Historical fiction, including historical romance -- and yes, it's included

 I've finally reached the last of the genres I write. (Will I write in other genres at some point? I can't see myself writing horror, but I wouldn't bet too much that it'll never happen....) Here are my works of historical fiction, including my probably-ongoing historical romance series. As with my other books, you can probably have your local bookstore order them, but I'm including some purchase links.

I'll start with my most recent novel in this category -- one based on a crucial moment in family's history, and yet focusing on a man my father and uncles met for only a few minutes. They never knew his name, let alone how to explain the blatant contradictions they observed in his appearance and behavior. So I set out to imagine some answers.

"A Life of Contradictions, and A Moment of Truth

It is autumn of 1938, in Hitler’s Germany, in the capital city of Berlin, perhaps a month before the devastating anti-Jewish violence of Kristallnacht. Three Jewish boys have received new bicycles — because their family has, with difficulty, arranged to leave Germany, and they will not be allowed to take much cash with them. Two of the boys are experienced bicyclists, but the youngest is less so. On a downtown street, the latter’s lack of skill causes an accident. And the traffic policeman on the scene wears, just visible under his uniform, the brown shirt of a member of Hitler's storm troopers.

"What did the policeman do? The answer is known, because the preceding paragraph describes an actual event. But why did the policeman make the choice he did? What life did he live that led him to make it? And what happened to him, while the boys and their family escaped, lived, and thrived? This novel imagines possible answers to these questions. In doing so, it takes the reader into the heart of the experience of wartime, and the repercussions of such conflict for years thereafter."

You can order this book from Amazon, bookshop.org, Barnes & Noble, and Books-A-Million.

On to my Cowbird Creek series, with a short detour: on what basis do I include "historical romance" in the historical fiction genre? Besides the most obvious reasons -- "historical" in the genre label and a setting in the past (not, by the way, an alternate past, which would make it "alternate history"), there's the nature of the writing process. I don't believe there's a way to write good historical romance without plenty of research into the place and time in which the story is set. (One can, to some extent, piggyback on the work previous writers have done, but there are risks in relying on someone else's research too much.) The Decision and my Cowbird Creek books have back matter describing the extensive research I've done for that book. I used to list all my sources, including every website I consulted, but the lists got so long they were increasing the printing costs for the books, so I now ask readers who are sufficiently interested in the sources to get in touch with me.

If you read much historical romance, you probably know that a series in this subgenre typically revolves around either a particular family or a particular place. In the case of Cowbird Creek, that's the fictional small town in southeastern Nebraska that gives the series its name. It's also common for the names of the books in a series to be related in some way, and mine all use the format "What [verb] the Heart" -- starting with What Heals the Heart.

"Can they help each other heal?

"Joshua Gibbs survived the Civil War, building on his wartime experiences to become a small town doctor. And if he wakes from nightmares more often than he would like, only his dog Major is there to know it.

"Then two newcomers arrive in Cowbird Creek: Clara Brook, a plain-speaking and yet enigmatic farmer’s daughter, and Freida Blum, an elderly Jewish widow from New York. Freida knows just what Joshua needs: a bride. But it shouldn’t be Clara Brook!

"Joshua tries everything he can think of to discourage Freida’s efforts, including a wager: if he can find Freida a husband, she’ll stop trying to find him a wife. Will either matchmaker succeed? Or is it Clara, despite her own scars, who can heal the doctor’s troubled heart?"

Joshua and Clara appear in the succeeding books to a greater or lesser extent, and a couple of secondary characters in this book take center stage in those later books. While the books all have a setting in common, and are all romances (including the essential element of the probable Happy Ever After), they also feature different psychological and societal issues. Joshua Gibbs, as the above description shows, suffers from PTSD. The key male character in What Frees the Heart has a physical disability, while the key female character is in a shunned profession. The female lead in What Shows the Heart is in a related profession, and the male lead carries a serious amount of guilt over past actions. (The story also falls within the subgenre of "second chances.") What Wakes the Heart features both sexual harassment and religious differences.

I was hoping to use just one set of purchase links for the whole series, but it turns out the pattern of which retailers carry which of the books is somewhat erratic. So here are the book names and the links for each.

