Have you noticed the 1910’s and 1920’s are catching our imaginations lately? Shows like Downton Abbey and Mr. Selfridge explore how the world changed in the wake of the Great War, and now many novels are exploring the era.
And why not? It’s rich with human growth and conflict, with musical and social innovations that changed the world forever. The war moved women into jobs and and roles they never had before, and things could not go back to the way they were. Battle’s ravages were wreaking havoc on men physically, emotionally, and economically. If you want drama, the post WWI years had loads of it.
I’ve always been fascinated with the aftermath of great events. I set my Great California Earthquake book MISSION OF HOPE not during the tragedy, but in the struggle to reconstruct after the devastation. If we, as authors of inspirational romance, seek to show faith and hope, I can think of no greater time such gifts are needed.
I chose the aftermath of WWI for my newest historical, THE DOCTOR’S UNDOING, because I wanted to follow spunky Ida Lee Landway into her life after the war. Ida needed her own happy ending—and she wasn’t leaving me alone until I gave it to her. When I learned about the huge demands placed on orphanages after the war, I knew I had the perfect setting for Ida to use her gifts for color and courage.
What about you? What have you learned in the aftermath of tumult in your life?
