Patriotic Service Leads to Victories in Romance Part 3 and Part 4

Homefront Heroines Novella Collection

continued from May 14

Part 3    "Blue Moon" by Johnnie Alexander

               1943, Oak Ridge, Tennessee

After humiliating each other, a WOOPs officer and an Army Intelligence agent team up to protect a top-secret atomic bomb facility from sabotage.

You may have noticed our stories are named for song titles from the 1940s. The lyrics to “Blue Moon” inspired the opening of my story, which occurs on a blue moon night. My heroine, Kathleen, serves with the Women Officers of Public Safety (WOOPS), tasked by the Tennessee Valley Authority to guard the dams and other important facilities in the area.

My story was also inspired by Oak Ridge, also known as the Secret City and the Atomic City. I toured a museum dedicated to preserving the town’s unique history and listened to hours of recorded interviews with people who had lived in and worked at the government-built town.

My hope is that my characters’ fighting spirit honors the courageous men and women who sacrificed so much to protect our country both in the battlefields and here at home.

Johnnie Alexander creates characters you want to meet and imagines stories you won't forget. Her award-winning debut novel, Where Treasure Hides, is a CBA bestseller and has been translated into Dutch and Norwegian. She also writes contemporary romances, cozy mysteries, light-hearted suspense and historicals. A fan of classic movies, stacks of books, and road trips, Johnnie shares a life of quiet adventure with Griff, her happy-go-lucky collie, and Rugby, her raccoon-treeing papillon. Connect with her on her website and on Facebook.

Part 4     “Dream a Little Dream” by Amanda Barratt

               

               1945, Palm Springs, California

When an army nurse and a former film star are reunited at a wartime hospital, can they move beyond their past and into a future together?

Dream a Little Dream was inspired by the courage and tenacity of the men and women who served in WWII in a variety of capacities. From nurses caring for the wounded in veterans hospitals (like my heroine), to fighter pilots in the Pacific Theater (like my hero), to entertainers like Bob Hope who brought laughter into places rife with grim realities, each had a role to play.

I especially loved exploring the stories of the actors and actresses who gave up safe careers in Hollywood to fight for victory alongside their fellow countrymen, as well as those of the brave nurses who served overseas and on the home front. Their dedication and willingness to devote themselves to a greater cause inspires me. 

Amanda Barratt,  ECPA best-selling author, fell in love with writing in grade school when she wrote her first story—a spinoff of Jane Eyre. Now, Amanda writes romantic, historical fiction, penning stories of beauty and brokenness set against the backdrop of bygone eras not so very different from our own. Her novel My Dearest Dietrich: A Novel of Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s Lost Love, released from Kregel Publications in June 2019. Amanda lives in the woods of Michigan with her fabulous family, where she can be found reading way too many books, plotting her next novel, and jotting down imaginary travel itineraries for her dream vacation to Europe. Connect with her on Facebook and visit her online at amandabarratt.net.