What Heals the Heart: Amazon, bookshop.org, Barnes & Noble, Walmart Business, Mighty Ape (New Zealand) 

What Frees the Heart: Amazon, bookshop.org, Barnes & Noble, Walmart Business, Waterstones (UK), Mighty Ape (New Zealand)

What Shows the Heart: Amazon, bookshop.org, Barnes & Noble, Walmart Business, Waterstones (UK) 

What Wakes the Heart: Amazon, bookshop.org, Barnes & Noble, Target, Walmart Business, Waterstones (UK), Mighty Ape (New Zealand)

Well, that's the lot! If you're shopping for books this holiday season, I hope you'll look at some of the books I've highlighted in these posts. Merry holidays!

Two very different fantasy novels

As the holidays rush toward us, I'm reminding folks of the books I've written, hoping one of them might turn out to be the perfect gift. After summing up my science fiction (first my SF with aliens, then my near-future SF) and my picture books, I'm now ready to talk about fantasy. As with all my books, you can probably order copies of these novels at your local bookstore -- but I'm including purchase links as well.

 

 

I've written two fantasy novels, though if there's a subgenre called "afterlife fantasy," the first of them, Wander Home, falls within it. Here's the teaser.

"Death is what you make it. . . .

"Eleanor never wanted to leave the daughter she loved so much. The overpowering urge to wander -- to search, without knowing what she sought -- drove her away. She left little Cassidy in her family's loving care. But Cassidy and the others died in an accident before Eleanor could find her way home. Now, they are all reunited, in an afterlife where nothing is truly lost: places once loved may be revisited, memories relived and even shared. Surely this is a place where they can understand and heal. And yet, the restlessness that shaped Eleanor's life still haunts her in death. Somehow, she must solve the mystery of her life -- or none of them will be at peace."

This book taught me that if you start writing a story with a mystery in it without knowing the resolution to that mystery, the answer won't necessarily appear when you're ready for it. I ended up having to go in a direction I hadn't anticipated. Does it work? So far, I haven't had a review saying otherwise....

You can pick up Wander Home on Amazon, bookshop.org, Books-A-Million, and Thriftbooks.

My other fantasy novel, like my near-future SF novels, has lawyers in it. In fact, the main characters are the father-daughter legal team of Abe and Adira. So where's the fantasy element? Read on.

"Negotiating with the Fair Folk is a tightrope walk over deadly perils. And even the most skilled can misstep.

"The many wondrous realms the Fair Folk inhabit offer tempting opportunities for mortals hoping to benefit from faerie magic. But making bargains with the Fair Folk is a dangerous business, for the fae have a habit of leaving loopholes to snare the unwary. Father-and-daughter lawyers Abe and Adira have made a career out of helping their fellow humans reach such agreements safely.

"Abe and Adira know the rules for dealing with Fair Folk: don't reveal your true name, don't say thank you, don't accept gifts, don't eat fae food, don't tell even the slightest of lies . . . . Oh, and always, no matter the provocation, be unfailingly polite.

"A moment of carelessness, a brief lapse, and a professional defender of mortal interests may be in dire need of rescue."

Far From Mortal Realms would be a good choice for someone who loves picturing exotic and/or beautiful fantasy settings, or for someone who enjoys trying to design a wish that a hypothetical genie couldn't turn against them . . . or for someone to whom parent-child relationships are important. You can get it on Amazon, Walmart, or Thriftbooks.

Next and last list: historical fiction, including historical romance. In the meantime, happy reading!

Hubris in action, aka a guide to American law and lawyers

 

This book -- a great big brick of a paperback, though only $25.99 in general, and currently $20.89(!) on Amazon -- grew out of a series of blog posts. Their topic was how to write courtroom drama and other legal fiction without making the sort of howlers that make knowledgeable readers throw your book against a wall. Somehow, it expanded into an attempt to summarize essentially all of American law and legal practice. The original subtitle (A Writer's Guide to Law and Lawyers) reflected the book's origin, though I realizesd before it actually came out that it could be useful well beyond that context -- as this description shows.

"The legal landscape can be a minefield. Here's a map.

"Most people don't know all that much about the framework of the American legal system,nor about details that haven't touched their lives or become major news stories. That lack of knowledge can be dangerous, in ways one has to know more about the system to appreciate. This book offers invaluable assistance in understanding, and safely navigating, the often treacherous legal landscape.

"Moreover, the legal world -- with its suspense, moral quandaries, and ripped-from-the-headlines subject matter -- provides wonderful material for fiction. Included throughout the book are ideas for stories or story elements based on the content and available for the readers' use, going well beyond the most common homicide courtroom context. This guide will help writers explore these story possibilities, and will assist writers and others who wish to avoid the many pitfalls awaiting the unwary."

