Written by M W Arnold
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Published yesterday, The Lumberjills Take a Stand by M W Arnold is on a blog tour with Rachel's Random Resources and for my stop on the tour, I have been given a guest post to share with you.
I begin by thanking M W Arnold for joining me on my blog today and also for providing a little background to this series set during WWII.
The blurb:
The Lumberjills Take a StandThe peace at Wipers Farm is threatened by an accidental run-in between the Lumberjills, a group of Black American Army Laborers and their superiors, who don't take kindly to the girls inviting the laborers to the local public house and take out their anger on their men.
Whilst making new friends, dangerous enemies are quick to anger and all the Lumberjills, as well as their friends in the village, are in mortal danger. In the midst, love is blooming for one of the girls, paving the way for a post war life.
Only by sticking together and trusting each other and their friends, old and new, to do the right thing, can they hope to survive.
Spoiler alert!
There, that’s a good way to get your attention.
‘The Lumberjills Take a Stand’ is a book I didn’t know would be written. When the idea for the first book – simply called, ‘The Lumberjills’ – came upon me, I fully expected it to be a standalone story. I liked the idea and the premise, but only set out to tell the story which came out. Flash forward and I stumbled across the virtually unknown history of how the United States Armed Forces treated its coloured members. As the US Armed Forces were segregated, this meant that the men were mostly treated as second-class citizens, with many instances where there were attempts to have British establishments ban the coloured soldiers from being able to use those places. Again, for the most part, these establishments refused to comply. This led to confrontations between the American Military Police and British civilians and military personnel.
These were commonly covered up by the British press, as every effort was made to portray the relationship between the allied countries as harmonious. I thought this would be a wonderful place in which to pitch the Lumberjills, each of whom has a very strong sense of what is right and what is wrong, into the middle of. The accidental relationship both the girls and the occupants of the village where they live, forge with these men is central to this book, and its purpose is to show how people can grow, become the better version of themselves they never gave the chance to get out.
Once I began to write, The Lumberjills 2 was quickly born. Which brings us to a wee spoiler; this story is the end of the girls in their current location. The thing about the real lumberjills is, they were moved around quite often, to where they were needed the most. If a certain type of wood was required, then personnel were allocated to where they were needed and if that meant upsetting the personnel involved, then that’s what happened. This situation is the other main storyline. How the girls and those they’ve grown to love (together with those who love them) come to terms with the situation as their leaving nears, is fundamental to the story.
This brings me to spoiler part two! Where will ‘The Lumberjills 3’ be set? Very good question and truth be told, I’ve not settled on a location yet, all I know is that they’re not going to get quite such a cushy billet as they’ve been used to. Those who know me will understand this decision, as I have a habit of putting my heroines in danger, left, right and centre.
Well, there you have it. A big, big thank you for having me on your Blog and for being a part of the blog tour for ‘The Lumberjills Take a Stand’.
| Author Bio – M W Arnold |
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 Mick is a hopeless romantic who was born in England and spent fifteen years roaming around the world in the pay of the late HM Queen Elisabeth II in the Royal Air Force, before putting down roots and realising how much he missed the travel. This, he’s replaced somewhat with his writing, including reviewing books and supporting fellow saga and romance authors in promoting their novels. He’s the proud keeper of two Romanian Were-Cats bent on world domination, is mad on the music of the Beach Boys, and enjoys the theatre and humouring his Manchester United-supporting wife. (Please don't mention this last to her!) |
| Social Media Links – | |
| @mick859/ | |
| Facebook Author Page | www.facebook.com/MWArnoldAuthor |
| X | @mick859 |
| YouTube | M W Arnold - an Author! |
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