Pat Jeanne Davis, When Valleys Bloom
Again
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More than writing or revising my story I enjoyed doing research
for When Valleys Bloom Again. I talked with those who lived during the
WWII era and also had the opportunity to ask questions of veterans in the U.S.
and U.K., now in their mid-90’s, who were willing to share their experiences
and their photographs. I enjoyed traveling to distant and unfamiliar places. I
visited living museums in England where people went about their tasks in
clothing that would’ve been worn during the 1940’s. The guides were always
helpful and eager to share what they had learned. I’m happy when I uncover an
extra special tidbit of information that will enhance my story.
More than writing or revising my story I enjoyed doing research
for When Valleys Bloom Again. I talked with those who lived during the
WWII era and also had the opportunity to ask questions of veterans in the U.S.
and U.K., now in their mid-90’s, who were willing to share their experiences
and their photographs. I enjoyed traveling to distant and unfamiliar places. I
visited living museums in England where people went about their tasks in
clothing that would’ve been worn during the 1940’s. The guides were always
helpful and eager to share what they had learned. I’m happy when I uncover an
extra special tidbit of information that will enhance my story. 
There are lots of ways I choose characters’ names. At times I pull
from a book I read, a film or documentary I watched, or maybe someone I’ve
known. In my debut novel for a character, I used my great-grandfather’s full
name, but added an “e” on the end of his surname. He immigrated to the United
States as had Uncle Will, the loveable secondary character in my novel. A
cousin of mine said she nearly fell out of her chair when she saw our
great-grandfather’s name in my novel, but was delighted to see him in the
story.
As an author I love the idea of having tea with my favorite
literary character. For me that would be Atticus Finch from To Kill a
Mockingbird. Atticus’ character is shown in the way he raises his children
to respect all people and his willingness to talk with them about the
injustices they see around them. Atticus shows courage when he agrees to defend
a black man of a crime he’s charged with. This lawyer stands tall against the
abuse and threats against him and his family from his racist community and
proves in court his client is innocent. In When Valleys Bloom Again, one
of the characters is a lawyer. Unlike Atticus Finch, Henri is racially
prejudice, shrewd and not an honorable man.
My
favorite Bible verse is Romans 8:28: And we know that
all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the
called according to His purpose. I receive such reassurance from this Bible
verse.
In When Valleys Bloom Again, my heroine, Abby, frequently
reminds herself of this promise in God’s Word after she is uprooted from London
due to impending war and forced to return to a country far from her family and
the life she’s become accustomed to living.
Scene at New York Harbor, Sept. 4, 1939
As the Queen Mary closed in, men in military garb holding
rifles scanned the vessel, their heads in constant motion. Not here too.
Policemen weaved through the waiting throng below, looking at papers and
detaining one here, one there. Abby seized the railing and closed her eyes. Lord,
help me to see this is all working to my good. Caught in a tidal flow of
passengers behind her, unburdened of shipboard courtesies and agitating for
solid ground, Abby felt herself shunted toward the gangplank. Clutching at the
coarse hand-rope, she rode the roiling wave down.
About Pat:
PAT
JEANNE DAVIS lives in Philadelphia, Pa with her
British-born husband, John. They have two grown sons. She enjoys flower
gardening, genealogy research and traveling with her husband. Pat has published
essays, short stories and articles online and in print. She has a keen interest
in twentieth-century American and British history, particularly the period of
World War II. Pat’s father-in-law served in the British Eighth Army during the
war. When Valleys Bloom Again is her debut historical romance set
in that era. She is a member of the American Christian Fiction Writers and the
Historical Novel Society. Subscribe to her newsletter here www.patjeannedavis.com
About When Valleys Bloom Again:
Jim can’t get Abby out of his mind. Did she
have a sweetheart in England? Was it foolish
to think she’d consider him? He curses his
poverty and the disgrace of his father’s desertion and drunkenness haunts him.
Can he learn to believe in love for a lifetime and to
hope for a happy marriage?
Abby couldn’t know the war would last a long time, nor that she
would fall in love with Jim—soon to be drafted by the U.S. Army—or that she’d have to confront Henri, a rejected
suitor, determined by his lies to ruin her reputation and destroy her faith in
God’s providence. Will she discover the true
meaning of home and find happiness with Jim?
Connect with Pat:
Website: http://www.patjeannedavis.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pat.j.davis.7
Amazon Author Page: https://amazon.com/author/patjeannedavis
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/patjeannedavis/
Your turn!
Visit
Pat’s website or Amazon page to be able to answer the following question to be
entered into today’s giveaway of When
Valleys Bloom Again: In what country was Abby Stapleton born?
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