This book could be a useful reference for law and prelaw students, newcomers to this country, and anyone else who wants to know more about the legal system surrounding them. In addition, I really want authors writing in the legal genre to take a look at this book and realize how many very interesting stories can feature legal doctrines unrelated to homicide. To cite an example that isn't from one of my novels, Kristine Kathryn Rusch's compelling Retrieval Artist SF series arises from the extremely dry-sounding "choice of law" doctrine, which concerns which country's/state's/planet's law will apply to a particular dispute.

You can get the book on Amazon (where I hope the discount is still there when this post goes up); on bookshop org (where it's also discounted, though not as much); on Thriftbooks (currently even cheaper than on Amazon!); on AbeBooks (in the UK); and on Ebay (also somewhat discounted).

Next time, it's back to my novels! -- specifically, my two quite different fantasies.

Picture books!

 

 These are just two of the five picture books I've written so far.

What do the others look like, you may ask? Well --

  

 

You can make some reasonable guesses at the content from the titles and covers, but here are the details and some purchase links. Note: you can also ask your local bookstore to order them from Ingram Group -- if they don't already carry it!

You Can't Kiss A Bubble, illustrated by Siski Kalla: "What can you do with a bubble?

"Many children – and adults – find bubbles fascinating, even enchanting. And yet they’re so different from most things we enjoy, lasting only a few moments. This little book, with its lovely and whimsical illustrations, looks at both the charm and the transitory nature of bubbles, and reminds us that we can take joy even in the impermanent."

For what it's worth, this is my most popular picture book. You can pick up the paperback and/or the hardcover on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, bookshop.org,  AbeBooks, and Walmart Business.

Continuing in order of publication, next comes When It's Winter, illustrated by Barbara Dessi: "What makes winter special? This picture book celebrates the many fun activities and sensory experiences of the season. Follow a girl and her dog through the play and discoveries of a snowy day, and on toward bedtime.

"The first person narrative will encourage new readers to claim it as their own. The repetition of the phrase 'When it's winter . . .' will encourage children to chime in, and be of assistance to early readers.

Online purchase opportunities include Amazon, Barnes & Noble, bookshop.org, Waterstones (in the UK), and Fishpond (in New Zealand). 

 

Then there's Wind, Ocean, Grass, illustrated by Tomasz Mikutel: "This unique picture book has neither human nor animal characters, but instead features the wind speaking to the grass, explaining how long grasses are both like and unlike the waves of the ocean. Through lyrical prose and breathtaking impressionist-style paintings, the reader follows the wind’s journey over sea and land: the many moods of the ocean, the different seasons of the grassy field. We see glimpses of the birds that live off the bounty of the ocean, and the birds and flowers that live among the grasses.

"Through this nature metaphor, the story, without becoming didactic, teaches children about seeing commonality and celebrating differences.

Pick this up on Amazon, bookshop.org, Books-A-Million, Walmart, Riverwalk Books, and Watermark Books, among other sites.

Next comes a sentimental favorite of mine, due to a lovely evening on which I read it to my (late) brother and some friends of his: Where Fireflies Sleep, illustrated by Barbara Dessi.

"What is sweeter than the special times a parent and child spend together?

"In this picture book, Molly and her father sit on the porch as a summer day moves into evening. They're waiting for fireflies. The reader shares Molly's excitement and delight as first one and then more of the glowing insects appear. Molly has questions about fireflies, and her father does his best to answer. And then it's time to get ready for bed. After Molly is finally tucked into bed, Dad goes out on the porch for one final word with the fireflies."

Where Fireflies Sleep is available from Amazon, bookshop.org, Books-A-Million, and Walmart.

Finally, there's my first nonfiction picture book: A Boy Who Made Music: The Extraordinary Life of Joaquin Rodrigo, illustrated by Tomasz Mikutel. I'm particularly proud that Rodrigo's daughter Cecilia Rodrigo, who runs the Victoria and Joaquin Rodrigo Foundation, loved the book.

"Joaquin Rodrigo was a brilliant Spanish composer, writing music for piano, violin, chorus, and guitar. He was also, from the age of three, almost completely blind.

