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Kristina McMorris | THE PIECES WE KEEP: Inspired by true stories
Author Guest / November 26, 2013

It all started with a televised news segment. At the center of the story was a young boy who frequently suffered from physically violent night terrors about dying in a plane crash. His knowledge of obscure historical facts eventually convinced his skeptical parents that, in a past life, he had been a WWII pilot who perished in battle. For personal reasons, the account instantly piqued my interest. Not only had my oldest son suffered from night terrors as a toddler, he also used to speak about a grandmother who didn’t exist. No doubt, it could have been merely the creative ramblings of a youngster. And where I stand on the topic, I couldn’t tell you for sure. But the news story did cause me to wonder: What would I have done if my own son had spouted historical details he couldn’t possibly know? And, from a literary view: What if those details were secrets other people wanted to keep buried? In completing the premise of my novel, I soon recalled a declassified report a friend had once shared with me—a case of Nazi saboteurs who were dropped off by U-Boat on the East Coast of America in 1942. As I…