? What books have had a strong influence on you or your writing?

I've mentioned a few of them in this Q&A already, but I will always pre-order and read a new release from these authors (in no particular order): J.K. Rowling, Diana Gabaldon, Jennifer Robson, Sara Ackerman, Meg Waite Clayton, Stephenie Meyer, Caroline Leech, Kristan Higgins, Tracy Brogan, Gayle Forman, Mhairi McFarlane, Josie Silver, Rainbow Rowell, Sharon Kay Penman, John Green, Jacqueline Winspear, Kate Quinn, Ruta Sepetys, Elizabeth Wein, and Katherine Center. Some of my favorite authors are deceased, including Laura Ingalls Wilder, Noel Barber, Charles Dickens, Jane Austen, and Herman Wouk. I enjoy certain novels by Stephen King and Larry McMurtry. In addition to the influence of Noel Barber already mentioned, Herman Wouk's classic Winds of War and War and Remembrance were also favorites and early influences drawing me to fiction set during the WWII years.