"This picture book follows Joaquin from carefree early childhood through his life-altering illness, his discovery of classical music, and his successful career and family life. Joaquin's story can inspire children to dream beyond the apparent limitations suggested by circumstance.

"The book's back matter includes multiple activities and enrichment materials."

This book presented Tomasz and me with a dilemma: how do you illustrate the absence of sight? I think you'll like the solution we found.

You can get this book from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, bookshop.org, Books-A-Million, The Book Loft of German Village, and who knows where else?...

That's it for the picture books! I have many (well, seven) more novels to get to, but next time I'll put on my lawyer hat and talk about my one work of legal nonfiction. Until then!

Holiday reminders, stage two: near-future science fiction

Here's the second in my series about the various kind and genres of books I've written, in case you're shopping for pretty much anybody who reads anything. (The first post is here.) This post is about my near-future science fiction. These novels tend to have courtroom scenes, thus bringing together my (mostly former) profession with my interest in what technology is peeking over the horizon.

I'll start with the most recent of these books, which features the tech we're probably closest to achieving: artificial wombs. Here's the teaser for Donation.

"Whose children are they? Who decides?

"In the near future, abortion is a thing of the past -- but the development of artificial wombs provides an alternative. The federal government controls this technology, and the fetuses consigned to these special incubators.

"Young and unprepared for motherhood, Toni Green panics and agrees to "donate" her unborn child for adoption, the fortunate parents to be selected by the Bureau of Reproductive Safety. But the decision doesn't sit well with her, and as her regrets grow, she consults her mother, a high-powered lawyer, about her options. And thus begins a journey for her, her mother, the chosen adoptive parents -- and Poloma Clark, an administrator at the Bureau whose policies and practices Toni is challenging.

"Poloma, initially tasked with helping the Bureau prepare for trial, finds herself confronted with evidence that the Bureau is exceeding its mandate. If the purpose of this mission creep is to protect vulnerable children, how can she help but join in? But the more she learns, the more her assumptions face challenges that force her to make possibly life-altering decisions."

You can find the paperback on Amazon, and your local bookstore (chain or independent) should be able to order it from Ingram Group. (It's also available from an interesting assortment of other vendors, including Books-A-Million, eBay, AbeBooks, Walmart Business, Mighty Ape in New Zealand, and Booktopia in Australia.)

Continuing in reverse chronological order, here's Who. SF author Richard Weyand says this book scared the [vulgar term omitted] out of him.

"Have they changed their minds? Or have their minds been changed?

"Death is no longer the end. Those who prepare, and can afford it, may have their memories and personalities digitally preserved. The digitally stored population can interact with the world of the living, remaining part of their loved ones’ lives. They can even vote. Except - someone's in charge of the code. Someone who may have an agenda.

"After the young and vital Thea dies and is stored, her husband Max starts to wonder about changes in her preoccupations and politics. Are they simply the result of the new company she keeps? Or has she been altered without her knowledge and against her will? And if Thea is no longer herself, what can they do?

"Blending near-future speculation with courtroom drama, this novel explores the technical, legal, and ethical ramifications of a technology that many see over the horizon."

You can pick up this paperback on Amazon or ask your bookstore to order it.

Next comes the closest I've come to writing a thriller: Playback Effect. It was while writing this book that I informed those following me on Twitter (not yet X) that I had just enjoyed having breakfast with a sociopath.

"In the near future, new technology records the highlights of emotional experience for others to share. Buy a helmet and you can feel the exhilaration of an Olympic ski jumper, or the heat of a lucid dreamer's erotic imaginings. Commit a crime, and you may be sentenced to endure the suffering you inflicted on others. But such recordings may carry more information than the public has realized. What will criminals learn about their victims? When a husband is wrongfully convicted of injuring his wife, how will their marriage change? And what uses will a sociopath find for recordings of the experience of death?"

It's on Amazon here, and also available from Books-A-Million, Walmart, and Thriftbooks, not to mention Australia's Booktopia.

Finally, there's Division, my near-future novel dealing with identical twins. (I'm fascinated with identical twins. I've sometimes wondered whether I started out as one of a twin. My Twin-Bred series arose, in part, out of my reading a story about womb twin survivors, people whose identical twin died in utero.) My legal practice concerned appeals, so I didn't get to write any closing arguments to deliver in court, and I greatly enjoyed writing two of them, one for each twin. How do identical twins -- conjoined identical twins, in fact -- end up opposing each other in court? Read on:

"New technology, new choices . . . but who gets to choose?

