Please welcome Rob Currie author of Hunger Winter
Rob Currie will be awarding a $10 Amazon/BN GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour.
Hunger Winter
by Rob Currie
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GENRE: MG Historical Fiction
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INTERVIEW:
1. What or who inspired you to start writing?
My parents nurtured my love of reading which is relevant because good writing begins with reading. My dad read a lot and watching his enjoyment of books made me want to read. My mother cultivated my love of reading by taking me to the local library frequently. Years later, during my college years, when I showed my early writings to my parents, my dad made copies and shared them with his friends. I felt very affirmed and loved.
2. What elements are necessary components for this genre?
This story needs crisp action. Thirteen-year-old Dirk and his little sister flee their home in the middle of the night because the Gestapo’s coming. Later, they attempt to escape from a work camp and try to fight their way through a guarded checkpoint.
The book also needs compelling characters. Els is the tough-as-nails 18-year-old with the moxie to endure Gestapo torture without giving away secrets. At the climax of the story, her brother, Dirk, has to decide whether he should request help from a German colonel who has deserted and says he is done fighting the war. The wrong choice could mean capture or death.
3. What expertise did you bring to your writing?
I’ve been reading World War II books for forty years. Those books provided useful background information and many tidbits to work into Hunger Winter. I also spent three weeks in the Netherlands to do research. A woman in Hunger Winter says she got arrested because she named her pig “Hitler.” That was based on a true story I uncovered in my research.
4.What would you want your readers to know about you that might not be in your bio?
I told my young sons bedtime stories every night. There were three or four storylines. One centered on a boy who lived in the forest and he had a pet mouse. Another featured two brothers who lived in a castle and had adventures against the arch enemies- The Five Bad Guys. All those years of making up stories were preparing me to write this kids’ book long before I knew it.
5. As far as your writing goes, what are your future plans?
I plan to write a sequels to Hunger Winter and I’ve begun the research for that book.
6. If you could be one of the characters from this book, who would it be and why?
I want to be all of them. I wish I were as mentally tough as Els, as brave as Dirk, as clever as their father, Hans, and as funny as 6-year-old Anna.
7. Can you give us a sneak peek into this book?
Young Dirk carries four heavy burdens. He has to evade the Gestapo, protect his 6-year-old sister, find their father, and he’s hiding a dark secret that’s so troubling he’s afraid to tell anyone.
8. Do you belong to a critique group? If so, how does this help or hinder your writing?
I have been in a critique group for over twenty years and they are so helpful. I’ve never been in another group of any kind anywhere else where constructive criticism is offered and received in a spirit of mutual respect and a desire to improve the writing.
9. When did you first decide to submit your work? What or who
encouraged you to take this big step?
I wrote this book initially as a fun project for my son to read. When I finished it, I submitted it for publication because I had already put so much work into it. I figured it wouldn’t require much more work to get published. That noise you hear right now is the universe laughing at me because it required five more years with many significant revisions.
10. What is the best and worst advice you ever received?
The best advice I got was to attend a writers’ conference. I met my agent at the Write-to-Publish Conference and he got me a contract from Tyndale Publishing House, a highly regarded publisher.
The worst advice I got was that I should give up on getting my first book published and move on to a new book project.
11. Do you outline your books or just start writing?
I start out writing to discover what the story is and who the characters are. Then I map out the plot, characters, and how to hit the word count target.
12. How do you maintain your creativity?
I use three strategies – taking care of my body with nutrition and exercise to keep my mind sharp, practicing creativity regularly, and reading a lot.
13. Who is your favorite character in the book? Can you tell us why?
It’s Els, because she is so mentally tough. After torture fails to break her, the Germans put a Nazi sympathizer in her cell. This woman pretends to be a prisoner in order to get secrets from Els about her father, a resistance hero. But the newcomer gets “schooled” by Els. Here’s that scene from the book: “The Nazis put you in this cell to get me to let something slip about my Papa,” Els said. “A lot of things gave you away, but I won’t tell you what you said wrong because I don’t teach traitors how to fix their stories! You want to know about my Papa? I’ll tell you this. He taught me to read people like a book,” Els said glaring at the other woman, “and yours has an unhappy ending!”
14. Anything else you might want to add?
Half of my royalties go to Compassion International, a charity which gives food to needy children around the world. Due to a strong response to Hunger Winter, over $3,000 has been donated since the book came out in March.
The endorsement on the cover of the book is from the Corrie ten Boom House Foundation and they run a WWII museum in the Netherlands. They “encourage everyone to read this book” and say Hunger Winter“succeeds in painting a very realistic picture” of events during WWII.
Links:
BLURB:
It's the Netherlands in late 1944. Thirteen-year-old Dirk's Papa left to fight with the Resistance. Then Mama died. When the Gestapo snatched his older sister and he learned they were coming for him next, Dirk left home in the middle of the night. He had his pockets stuffed with food, his little sister asleep in his arms, and his heart heavy with a dark secret.
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EXCERPT:
BAM! BAM! BAM!
Dirk Ingelse’s eyes flew open, and he raised his head off the pillow. Who could be knocking on the front door? Gestapo? His insides turned to ice.
The pounding resumed, the sound carrying easily up the stairs into Dirk’s bedroom. It didn’t sound like the rap of knuckles—it was more like the thumping of an angry fist. Or the butt of a rifle.
It had to be the Gestapo. They had been doing more raids lately, and they often came at night. Who else would pummel the front door of the Ingelse’s farmhouse in the middle of the night and risk getting arrested?
Dirk rolled out of bed and crept to his bedroom window. Easing the curtain open a bit, he kept his face away from the window, like Papa had taught him. He couldn’t see a vehicle. But what if they hid their car? Dirk’s right hand shook.
He couldn’t hide. They would tear the place apart to find him. And he couldn’t run—they would have the place surrounded. He’d heard stories. His right hand shook harder. It had been doing that a lot ever since—
The assault on the door resumed, even louder this time. “Open up!” growled a deep voice.
Dirk turned from the window and crept down the stairs.
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AUTHOR Bio and Links:
Life conspired to get Rob Currie to write Hunger Winter: A World War II Novel. His father is a World War II veteran and his wife is Dutch. An award-winning author, it was only a matter of time before he would focus his writing on World War II. Research for Hunger Winter included numerous books, interviews with Dutch WWII survivors, and three weeks in the Netherlands. His investigation revealed astonishing details about the Dutch experience of the war, which begged to be turned into a book.
Born and raised in the suburbs of Detroit, he graduated from Cornerstone University and went on to earn a master's degree and doctorate in psychology from St. Louis University. He has taught psychology at Judson University since 1987. His hobbies include playing basketball, cooking, and writing poetry.
Author Web Site: www.robcurrieauthor.com
Buy the book: https://www.amazon.com/Hunger-Winter-World-War-Novel/dp/1496440358/
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GIVEAWAY INFORMATION and RAFFLECOPTER CODE
Rob Currie will be awarding a $10 Amazon/BN GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour.
RAFFLECOPTER:
http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/28e4345f3361
Welcome to the Angel's blog. I hope you have a great tour. Allana Angel
ReplyDeleteI liked the excerpt.
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