PROVENANCE OF EACH NOVEL IN THE WHEN HEROES FLEW SERIES—PART II

This blog is a continuation of the one I posted last week about the background of each of my WHEN HEROES FLEW novels.

DOWN A DARK ROAD

This novel, strictly speaking, isn’t part of the WHEN HEROES FLEW series, but it is closely related. Unlike my other WWII historical fiction books, the protagonist in this tale is real, not fictional. And he’s an infantry officer, not a pilot. There is an aviation element in the novel, but it’s primarily about a young lieutenant and his platoon, and the horrifying discovery they make near the end of war in Europe. The story is based on the exploits of Jim Thayer who leads his men through the shadowy forests of Western Austria in search of a German ammo depot. What they find, however, is far more devastating than anything they could have imagined. Lt. Thayer’s story was brought to my attention by a person who actually knew him, my wife, Barbara. DOWN A DARK ROAD is under consideration for a couple of awards later this year.

WHEN HEROES FLEW: WHERE THE DAWN COMES UP LIKE THUNDER

WHEN HEROS FLEW: WHERE THE DAWN COMES UP LIKE THUNDER will be released early next year (2025). It’s essentially a sequel to WHEN HEROES FLEW: THE ROOF OF THE WORLD, but will read easily as a standalone novel. I had so much fun with Rod and Eve in ROOF OF THE WORLD that I wanted to bring them back. Apparently, a few of my readers did too. So I did, and ended up with a novel crammed with adventures and mysteries. You’ll help Rod mount a desperate search for Eve who has mysteriously disappeared and for whom the Army has no records. You’ll meet the legendary general, Curtis LeMay, and you’ll ride along on the first B-29 bombing raid of Japan. You’ll also meet another general who is trying his damnedest to ruin Rod’s career, both military and civilian. A couple of my beta readers thought this novel was my best yet. I’m eager to learn what my other readers will think. WHEN HEROES FLEW: WHERE THE DAWN COMES UP LIKE THUNDER will be released in February 2025.

[UNTITLED]

Novel number six in my WWII historical fiction series is still in an embryonic state. I have written only the opening chapter and have yet to come up with a working title. But I realized as I was wrapping up WHERE THE DAWN COMES UP LIKE THUNDER, I hadn’t yet written a novel centered around the most legendary WWII bomber of all, the B-17. So I’m planning on trekking off to Merry Olde England and spending some time with the mighty 8th Air Force in 1943. Why ’43? Because that’s when Allied air superiority over the continent became mired in doubt as American bombers took a deadly beating. I wanted to write about that as well as the pressures of command. So, as I envision the novel, there will be plenty of flying action as well as a deep dive to look behind the scenes of a couple of the most disastrous American bombing raids in history. Oh, and I think I’ll try to scare up a nice English lady in whom my protagonist, a American colonel, might become interested. Whaddaya think?