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I joined up with a group of nine amazing Texas writers whose genres are as broad as the Texas sky—from historical fiction to medical and legal thrillers, memoir, women’s fiction, and historical romance.

See all nine books from Jann Alexander, Gary Keith, Gary Gerlacher, Marie Watts, Leslie Schover, Linda Paul, Kimberly Packard, Chick Morgan, and me at https://www.jannalexander.com/texas-writers

In other news, I'm writing The Last Post, the third book in my...

It turns out I have more favorite WWI novels that will comfortably fit in a second blog post, I'll eventually do a Part 3. But until then, the books I've listed here had just as big an effect on my research and writing as those in My favorite WWI novels - Part 1.

Wherever possible, I've linked to the book on the author's web page so you can choose from multiple retailer options.

Psychological aftermath on those who fought

Thirty-plus years ago I idly watched TO SERVE THEM ALL MY DAYS on PBS’...

Some truly wonderful WWI novels inspired me before and during my own writing, with DARE NOT TELL as the result. These fabulous books range from dual timelines, twists and turns, stories set in Egypt, Canada, cemeteries, and, my favorites, stories that deal with wartime trauma and facing its aftermath.

Since it turns out I have many favorites, I'll split this post into two posts. Wherever possible, I've linked to the book on the author's web page so you can choose from multiple retailer...

I've joined together with a few of my author friends to offer our readers the chance to win a bundle of 7 novels set in France, each one signed by the author.

Here’s a taste of the books in the bundle. I read and loved these books in the giveaway

Her Own War by Debra Borchert: Romance and derring-do in the early Napoleonic era: Her Own War is a masterful blend of strong women and honorable men struggling to survive and hoping to thrive at the end of the...

I'd already dreamed up an American nurse and an Australian soldier for Dare Not Tell. Why not continue their story? And because the writing and research gods smiled on me with these photos. I mention in the Afterword of The Bravest Soldiers that the Australian War Memorial is a literal trove of visual treasures. Their collections of art and photographs have been pure inspiration for both books.

Americans and Australians have a long history together. After Pearl Harbor was bombed on December 7,...

I learned so much on the subject of facial wounds, reconstructive surgery, and masks during the course of writing Dare Not Tell, that I was compelled to explore the repercussions on Sophie Parker's (a major character in both my novels) life and psyche in “Ripples in a Pond,” my short story in the anthology Feisty Deeds: Historical Fictions of Daring Women.

In France, Bastille Day commemorates the storming of the Bastille Prison in 1789 by a mob of Parisians in the opening stages of the French revolution. Since then, the day is a national holiday of celebration, including dancing in the streets, as Joe and Sophie Parker experienced it on July 14, 1939 in this excerpt from Chapter 23 of Dare Not Tell:

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Joe and Sophie arrived at the Gare du Nord in Paris on July 14.

The wrought iron rafters and dusty glass roof spanning a multitude of tracks were...

Hello! For those of you who've followed me for a while, I'm the same me with a fresh new look and feel to my website. I'll be adding weekly blog posts about favorite books from other authors, inspiration for my own books, and info about the work I do to format other authors' books.

Or, what the heck was I thinking? There are no numbered steps or bullet points in novels!

I devoured historical fiction and historical mysteries on nights and weekends as a way to escape from writing about computer software during the workday.

In all that time, it never occurred to me that I could write a novel. And then another one. Until...

The first glimmers of inspiration came from Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries, an Australian TV series set in 1929 that often includes WWI-related characters...