"Conjoined twins Gordon and Johnny have never let their condition keep them from living full and fulfilling lives. Gordon looks forward to many years of closeness and cooperation. Johnny, however, faces their future with increasing restlessness, even dread.

"When the boys are in their teens, the new technologies of accelerated human cloning and brain transplants are combined into a single medical procedure. Someone whose body has suffered such extensive damage as to make normal life impossible may -- with court approval -- be cloned and then given a brain transplant into the clone body. With Gordon's unwitting assistance, Johnny realizes that this procedure provides the chance he had never dared to hope for -- the chance to live in a "normal," separate body.

"But Gordon considers their conjoined life a blessing, rather than a curse. He has no intention of accepting separation -- not without a fight . . . ."

Besides Amazon and your local bookstore, you can order the paperback from Books-A-Million and from Blackwell's (in the UK, but with shipping to the US included). 

That's it for my near-future SF novels . . . so far. Next time, I'll take a break from the novels and do picture books!

A series of holiday reminders, starting with my SF books with aliens in them

It seems like a good time of year to remind people of the books I write. . . .

I'm starting with four of my science fiction novels, the trilogy and one other. The trilogy starts with Twin-Bred, aka The Novel That Started It All ("all" being my career as an author, more than forty years after I gave up writing novels at the age of fourteen). Here's the teaser and a link.

"Can interspecies diplomacy begin in the womb?

"Humans have lived on Tofarn, planet of creeks and rivers, for seventy years, but they still don't understand the Tofa. The Tofa are an enigma, from their featureless faces to the four arms that sometimes seem to be five. They take arbitrary umbrage at the simplest human activities, while annoying their human neighbors in seemingly pointless ways. The next infuriating, inexplicable incident may explode into war.

"Scientist Mara Cadell's radical proposal: that host mothers carry fraternal twins, human and Tofa, in the hope that the bond between twins can bridge the gap between species. Mara knows about the bond between twins: her own twin, Levi, died in utero, but she has secretly kept him alive in her mind as companion and collaborator.

"Perhaps Mara should have expected the enigmatic Tofa to have their own reasons to support her project. Perhaps the ever-cynical Levi should have warned her that members of the human government might use her twins as weapons against the Tofa. Will the Twin-Bred bring peace, war, or something else entirely?"

Because I didn't yet know much about ISBNs and how to publish on multiple retail sites, the paperback is available only from Amazon (sigh). However, once Twin-Bred has you sufficiently intrigued, you can find Book Two, Reach: a Twin-Bred novel, on both Amazon and Barnes & Noble. The same is true for Book Three, Leaders: a Twin-Bred novel (see here and here).

Finally, we come to Water to Water. I think of it as science fiction, but it could be read as fantasy, because the aliens on this world have never heard of Earth or humans -- or, indeed, of any other planets or the inhabitants thereof. The story could also be seen as YA (Young Adult) in addition to general adult fiction. Here's the teaser.

"Two young Vushla questioned what everyone knew about death. What should they do with the answer?

"When the time comes for Vushla to die, they go into the ocean and are dissolved away. Or so Terrill has always believed, and still believes after taking part in his father's final journey. But when he meets a young Vushlu who lives by the sea, Terrill must confront information that calls this fundamental belief into question. Will the two of them discover the truth? And what should they do with what they find?"

This book also has a particularly beautiful cover. I suggest readers check one of the following links, if only to appreciate it!

Amazon

Barnes & Noble

Hoopla

Next time, I'll highlight my near-future science fiction. Stay tuned!

How one can miss typos in a favorite story

 I reread books. Until I started getting daily emails listing multiple ebook bargains, I reread books far more often than I read new ones -- and even now, I reread favorite books between new ones, and at the end of the day when it's time to quiet my mind. I have no good estimate of how many times I've read the books I especially like. And yet sometimes, as just happened, I find that on my seventh or tenth or dozenth reread, I suddenly notice typos. Even, sometimes, many of them. (And less anyone jump to an erroneous conclusion, these are almost always traditionally published books, largely because I've been collecting and hoarding books since long before indie books became readily available.)

As I finished the latest reread in which this happened, I wondered how I had managed to miss all those typos so many times. And I have a pretty good guess as to why.

