It continues to rain in Western Kentucky. We’re waiting for the ark to pull up to the door. In the meantime, there’s plenty of time to find a comfy chair, a cup of your favorite hot beverage, and a good BOOK!
Biblical fiction has always fascinated me, as has WWII historical fiction. What happens when you mix the two? Author Linda Matchett does just that in her new release, Love’s Rescue! Welcome, Linda!
Research that makes you think
by Linda Shenton Matchett
Winston Churchill said, “History is written by the victor.” I’m not sure how correct that statement is, but as I researched my most recent release, Love’s Rescue, it began to feel accurate.
The story is set in Paris, France during the last few weeks of the German occupation of WWII. I wanted to know what it was like to experience living under a hostile foreign power, so I hunted for memoirs, autobiographies, and oral history interviews. What I discovered is that many French people avoid any discussion about that segment of their history. Embarrassment that they capitulated and are perceived as having been Nazi sympathizers has silenced a large portion of the population from the era.
I ended up piecing together fragments of information from a variety of sources, and the picture is that of a country divided. There were Nazi sympathizers and sycophants who performed despicable acts of violence. Then there were those who tried to walk the line of neutrality, neither supporting nor resisting the activities of the Nazis. This group simply wanted to survive the war. However, as with any deep-seated conflict, it is difficult to remain unbiased, and these people had mixed success.
Then there were those who actively sought to overthrow the Nazi regime. They sabotaged trains, disrupted public transportation schedules, passed intelligence about troop numbers and locations to Allied forces, performed assassinations, hid and transported Jews and other “undesirables” out of the country, created and distributed underground newspapers, and spread propaganda.
Because many French men were either POWs, working as forced labor in Germany, or in hiding, women stepped up to “do their bit.” Meet a few of those brave ladies:
One of the first things eighteen-year-old Simone Segouin did when she joined the Resistance was to steal a bicycle from a German military administrator and use it to carry messages. She also blew up bridges, derailed trains, and captured German troops.
Code named Hedgehog, Marie-Madeleine Forcade was the only woman to head an entire network. She commanded a 3,000 person British-backed cell-group by making others believe it was actually led by a man.
Helene Studler organized multiple networks for smuggling dissidents out of the country. One mission included helping Francois Mitterrand (the future President of France) and General Henri Giraud escape.
Other women chose to take a more direct approach, picked up guns, and joined the French Forces of the Interior.
What would you have done to protect your family under Occupation?
Linda’s Bio
Linda Shenton Matchett is an author, speaker, and history geek. A native of Baltimore, Maryland, she was born a stone’s throw from Fort McHenry and has lived in historic places all her life. Linda is a member of ACFW, RWA, and Sisters in Crime. She is a volunteer docent and archivist at the Wright Museum of WWII and a trustee for her local public library.
Love’s Rescue:
A prostitute, a spy, and the liberation of Paris.
Sold by her parents to settle a debt, Rolande Bisset is forced into prostitution. Years later, shunned by her family and most of society, it’s the only way she knows how to subsist. When the Germans overrun Paris, she decides she’s had enough of evil men controlling her life and uses her wiles to obtain information for the Allied forces. Branded a collaborator, her life hangs in the balance. Then an American spy stumbles onto her doorstep. Is redemption within her grasp?
Simon Harlow is one of an elite corps of American soldiers. Regularly chosen for dangerous covert missions, he is tasked with infiltrating Paris to ascertain the Axis’s defenses. Nearly caught by German forces moments after arriving, he owes his life to the beautiful prostitute who claims she’s been waiting for the Allies to arrive. Her lifestyle goes against everything he believes in, but will she steal his heart during his quest to liberate her city?
Inspired by the biblical story of Rahab, Love’s Rescue is a tale of faith and hope during one of history’s darkest periods.
Available on:
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/dp/ B07MJM6MNL
Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/love-s-rescue-1
Connect with Linda here!
Linda’s website – http://www.lindashentonmatchett.com/
Goodreads – https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/15140007.Linda_Shenton_Matchett
Amazon Author Page – https://www.amazon.com/Linda-Shenton-Matchett/e/B01DNB54S0
Thanks for joining us, Linda! Now, about that question — If you had lived during WWII, what would you have done to protect your family under Occupation?
Happy Reading!
Linda’s books show her love of history AND storytelling. Readers never trip over bland historical facts or roll their eyes at one-dimensional characters. Linda makes it easy for us to go back in time and root for her protagonists and fight side by side with them against evil.
World War II history fascinates me. If I had lived during the time of the Occupation, I hope I would have had the foresight to get my family out while I could. This book sounds like an outstanding story!