To My Readers: The Inspiration Behind Writing That Such Men Lived—A World War II Novel

Daniel's story isn't finished yet. With the events of Shadows of Antioch not exactly ending in Daniel's favor, another book is in the works. And I promise: The Crusader's Chronicles was always going to be four books long. But, along with finishing Daniel's story, I have plenty of other projects in the works (including adding to The Kings of Israel, for all you David fans out there).

So, as an author known for my Medieval and Biblical Historical Fiction, why the switch to World War II? Why pause on the fourth book of The Crusaders Chronicles to write That Such Men Lived (pre-orders available)?

The source of the blame is threefold: 1) My Master's of Fine Arts degree; 2) My grandfathers; and 3) Bruce Henderson.

My Master's of Fine Arts Degree

Many of you know by now that I earned my MFA in Creative Writing last summer. It was a long project, and the main reason for the delay in the fourth book in The Crusader's Chronicles series. It took almost two full years to finish my degree, and the final assignment was to write a new book of at least 50,000 words that was—according to the instructors—publishable.

I decided to step outside of my comfort zone and write something I hadn't written before. I knew that meant setting Daniel and his story aside for a short time while I discovered what this new 'something' was.

My Grandfathers

It was around this same time that I learned a few stories from my parents about my grandfathers. I'll leave their names out for privacy's sake, but my reaction to hearing these stories—namely, appreciation for their sacrifice and wonder at their achievements—pushed my me to write the next book set in World War II.

One of my grandfathers was a submariner. He was described to me as "a Navy SEAL before there were Navy SEALs." I don't know how much of that is embellishment on my dad's part and how much is true (I suspect a healthy dose of the former), but that didn't stop me from reading about the "Frogmen" of World War II. For more information, you can read The Frogmen of World War II: An Oral History of the U.S. Navy's Underwater Demolition Teams.

My other grandfather was wounded during the fighting in Italy. I was able to read a short article preserved in a local newspaper, though—like many veterans of World War II—he didn't speak a lot about his time in the war, so many of his stories are unfortunately lost to time.

In either case, hearing my parents talk about their parents—and seeing the looks on their faces as they recalled these men—was the inspiration behind choosing World War II as my genre.

Bruce Henderson's Sons and Soldiers

I had my genre, I had my setting, and—thanks to my MFA—I had a deadline. But what story to tell? I knew I didn't want to retell my grandfathers' stories for fear of getting the details wrong. So I hit the books and read everything I could about World War II to find the inspiration behind my story.

I read The Iron Sea by Simon Read, the real-life story of how the Allies took down Hitler's most powerful warships.

I read The Last of the Seven by Steve Hartov, the fictional retelling of Britain's X Troop.

I read The Last Battle by Stephen Harding, the wilder-than-fiction true story of World War II's final battle, where Nazis and Allies joined forces to stop rogue SS troops from executing prisoners of war.

I read Switchboard Soldiers by Jennifer Chiaverini, the fictional retelling of World War I's female switchboard workers who kept communications open during a time when it was less than guaranteed.

But nothing felt right.

Then I read Sons and Soldiers by Bruce Henderson, and I knew I had my story.

For now, that's all you get. I'm going to leave Sons and Soldiers alone for a while, though I'll revisit it in a later blog post and give you a rundown of the book. In the meantime, I'd suggest you pick it up and read about the men it contains.