This latest book is part of a long-running series, and is the culmination of key character and plot threads. Anyone who's followed the series is likely to find it especially gripping and absorbing -- and in the end, satisfying. Such a reader is, accordingly, too thoroughly immersed in the story to notice that inessential words aren't what the reader expects, or that something is off about the punctuation, or that two words are run together. These are no more significant than a master oral storyteller's occasional throat-clearing or rare momentary stutter. In a way, the reader's ability to ignore typos is a measure of the book's success as story.

On a related note: I've known for years that authors need other eyes on their work, because the author knows what should be there and is therefore likely to miss what's actually on the page (or the screen). There are tricks an author can use to minimize the chance of missing errors, such as reading the book aloud, reading it backwards, and reformatting it with different font types/sizes/colors -- but the more readers also look at it before final publication, the better. The minor epiphany I describe above suggests that ideally, where feasible, some of those readers should not be special fans of the author's books, and in particular not readers committed to any series the book may be part of. And where an author can't arrange, or can't afford, to recruit such non-invested readers, that author had better double up on editing tricks like those I've suggested above.

Updates and Notifications: A Cautionary Tale

Should you stop by my author website today, you can see in the lower righthand corner the bracketed phrase, "NEWSLETTER SIGNUP LINK COMING SOON." How so, when I've had that website for years -- and, until this morning, there was an actual signup link in that spot, using a form generated by Mailerlite? Well . . . learn from my mistakes, folks.

I signed up for a free level of Mailerlite quite some time ago, with the vague intention of using it for my monthly newsletter. I made one attempt at that leap and then put the effort aside. And so the matter stood until I decided I'd finally make a "reader magnet" -- some sort of freebie, such as a book or story -- available as a reward for newsletter signups. I used BookFunnel to set that up and then went to Mailerlite to update the signup form. I looked around the Dashboard and was puzzled to see no reference to that form. I went to my website, clicked on the link, and tried signing up, using an alternate email address where I generally receive nothing but political spam and legal newsletters I no longer read. Submitting the signup request led to a blank page rather than the former "welcome" message, and no "congratulations, you've signed up" email appeared.

Somewhere in the process of trying to solve this conundrum, I signed up for Mailerlite's lowest paid tier, which made it easier to seek assistance. And that assistance led to the realization that since February 1, 2024, I'd had no functioning signup form. It had disappeared when Mailerlite discontinued its "Classic" service. I had almost certainly received some notice of the change, and now that I'm reminded, I'm pretty sure I saw some such notification and . . . ignored it.

Advice: don't do that.

I'm now in the process of creating a new signup form, but I've hit some snags and am awaiting more Support help. In the meantime: if you'd like to receive my monthly newsletter, with updates on drafts in progress and upcoming releases, peeks at my writing process, book recommendations, and writing prompts, please comment below or email me at kawyle@att.net! And if you tried in or after February, 2024 to sign up . . . my abject, cringing apologies.

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Update: I've made a new form and fixed the link! And as a way of trying to make up for the snafu, I'll be sending the subscribers I already have the same new book the new subscribers will be getting.

Release Day! THE DECISION is officially out, and here's the introduction explaining why

 It's Release Day for The Decision! (That's the Amazon Kindle link, and the paperback is just one tab over -- but if you prefer to buy your paperbacks elsewere, here's the bookshop.org link.)

This book has a special origin. Of all the amazing family stories I could feature in a novel, this is the only one where the main character is not a family member, and not even known to our family -- except for the crucial few minutes described in the scene below. That lets me dive into what might have been his background, thoughts, and motivations without the creepiness of putting words in the mouth (or thoughts in the head) of someone I know and love.

So here's the book's Introduction, after which the narrative goes all the way back to 1915.

(As before, I'm not trying to fix the formatting Blogger imposes. Paragraphs in the actual book are indented and are not separated by a line of space.)

---------

Aside from a few unknown details, the incident presented at the beginning of this narrative is true. I know because the three boys with bicycles were my father and two of his brothers.

This incident cries out for explanation, but all I have — all my family has — is conjecture. So conjecture is what follows.

The bicycle accident

It was October of 1938, a cloudy day, not too warm and not too cold. A few weeks later, on November 9th and 10th, would come Kristallnacht, “the night of broken glass,” when mobs — including but not limited to SS troops — rampaged through Berlin and other cities killing Jews and destroying Jewish places of worship, schools, hospitals, shops, homes, and even businesses formerly owned by Jews. Kristallnacht would mark a turning point after which anti-Jewish laws, already proliferating, multiplied greatly and violence against Jews became widespread. Already, it was increasingly difficult for Jews to leave Germany, and it would only become more so.

