1–What is the title of your latest release? A TRAITOR IN WHITEHALL 2–What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book? While working in a munitions factory in 1940, Evelyne Redfern is recruited by a mysterious family friend to be his eyes and ears in the typing pool of Prime Minister Winston Churchill’s Cabinet War Rooms. She’s not entirely sure what to expect—but it certainly isn’t the dead body of a fellow typist. Determined to solve her colleague’s murder, Evelyne uses her keen observation skills and her extensive knowledge of golden age detective fiction in a desperate race against time to uncover the killer and root out a mole that could cost Britain the war. 3–How did you decide where your book was going to take place? A few years ago, one of my good friends mentioned that she’d never been to the Churchill War Rooms, a fantastic museum created out of the secret bunker that Churchill and his ministers used as a vital hub during World War 2. I told her that I would be happy to go with her for a visit, and while we were walking through the displays I realized that it would be a perfect location…

T is for thrilling. Set during the early years of World War 2, Viv’s life in Liverpool is fraught with danger. H is for heartbreaking. At the start of the war, Viv finds herself faced with an impossible decision: keep her daughter Maggie with her in Liverpool and risk air raids or send her to live with strangers in the safety of the English countryside. E is for estrangement. Viv is estranged from her husband Joshua, who married her after she fell pregnant. He left to pursue a career as a jazz musician in New York, but she chose to stay behind in Liverpool.   L is for Liverpool Blitz. During the war, Liverpool was heavily bombed because of its importance as a port and manufacturing center. Viv and her family spend air raids sheltering in their cellar, praying that their house won’t be hit by a falling bomb. O is for orchestra. When he meets Viv, Joshua is playing in an orchestra at one of Liverpool’s famous ballrooms, wishing for a life of fame and fortune. S is for silence. Joshua, who hasn’t heard from Viv since their wedding day, is wracked with guilt over his past choices. T…

Continuing with WWII fiction in honor of the 75th anniversary of D-Day, we’ll focus on stories that illumine some fascinating but lesser-known people and events in the war, most based in historical fact. We begin with THE ONLY WOMAN IN THE ROOM by Marie Benedict.  In pre-WWII Austria, beautiful—Jewish–actress Hedwig Keistler catches the eye of the wealthiest man in Austria, arms dealer Fritz Mandl.  Knowing that marriage to the powerful Mandl may keep her and her family safe from the rising tide of anti-Semitism, after a short courtship, Hedwig weds him.  Certain his glamorous wife doesn’t care about or understand the weapons he develops and sells, Mandl discusses them freely around her with his business partners.  But Hedwig is brilliant as well as beautiful, with a life-long interest in science nurtured by her father. When Mendl becomes ever more abusive and controlling, Hedwig flees from him, first to London and then to America—where she becomes film star Hedy Lamarr.  But she also carried with her the plans for the Nazi’s weapons systems—and an invention of her own that will pave the way for secure communications and cellphone technology. A look behind the glamorous façade, Benedict’s book reveals a woman as…

THE LOOK OF LOVE by Julia Kelly Matchmaker of Edinburgh The ceremony passed in a blur. Reverend Macdonough spoke of fidelity and sacrifice. When he mentioned a wife’s obedience to her husband, Gavin shot her a significant, if teasing, look. She was tempted to tread on his shoe, but she doubted the reverend would find the humor in it. Finally, a small gold ring was presented and blessed, and the priest nodded to Gavin. All at once, her friend became solemn with the gravity of the moment. “And now the ring and the exchange of vows,” said Reverend Macdonough. Gavin picked up her hand and placed the ring on her fourth finger. He must have felt her tremble, because he brushed his thumb over the edge of her palm, soothing her. Slowly, repeating the phrases after Reverend Macdonough, Ina said, “In the presence of God and before these witnesses, I, Ina Duncan, give myself to you, Gavin Barrett, to be your wife, and take you now to be my husband. I promise to love you, to be faithful and loyal to you, for as long as we live.” Her throat was dry by the end of the vow, and she…