Talkshow Thursday: Welcome Back Aubrey Taylor!

Talkshow Thursday: 

Welcome Back, Aubrey Taylor!

I'm thrilled to welcome Aubrey Taylor back to my blog. Her books are intriguing, thought-provoking, and unique. Get to know this interesting lady and the inspiration for her work.

What was your inspiration for the story?

I have been writing WWII fiction from the German perspective since 2021, but this story is different in that it is a contemporary piece in which a German veteran looks back on his wartime experience. The inspiration comes from my prior research, the many memoirs I’ve read, and conversations I’ve had with people who survived the war as teens. I also have to say that the modern middle schoolers in the story “may have” been inspired by some of the young people in my life!

How do you develop your characters? (e.g. decide on their vocation, names, etc.)?

Most of my main characters started out as supporting characters in another book. Some characters just stand out to me. It’s as if they beg me to write their stories. Once I get a particular character in my head, I start seeing them everywhere—in historical accounts, films, on the street—I begin to collect details such as backstory, vocation, hobbies, temperament, mannerisms, and yes, names. Sometimes I just know things on a gut level too. Recently, I have begun interviewing my characters, too. This helps me bring all the pieces together into a cohesive whole, develop the storyline, and decide what can be omitted.

What sort of research did you do for your story, and was there an exceptionally interesting tidbit you knew you had to include?

For Hans Waldemar, I focused my research on the youngest of Germany’s warriors, members of the Hitler Youth who volunteered for the 12th SS Division in the latter part of the war. There were already young soldiers scattered throughout Germany’s armed forces, but this was the only division entirely composed of Hitler Youth.

Have you ever considered writing under a pseudonym? Why or why not?

I am actually considering this now. While there are some marketing reasons for this (the move from

Christian Fiction to the General Market), my primary reason is that I would like to use a name that more clearly connects my German-perspective fiction to my German heritage. It may be as simple as adding one of my ancestral surnames to “Aubrey Taylor,” so that I can continue to use all my current platforms (website, Instagram, newsletter, etc.) without reinventing the wheel.

How are your characters like you? Different?

My characters all carry a piece of me with them, however, I have only recently created a female character who is very much like me—or at least the person I imagine when I think of who I would be without Christ. She looks nothing like me, but her struggles and sins are all too familiar to me. Readers will have to stay tuned. She will not appear until the latter part of 2025 or early 2026 when I release the third book in my new series.

What draws you to the time period about which you write?

I think I was always meant to write WWII fiction. I grew up with the knowledge of the war because my
Grandfather fought at Iwo Jima. I watched my first war movie at 7 years old. It’s also really no surprise that I ended up taking on the German angle, since I have always been the girl that roots for the redemption of the “bad guy,” and there is still so much that needs to be said about their side of the story.

I saw an article online, the subtitle of which was something like, The grandchildren of the Holocaust are ready to speak. I may not be a direct descendent of the perpetrators of the Holocaust, but I am willing to identify myself with them because Christ identified Himself with me. I believe there is still healing that needs to be done on both sides, and I’m grateful to be able to play a small part in that.

What is your advice to fledgling writers?

Getting too hung up on minute details is a pitfall for authors of any genre that involves a lot of research. I have had to ask myself, What kind of historical fiction am I writing? Is my focus on the facts, or the way the story fits into history? The event itself, or seeing the event through the characters’ eyes? Of course I want to be as historically accurate as possible, but if that is hindering my work and getting me stuck, I have to work around it. As authors of fiction, we don’t have to know everything, nor should we, because fiction is by definition creative—and sometimes, you have to creatively work around what you don’t (or can’t) know.

What books are on your nightstand right now?

The Other Trench, the WWI diary of a German Lieutenant named Alexander Pfeifer, assembled, translated, and edited by Pfeifer’s great-grandson, Philipp Cross. Cross included many of Lieutenant Pfeifer’s photos from the war, and wrote his own historical commentary. The book is an excellent example of what an independent author is capable of when they truly make something their life’s work.

I am also reading My Father Joachim von Ribbentrop, a biography of Adolf Hitler’s foreign minister by von Ribbentrop’s son Rudolf.

I find both of these books nearly impossible to put down. They sink me right into the time periods in which I write. Both books were written by descendants of the men whose lives are being portrayed, and I love the family connection. Rudolf von Ribbentrop might be a bit of an apologist when it comes to his father, but I also think that he had the inside scoop on the man because he actually lived with him, and was privy to things other people were not. He certainly did his research, too. It is well documented and annotated, a good read for anyone with an interest in the Second World War and Foreign Policy.

What is your next project?

I mentioned it a little already and I am very excited at how it is coming along. It is currently a three-book project that spans 1914 (the months before the First World War) until 1945. Book 3 is basically drafted. Book 1 is two-thirds complete, and I am brainstorming ideas for Book 2. I have never worked this way: Gott Mit Uns was kind of an accidental series. This series is intentional, and I am trying to approach it as such. You will recognize a few characters from the Gott Mit Uns Series, one of whom gets his starring, heroic role in the third book of this new project.

BOOK BLURB for Hans Waldemar Remembers Normandy

I told her that I would not stay home while my comrades risked their necks on the front lines.

He was just a youth when he received his baptism of fire in June 1944. Eighty years after the defeat at Normandy, he is asked to share his story, dredging up the horrors of war and challenging his loved ones to discover the truth about the past. Could this be an opportunity to mend the wounds that have never been healed?





Connect with Aubrey!
Website: www.aubreytaylorbooks.com
Blog: www.aubreytaylorbooks.com/blog
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Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/21846520.Aubrey_Taylor
Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/stores/Aubrey-Taylor/author/B0973KWXV8