The street was not one of Berlin’s broadest boulevards, but it had two lanes each way, with a central divider broad enough for die Elektrische — the electric trolley cars — to run down it. Big double-decker buses could often be seen going east and west. Those walking down the street or standing on the corner could occasionally hear the trolley conductor’s bell warning pedestrians to stand clear, or the screeching noise the car made as it rounded a curve. They might see, also, the little sparks that sometimes flew from where the rods touched the power line.

On this October day, three boys sped along the avenue on what looked like brand new bicycles, the kind a Jewish family might buy with the money they would not be allowed to take out of the country. The two older boys deftly avoided all obstacles, while the youngest appeared less experienced and skilled. The older boys took turns glancing back at the youngest, but they had little attention to spare from the vehicles and the small number of pedestrians — and the youngest boy had less.

And then a wobble or a swerve brought the youngest boy’s path across the path of an older man, his hair a mixture of gray and white, riding his own bicycle. The wheels entangled and brought both bicycles crashing to the ground. The clash and grinding of metal, the thud of falling bicycles and bodies, soon blended with mutters and gasps from the few onlookers as they saw that the old man’s bicycle had fallen close to the path of a bus approaching from behind.

The bus driver slammed on his brakes and jerked the steering wheel to the left, away from where the old man lay entangled with his bicycle. But meanwhile, a trolley bore down on bus, bicycle, and man. For a moment, the watchers fell silent as if each of them was holding his or her breath. All that could be heard was the warning clang of the trolley, and then the squeal of its brakes as it shuddered to a stop mere inches from the old man’s arm.

The few spectators became a crowd as passengers from both bus and trolley disembarked to see what had happened. Those who had seen the actual accident and the near disaster made haste to inform the newcomers in a babble of curious or excited conversations. The crowd now had leisure to look at the two older boys, who had dropped their bicycles, and the youngest boy climbing to his feet; the youngest was white and shaking. The smaller of the older boys stood straight and wide-eyed; the tallest and biggest boy looked quickly from side to side as if assessing the scene. Next to the biggest boy stood a tall man in a white raincoat, still in service among the Traffic Police after its introduction during the 1936 Olympics. The policeman wore his uniform beneath the raincoat; he had loosened the tie that came with it. Visible beneath the partly open collar of the uniform was the brown shirt of a Nazi Party stormtrooper.

The older boys glanced at the man and then went rigid and looked away. The biggest boy and the youngest boy could have passed for Aryans, but no one in the crowd could have missed the fact that the thin, wiry boy with the tightly curled black hair was Jewish.

The biggest boy assumed an air of conspicuous innocence as the policeman asked in a relatively quiet voice, “Did you boys have anything to do with this?”

The biggest boy opened his mouth, but the wiry boy was already saying, “Jawohl, Offizier." (Yes, Officer.)

The policeman looked at all three boys in turn, studying, scrutinizing, before he said, “Are you boys Jewish?”

The biggest boy twitched, as if longing to silence the one who had already spoken but knowing it would only make things worse. The wiry black-haired boy answered, “Jawohl, Offizier.”

Muttering arose from the crowd. The policeman bent closer, then stood up again. Softly, but in German’s command mode, he ordered, “DISAPPEAR.”

The boys’ bodies jolted with the shock. Then they seized their bicycles, righted them, and rode away, the two older boys neck and neck and the youngest straggling a little behind.

They survived.

 

The boys never knew the policeman’s name. But let’s call him Hans.

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I may well owe "Hans" my very existence. But all I can give him is this book.

another lovely review of The Decision

 I'm celebrating tomorrow's release of The Decision with another review, this one by Jill Franclemont, who posts reviews on her blog All Things Jill-Elizabeth. I appreciate how well Jill understood what I was trying to do in this story!

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This was an absolutely fantastic read. Wyle is a long-time favorite of mine, and her ability to immerse her readers in wildly disparate worlds and characters' lives is one of her absolute strengths. This time she's taken on the rise of Hitler and Nazism, and done it with a more historical eye than you typically see in a novel that is, at its heart, ultimately about deciding what type of person one wants to be.

