On June 30, 2021, my publisher and I went to Idaho Falls and met with Bob and Diane Inama. We recorded a series of video interviews, and listened as Bob recounted his experiences serving in the US Army 1960-1962.

Bob did basic training at Fort Ord, then additional training at Fort Sill, before being assigned to Hanau West Germany. Months into his Germany assignment, he was asked to go undercover into East Germany--posing as a University student taking an economics class. 

Here's the video interview with Bob Inama, the hero in The Slow March of Light

June 30, 2021

The Slow March of Light releases September 7, 2021 to most retailers.

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Editor's Pick

 I'm thrilled to share that The Slow March of Light was selected as an Editor's Choice by the Historical Novel Society. 

Full review can be read here.

Releases September 7, 2021. You can pre-order here.

Booklist Review: The Slow March of Light

Thank you to Booklist for the wonderful review of The Slow March of Light. 

Full review can be read here (p. 37).

Amazon pre-order: https://amzn.to/3yeUXkt

Coming soon to other retailers. Official release date: September 7, 2021.

Summary from the publisher:

Based on a true story. Inspired by real events.

A riveting and emotionally-gripping novel of an American soldier working as a spy in Soviet-occupied East Germany and a West German woman secretly helping her countrymen escape from behind the Berlin Wall. 

In the summer of 1961, a wall of barbed wire goes up quickly in the dead of night, officially dividing Berlin. Luisa Voigt lives in West Berlin, but her grandmother lives across the border and is now trapped inside the newly- isolated communist country of East Germany. Desperate to rescue her grandmother and aware of the many others whose families have been divided, Luisa joins a secret spy network, risking her life to help bring others through a makeshift, underground tunnel to West Germany. Their work is dangerous and not everyone will successfully escape or live to see freedom. 

Bob Inama was an outstanding university student, with plans to attend law school when he is drafted into the US Army. Stationed in West Germany, he is glad to be fluent in German, especially after meeting Luisa Voigt at a church social. As they spend time together, they form a close connection. But when Bob receives classified orders to leave for undercover work immediately, he does not get the chance to say goodbye.

With a fake identity, Bob's special assignment is to be a spy embedded in East Germany. His undercover job will give him access to government sites to map out strategic military targets. But Soviet and East German spies, the secret police, and Stasi informants are everywhere, and eventually Bob is caught and sent to a brutal East German prison. Interrogated and tortured daily, Bob clings to any hope he can find from the sunlight that marches across the wall of his prison to the one guard who secretly treats him with kindness to the thought of one day seeing Luisa again.

Publisher's Marketplace: next book announced!

 I'm excited to announce my next historical novel, which will be based on Princess Louise Duchess of Argyll. She was the fourth daughter, and sixth child, of Queen Victoria. I'm building a Pinterest page for my research. I could spend years on this book, but I have about six months to draft, so it's a full-time job right now. 

Here's the announcement from Publisher's Marketplace:

Now back to work!

Cover Reveal: The Slow March of Light

 I'm thrilled to share the final cover for my historical novel, The Slow March of Light. Coming September 7, 2021.

From the publisher:

Based on a true story. Inspired by real events.

A riveting and emotionally-gripping novel of an American soldier working as a spy in Soviet-occupied East Germany and a West German woman secretly helping her countrymen escape from behind the Berlin Wall.

I'm looking forward to sharing more about this book in the coming months. 

Add to your Goodreads list here.

Exclusive Notes on Goodreads: The Paper Daughters of Chinatown

 

Check out Goodreads here to read my exclusive insider notes on the highlights that Kindle readers have marked!

And my book The Paper Daughters of Chinatown is currently in the semi-finals for the #GoodreadsChoice awards in the Historical Fiction category. Vote on Goodreads by November 15! 

Bob Inama: Our First Meeting

 Today I met Bob Inama. Our first conversation was March 19, 2020 over a Skype video call. After a few technical difficulties, we were able to finally speak in a meeting with Bob, his wife Diane, and Shadow Mountain director, Chris Schoebinger. In this first initial meeting, Bob told us about his experiences working undercover for the US Army in the early 1960s in Soviet-occupied East Germany. He was eventually betrayed by an East German and arrested. The story that unfolded is not what you might expect. Yes, he was imprisoned. Yes, he was beaten daily. Yes, he was traumatized. But Bob's light never dimmed. He left behind his shackles and the depths of a tiny cell and built a life of hope, love, and family. Over the past several months, Covid-19 kept any chance at meeting slim since we live in different states. Since March 19, up until this past week, I've been working on Bob's story so that more people can read and be inspired by a life well lived. If all goes well with my publisher and the production, the book will be available Fall 2021. But right now, my heart is full for having met this man in person. At last.