Welcome to Day 1 of the “WHILE THE BOMBS FELL” Blog Tour! @bakeandwrite @4WillsPub #RRBC
Welcome to Day 1 of the “WHILE THE BOMBS FELL” Blog Tour! @bakeandwrite @4WillsPub #RRBC
While the Bombs Fell
How we decided on the title
While the Bombs Fell is a collaboration between my mother, Elsie Hancy Eaton, and me and tells a fictionalized account of her life as a small girl growing up in the small English town of Bungay, Suffolk during World War II.
Deciding on a title for a book is never easy and we bandied around several ideas before coming up with “While the bombs fell.” Although this book is not violent and focuses more on how families carried on with their everyday lives, despite the on-going war, this title seemed appropriate as everything and everyone was touched by the bombing and the war across the channel and in the oceans and skies.
People became so accustomed to listening for the sound of the bomber planes and the air raid sirens they were not even aware they were doing so, especially the children. This is illustrated by the following quote from the book: “At night, before Elsie dropped off to sleep, she listened for the throb of the engines of the German, nicknamed Jerry, bomber planes and the piercing whistle of dropping bombs. The planes terrified her, and she lay worrying that one might drop a bomb on her house.”
Bungay was only bombed once during the war in 1940. My mother was just under two years old at the time, so she doesn’t remember it, but her older brothers and sisters do. When her brothers told her about the places that were damaged during the bombing, Elsie knew them all, especially the grandstand on the football pitch at the public recreation area.
Norwich, the closest city to Bungay, was badly bombed in April/May 1942 as part of the Baedeker Blitz. My mother was aware of the fires that blazed throughout the city during the attacks and the loss of life, especially civilians. She and her six brothers and sisters were also aware of the bombing of London and knew some evacuees who were forced to leave their home and come and live in Bungay to escape the air raids.
The air raid the shelter my grandfather built in the garden to protect his family during air raids held a particular fascination for me. The thought of crouching in a cold and damp room under the ground during the English winter, while the bomber planes flew over on their way to London is quite frightening. The following extract explains how my grandfather built the air raid shelter and how it also formed a useful part of the garden:
“Father and some helpers constructed the bomb shelter from galvanized corrugated steel sheeting, bolted together to form the body and ends of the shelter. They dug a deep hole in the ground, with stairs leading downwards and then poured the concrete floor and steps. Once the concrete set, they inserted the steel structure into the hole so that only the arched roof showed above the ground. Father covered the roof with soil so that Mother could use the space to plant vegetables. In this way, the air raid shelter served a useful purpose as a productive part of the garden.”
The war and threat of bombings also impacted the children while they were at school during the day. If the air raid siren sounded during the school day the children all lined up in a long crocodile to make the short walk to the air raid shelter. The children were orderly and disciplined during this fast walk and never gave their teachers any uphill; they understood the risk and the urgency.
Bungay also had its own squadron of U.S.A. pilots and soldiers who were affectionately referred to as the Bungay Buckaroos. They occupied the airfield and depot, known as RAF Bungay, which was located about two miles from Bungay near the village of Flixton. This book describes the impact the U.S.A. soldiers had on the moral of the British people and life in the town of Bungay.
Although my mother and her siblings made the most of life and enjoyed swimming and paddling in the river, gathering flowers, playing among the ruins of Bungay Castle and helping with the preparations for Christmas dinner, their lifestyle and activities were continuously being adapted to accommodate the rationing, blackouts and other changes necessitated by the war. It was for these reasons that we decided on While the Bombs Fell as a title.
BOOK BLURB
What was it like for children growing up in rural Suffolk during World War 2?
Elsie and her family live in a small double-storey cottage in Bungay, Suffolk. Every night she lies awake listening anxiously for the sound of the German bomber planes. Often, they come and the air raid siren sounds signaling that the family must leave their beds and venture out to the air raid shelter in the garden.
Despite the war raging across the English channel, daily life continues with its highlights, such as Christmas and the traditional Boxing Day fox hunt, and its wary moments when Elsie learns the stories of Jack Frost and the ghostly and terrifying Black Shuck that haunts the coastline and countryside of East Anglia.
Includes some authentic World War 2 recipes.
AUTHOR BIO:
Hello, my name is Robbie, short for Roberta. I am an author with six published children’s picture books in the Sir Chocolate books series for children aged 2 to 9 years old (co-authored with my son, Michael Cheadle), one published middle grade book in the Silly Willy series and one published preteen/young adult fictionalized biography about my mother’s life as a young girl growing up in an English town in Suffolk during World War II called While the Bombs Fell (co-authored with my mother, Elsie Hancy Eaton). All of my children’s book are written under Robbie Cheadle and are published by TSL Publications.
I also have a book of poetry called Open a new door, with fellow South African poet, Kim Blades.
I have recently branched into adult and young adult horror and supernatural writing and, in order to clearly differential my children’s books from my adult writing, I plan to publish these books under Roberta Eaton Cheadle. My first supernatural book published in that name, Through the Nethergate, is now available.
I have participated in a number of anthologies:
- Two short stories in #1 Amazon bestselling anthology, Dark Visions, a collection of horror stories edited by Dan Alatorre under Robbie Cheadle;
- Three short stories in Death Among Us, an anthology of murder mystery stories, edited by Stephen Bentley under Robbie Cheadle;
- Three short stories in #1 Amazon bestselling anthology, Nightmareland, a collection of horror stories edited by Dan Alatorre under Robbie Cheadle; and
- Two short stories in Whispers of the Past, an anthology of paranormal stories, edited by Kaye Lynne Booth under Roberta Eaton Cheadle.
