So I’ve finished my major first edits of “Mr. Midshipman Sunfall” and “A Few Good Elves,” and they’re off to my editor. I’m now making my way through what I’ve done so far on “Brothers in Arms.” I haven’t said much in a while, but those who are following will know that I’m not finished my first draft on that one yet, so what I’m doing at the moment is catching it up to speed with the changes that have been made in the first two books.
I have to admit I’m having a lot of fun with it! I missed these characters and their stories. I’m enjoying reacquainting myself with them.
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In related news, today is Holocaust Remembrance Day. It’s the anniversary of the day that Auschwitz was liberated. I mention this here because in A Few Good Elves, the characters are incarcerated in a concentration camp.
I did extensive research, and everything that happens to the characters comes from the real stories of real survivors (minus the magic stuff, of course.) It was hard to write. It was harder to edit.
Sometimes it’s easier to confront difficult issues in fiction, and that’s part of the reason I’ve written these novels. But we must never forget that this is was NOT fiction, no matter how hard it is to comprehend and accept. The path of “othering” people eventually, inevitably leads there.
I’m here to remind everyone of that. I’m here to try to help make sure that as less and less survivors are left, their stories, and the sheer horror of their experience, is not forgotten.
Never forget, okay?
The Toy Soldier Saga 