Changing Times
by Amanda Cabot
First of all, thanks so much for inviting me to be part of Talkshow Thursday, Linda. I always enjoy my time with you and your followers.
When I first announced that I was writing a book set in the post-WWII era, a number of my readers wondered why I’d made what seemed like such a dramatic change. I suspect that others have the same questions, so I thought I’d conduct a mock interview with myself to answer them.
Most of your books take place in the nineteenth century, so why did you decide to set Beyond the Melody in 1946? As is true for many of my readers, Sweetwater Crossing holds a special place in my heart and I didn’t want to leave it. The problem was, I felt as if I’d exhausted the Vaughn sisters’ stories. At the same time, I kept thinking about them and wondering what their descendants’ lives would be like. I could have done what some authors do and write a story about their children, but that didn’t excite me. Instead, I felt drawn to the twentieth century and specifically to the World War II era.
Books set during that war are very popular now. Why did you choose 1946 rather than one of the war years? The answer to that is two-fold. First of all, I didn’t want to write a war story, because I knew I’d find the research painful. But, more importantly, I knew I couldn’t compete with the many outstanding authors, including Linda, who are writing WWII books.
What fascinated me was the adjustment both the soldiers and their families had to make in the aftermath of the war. It’s been decades since I’ve watched
Best Years of Our Lives, and I’ve forgotten much of the plot, but what was indelibly etched on my memory is that both the returning soldiers and their families were faced with huge challenges. That was the kind of story I wanted to write. And when I started my research and learned that a well-respected magazine declared that it should take no more than three weeks for soldiers to put their war experiences behind them, I knew that debunking that ridiculous statement would be part of my story.
You mentioned research. What kinds of research did you do? I’m a huge fan of Time-Life’s
ThisFabulous Century series, which has a volume dedicated to each of the first six decades of the twentieth century. The combination of pictures (and, yes, a picture is worth a thousand words) and articles about everything from world events to pastimes puts these books at the top of my research list. I learned so much about life before, during, and after the war from the volume on the forties and had a lot of fun incorporating some of the more interesting details in Melody.
In addition to books, I was fortunate to have had an aunt who, with her husband, had a jukebox route. When my husband and I would visit her, she would regale us with stories of the work they did on those jukeboxes. Those tales were the reason I gave my heroine her own jukebox route.
What were the most interesting aspects of the forties for you? In some respects, that era felt almost modern. Notice that I said “almost.” Families had phones and indoor plumbing. They no longer had to cook over wood-fired stoves. Women no longer wore floor-length dresses unless, of course, they were going out for a special evening. All that felt modern.
On the other hand, there were many aspects of life that made it clear that it was eighty years in the past. No air conditioning, no GPS for easy navigation, no internet for quick research.
But, when all is said and done, although the outward trappings of daily life may differ, people are essentially the same. They face the same problems and they long for the same things. It doesn’t matter whether they’re living in the nineteenth century, immediately after the Second World War, or in 2026. Though their external circumstances are different, my characters seek the same things we all do: love, a place to call home, a purpose for our lives.
Will there be another post-war book? That depends. When I started writing
Melody, I had no plans for a second book, but by the time I finished it, I realized I’d planted the seeds for one—maybe two—others. Whether or not they get written depends on how readers react to Anna and Jim’s story.
Have you abandoned the nineteenth century? Definitely not. I’m currently writing
Blossoms at Twilight, the third of the Sisters of the Heart trilogy. And while that was supposed to be the final book in that series, several characters in it are demanding their own stories. I also have an idea for another Christmas story set in nineteenth century Sweetwater Crossing. The challenge now is which book to write first.
Thank you all for listening, or should I say reading? If there are other questions you’d like answered, please add them to the comments. I’ll check in frequently.
Beyond the Melody
Neither one is looking for love, but sometimes all it takes is one dance.
By the spring of 1946, life in Sweetwater Crossing is almost back to normal after the war. Not Anna Finley’s. She lost her chance at happily-ever-after when the man she loved was killed in France. Anna does her best to hide her sorrow—and a secret that haunts her—as she works on the jukeboxes she inherited when her brother died in combat. There’s no point in dreaming about what might have been.
Jim Smythe is also grieving a shattered life. His fiancée broke their engagement, reminding him that a respected magazine said it should take no more than three weeks for a veteran to forget the war. But Jim cannot forget the men in his platoon who didn’t return home, and he’s made it his mission to visit each of the fallen soldiers’ families, hoping to give them some small measure of comfort. Sweetwater Crossing is his final stop. After that, he’ll have to return to Boston and the life that holds no appeal. If only he could find an alternative, one where people saw him for himself, not his family’s name.
He’s given up hope that anyone will understand what his parents and fiancée did not, but everything changes when he enters a small café and sees a woman whose eyes reflect his own pain standing next to a jukebox. Jim knows he’ll never see her again, yet it somehow feels right to extend his hand and say, “May I have this dance?”
It’s a once-in-a-lifetime moment for two wounded people unless they can overcome their fears and find the courage to love again.
Purchase link:
https://amzn.to/4o1Y49R
About Amanda
From the age of seven, Amanda Cabot dreamed of becoming a published author, but it was only when she set herself the goal of selling a book by her thirtieth birthday that the dream came true. A former director of Information Technology, Amanda has written everything from technical books and articles for IT professionals to mysteries for teenagers and romances for all ages. She is now the bestselling author of more than forty novels and a variety of novellas. Her books have been honored with starred reviews from Publishers Weekly and Library Journal and have been finalists for the ACFW Carol Award, the HOLT Medallion, and the Booksellers’ Best. For her, a day is incomplete unless it includes books and at least one pot of tea.
Photo credits:
Author image, book cover, book page: courtesy Amanda Cabot
Jukebox: Pixabay/schubinger
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