By exploring the impact on one man's life of the pre-World War I German heydays, the difficulties of the war years, the retribution of the post-war era, and the rising tide of German nationalism in their wake, she has taken a LOT of political and social history and worked it into a very moving story of family, survival, and the power of choice - even when no "choices" seem possible (or optimal). With her trademark eye for detail, particularly around the everyday elements of her characters' worlds - (which are the precise type of details that bring a world to life), she has brought to the fore the conundrum of how to be an honorable person even when the world around one seems intent on forcing choices in other directions...

And all that is independent of the REALLY cool aspect of the story, which is the linchpin of the eponymous decision. Three boys. One soldier. One split second to decide. And the presentation of this moment in time at the opening and closing of the story made for such a powerful set up, particularly given the familial associations (explained thoroughly). I really enjoyed the way the story wrapped up, tying those pieces together and offering up possible consequences without making anything tidy or neat. It was open-ended without being unsatisfying, allowing the reader to draw their own conclusions - or, as I did, imagine multiple outcomes, all of which were equally plausible and offered different opportunities for thoughtful consideration.

This was a moving and interesting story and I can't recommend it highly enough!

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I couldn't ask for a nicer review! (I will, however, ask that those of you who obtain and read the novel leave some sort of review, on Amazon or elsewhere -- even if it's just a sentence or two. Thanks!)

Advance look at a review of The Decision

Midwest Book Review is a well-respected publication often consulted by libraries, so I love getting a good review from them! Diane Donovan's review of The Decision won't come out until September, but she is graciously allowing me to quote from it as I see fit. So here are a few excerpts from it.

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The Decision: A Novel of Germany belongs in any fiction collection where readers are interested in the experiences of Jews living in Nazi Germany. The story starts and concludes with a bicycle incident that, in fact, really happened. The events that lead to that culmination have been fictionalized to embrace drama and conjecture—but, under Karen A. Wyle’s hand, what a journey it is!

. . . The juxtaposition of daily living and the rise of social and political changes that will ultimately affect [three] boys’ lives are nicely done, involving readers in realistic scenarios that are thoroughly engrossing as well as thought-provoking.

Despite the plethora of books on the market about Nazi Germany and Jewish treatment, few cement the lines of how prejudice, racism, and conflict evolve as does The Decision: A Novel of Germany.

 

. . . Wyle presents this story from the point of view of a Christian boy growing to manhood in Berlin during and after World War I. This focus on providing insights about these events from a young person’s viewpoint allows her to narrow the focus from the broader adult-oriented spectrum of attention usually afforded to novels of Nazi Germany to the impressions and growth of young people, both German and Jewish, raised under the cloak of rising struggles and national pride.

 

This is why The Decision both stands out from the crowd as an important examination of how attitudes are changed and friendships buffeted by clashing ideologies, and lends to classroom or reading group discussion about all kinds of subplots intrinsic to a complete understanding of the Jewish and German experience.

 

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Thank you, Ms. Donovan and Midwest Book Review!

A Look Behind the Scenes: Researching Historical Fiction

 As some of you know, I've written four historical romance novels -- and I'll assert all day long that historical romance belongs squarely in the category of historical fiction (and, of course, the category of romance). In my Cowbird Creek books, I list research sources in the Acknowledgments section. In the first book, What Heals the Heart, that section took two pages. By the second book, What Frees the Heart, it was three times as long. In Book 3, What Shows the Heart, it stretched to a ridiculous twelve pages. By Book 4, What Wakes the Heart, I essentially gave up, including only the people with whom I'd directly communicated in an Acknowledgments section as short as the one in the first book, while putting a two-page list of research subjects in the Author's Note. 

All of which is to say that I took historical research seriously when writing historical romance. But for The Decision, my first non-romance historical fiction as well as the first novel connected to my family history, I took one step further. I've often corresponded with reference librarians and museum staff, but this time, I also hunted down and consulted professors of 20th century German history. Seven of them, in fact. These historians recommended books for me to read, answered what must have looked like peculiarly random questions (based on scenes in my rough draft), and in several cases, actually read my semifinal draft to flag errors. They were notably generous with their time and expertise, and I owe them a great debt of gratitude. (They are of course listed in the Acknowledgments.)

I've never visited Nebraska (in which the fictional small town of Cowbird Creek would have been located) or Berlin. But neither the late 19th century nor pre-World War II Berlin are accessible by any available transit -- except that of imagination, buttressed by the guidelines research can provide.