Sentimental
Journey
Home
Front
Book
One
Barbara
Bretton
Genre: World War 2 Romance
Publisher: Free Spirit Press
Date of Publication: October 15,
2014
ISBN: 9781940665078
ASIN: B00MT9H93Q
Number of pages: 347
Word Count: approx. 70000
Cover Artist: Tammy Seidick
Book Description:
Before they became The Greatest
Generation, they were young men and women in love . . .
It's June 1943. From New York to
California, families gather to send their sons and husbands, friends and lovers
off to war. The attack on Pearl Harbor seems a long time ago as America begins
to understand that their boys won't be home any time soon.
In Forest Hills, New York City,
twenty-year-old Catherine Wilson knows all about waiting. She's been in love
with boy-next-door Doug Weaver since childhood, and if the war hadn't started
when it did, she would be married and maybe starting a family, not sitting at
the window of her girlhood bedroom, waiting for her life to begin.
But then a telegram from the War
Department arrives, shattering her dreams of a life like the one her mother
treasures.
Weeks drift into months as she
struggles to find her way. An exchange of letters with Johnny Danza, a young
soldier in her father's platoon, starts off as a patriotic gesture, but soon
becomes a long-distance friendship that grows more important to her with every
day that passes.
The last thing Catherine expects
is to open her front door on Christmas Eve to find Johnny lying unconscious on
the Wilsons' welcome mat with a heart filled with new dreams that are hers for
the taking.
"This generation of Americans has a
rendezvous with destiny."
--Franklin Delano Roosevelt
Available at Amazon iTunes Kobo BN Smashwords
Read a Sneak Peek: http://www.barbarabretton.com/sj.shtml
About
the Author:
A full-fledged Baby Boomer,
Barbara Bretton grew up in New York City during the Post-World War II 1950s
with the music of the Big Bands as the soundtrack to her childhood. Her father
and grandfather served in the navy during the war. Her uncles served in the
army. None of them shared their stories.
But her mother, who had enjoyed a
brief stint as Rosie the Riveter, brought the era to life with tales of the
Home Front that were better than any fairy tale. It wasn’t until much later
that Barbara learned the rest of the story about the fiancé who had been lost
in the war, sending her mother down a different path that ultimately led to a
second chance at love . . . and to the daughter who would one day tell a little
part of that story.
There is always one book that’s
very special to an author, one book or series that lives deep inside her
heart. SENTIMENTAL JOURNEY and STRANGER
IN PARADISE, books 1 and 2 of the Home Front series, are Barbara’s. She hopes
they’ll find a place in your heart too.
Interview
Where are you from?
.I was born and raised in Elmhurst,
borough of Queens, city of New York. My husband and I did the unthinkable in
1986 and moved to the other side of the Hudson: New Jersey!
Tell us your latest news?
I am so proud and happy
to bring you my Home Front stories for the first time ever in ebook format.
Some of you may remember Sentimental Journey and Stranger
in Paradise as part of Harlequin’s groundbreaking Century of American
Romance series. I was fortunate to be given the opportunity to bring the 1940s
and 1950s to life through the stories of the Wilson family of Queens, New York
City – a time and place I am very familiar with!
When and why did you begin writing?
I’m not sure I can answer this because I honestly
can’t remember a time when
When did you first consider yourself a writer?
From the first
moment I put pencil to paper. It’s who I am, always has been and always will
be.
What inspired you to write your first book?
My first book was
inspired by the Vicki Barr Airline Stewardess series of books and an old
television show called O! Susanna! I created Jan Winston, cruise director, on
the S. S. Maria Carlos. Jan was blond and beautiful, spoke 6 languages, could
execute a perfect swan dive from the high board without messing up her
coiffure. It was the most fun I’d ever had. Why did I do it? I had to. Plain
and simple. I had no choice. The story had to come out.
Do you have a specific writing style?
I aim for
conversational, accessible writing. I want readers to become part of my stories
and think of my characters as real people who just might live around the
corner.
How did you come up with the title?
The title Sentimental Journey was taken from a popular World War II-era song by Doris
Day.
Is there a message in your novel that you want
readers to grasp?
The World War II generation is almost gone. If you’re lucky enough to know
someone who live through that era, gather up their stories before it’s too
late.
How much of the book is realistic?
I tried to
recreate the era so readers will feel that they are experiencing life the way
it was lived by real people. I did extensive interviews with my parents and
their friends, all part of the Greatest Generation, and combined that with
hours in the library doing research on the era. There were times when I thought
I was living through World War II myself! And there was the added benefit that
my mom lived in New York City during the war and spent some time as a real-life
Rosie the Riveter.
Are experiences based on someone you know, or events
in your own life?
The experiences in SENTIMENTAL JOURNEY are fictional but in a strange
twist of fate, after I wrote the novel, I learned that my mother had lost a
fiancé during the early months of the war.
What books have most influenced your life most?
LITTLE WOMEN – I
fell in love with it when I was eight or nine and knew Jo March was my literary
sister. SHANNA by Kathleen Woodiwiss was my introduction to swashbuckling, sexy
historical romances and I was hooked. I can still see myself, circa summer of
1977, at the bowling alley (!) with my husband and our friends, nose buried in
my trade-sized paperback. They’d grab the book when it was my turn to bowl. I’d
roll the ball straight down the gutter then race back to Shanna’s adventures.
If you had to choose, which writer would you
consider a mentor?
The legendary queen of historical romances, Bertrice Small. She took me
under her wing right after I’d sold my first book but it hadn’t been published
yet and I’ve stayed there ever since. A great writer and even greater friend.
What book are you reading now?
REFLECTED GLORY, a
biography of Pamela Churchill Harriman by Sally Bedell Smith.
Are there any new authors that have grasped your
interest?
Far
too many to mention but Diane Patterson and her Drusilla Thorne mysteries are
right up there. Rachael Herron isn’t brand new but she’s an autobuy for me.
What are your current projects?
I’m working on bringing more of my backlist into the digital world. Look for
SLEEPING ALONE and THE DAY WE MET by the beginning of the year.
What would you like my readers to know?
SENTIMENTAL
JOURNEY is the first book in my Home Front Series and takes place during World
War II. STRANGER IN PARADISE, book two, continues the story and adds a few new
characters, as well. Watch for book three, ALWAYS IN MY HEART, coming soon.
Facebook: www.facebook.com/authorbarbarabretton
Twitter: www.twitter.com/barbarabretton
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/Barbara_Bretton
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