SOCIAL MEDIA LINKS:
Robbie Cheadle
Website: https://www.robbiecheadle.co.za/
Blog: https://robbiesinspiration.wordpress.com/
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/15584446.Robbie_Cheadle
Twitter: https://twitter.com/bakeandwrite
Thank you for supporting this author and her tour. To follow along with the rest of the tour, please drop in on this author’s 4WillsPub tour page.
If you’d like to schedule your own 4WillsPub blog tour to promote your book(s), you may do so by clicking HERE.
Your story sounds fascinating.
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Yes, it is fascinating. Thank you, Marie!
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Thank you, Marie.
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Robbie, the background of your story is very heartwarming! What a terrible experience for those who lived during that war. Whether you were upfront fighting the enemies, or home guarding the rear, you were all in it. No one can fully understand the mind, especially of the children who lived through that war. Thank you, Miriam, for hosting.
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Thank you for stopping by to read and comment, Joy. I appreciate your words. Yes, we don’t understand the minds of the aggressors to bring miseries and death into mankind.
It’s wonderful that Robbie and her mom wrote this book.
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Thank you for your lovely comment, Joy. You are 100% correct that when there is war, everybody suffers no matter who or where they are.
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I really enjoyed this book, Miriam. It was fascinating and informative and a plain old great read. Your review captures it wonderfully. Congrats to Robbies once again. 🙂
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I’m reading it and it’s an excellent fictional memoir. 🤗
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Thank you, Diana, for visiting me here and for your lovely comment. I am so pleased you enjoyed this book of my mom and mine.
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It’s good to hear your comment, Diana!
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Thank you, Miriam and Robbie, of course…So good to hear that Robbie wrote this book with her mother. It is a pertinent story to me as I was seven years old when World War 11 started and experienced so much of what was described in their book. I wrote a Memoir of my own experiences as an evacuee, but this is not the place or time to discuss it. I am a big fan of Robbie’s as she is so versatile and hard-working.
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You’re welcome, Joy. I must come over to check out your memoir. The evacuation would leave you scary memories. Yes, Robbie is very hardworking.
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Thank you so much for visiting me here, Joy. I loved you book about the war which I thought was written along similar lines to this book of my mom and mine. It shared the experiences of the people on the home front and how the war impacted their lives.
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You’re welcome, Joy. I just found out about your book similar to Robbie’s. I’ll get to it soon.
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This sounds like a wonderful, touching story. And I love your title!
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Thank you, Sarah. Oh, I got the eBook gift from you, thank you!
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Yay! I hope you enjoy it!
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I surely will, Sarah!
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Thank you, Sarah.
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Thank you, Sarah.
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An incredible story. It’s amazing how people lived during that time, and it’s wonderful that you and your mother were able to collaborate to bring the story alive to new generations of readers.
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It’s wonderful and precious, Amy. I’m sure the new generations of readers find appreciation in this book and it’s a great legacy Robbie’s mom leaves to her offspring also.
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Thank you, Amy, it was an interesting experience writing with my mother. She was very particular about certain things and I had to stick to her “script”. A number of family members have read this book including my nephew, but not my own sons.
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I have a friend who was a ghost writer for her mom’s memoir. She had her mom agree on all the details of the book. I think your sons will read the book in time, Robbie.
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What a great family heirloom this book will be for future generations.
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Exactly, Wendy. Many of us will be encouraged to pass on the legend.
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Hi Wendy, thanks for visiting. The extended family are all interested in this book which is great.
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impressive thought
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Thank you for your comment.
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Thank you, Zarah.
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What a unique way to tell about such a traumatic time in history – through the eyes of children. Enjoy your tour, Robbie! Thank you for hosting, Miriam!
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I’m glad Robbie and her mom could write this story together. I know some people don’t want to talk about those experience. It’s my pleasure, Jan. Thank you for your support!
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My mom was very young, Miriam, and she didn’t know anything else at the time. They were not bombed extensively either.
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Yes, when we don’t have anything else to compare with, we’re just happy with whatever we have at the moment. My parents were poor when they went back to Hong Kong after Japan was defeated. But they lost everything they owned before the war. We kids born after the war were poor for a long time but I was a happy child running around on the streets.
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You are right, Miriam. War is very destructive for people, Miriam. Your family seemed to make a good come back though. Through hard work I am sure.
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It took many years for my dad to get a steady job.
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Thank you, Jan. It was a natural progression for me at that point with my writing to go to a historical book through the eyes of a child. From there, I went on to my first novel, Through the Nethergate, and now a full length historical novel, which I am busy with.
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I’ve had “When the Bombs Fell” on my TBR list for a while. I need to move it to the top.
I had a family member who dated a woman that grew up in England. She recalled the sounds of the bombers as they flew over. I guess it’s something a person would never forget.
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Thank you, Joan. It would be very scary to have bombers flying overhead, knowing they could drop bombs on your home and suburb. The air raid shelters were cold and horrible, but people got on with it and made the best of things.
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I agree, Joan. My dad took me to see the B&W movie about WWII with the Japanese suicide bombers. The pilots drank a little cup of sake before getting into the planes… I thought, how horrible. War has no mercy.
I’ve had the book on mu Kindle for a long time also. I must move it up too, Joan.
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Great title and cover, Robbie! Reading “While the Bombs Fell” and wishing you a fabulous tour! ❤ Thanks for hosting, Miriam.
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Thank you so much, Bette. I appreciate your support. Hugs.
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You’re welcome, Bette. Thank you for your support. ❤
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Pingback: WELCOME TO DAY 1 OF THE “WHILE THE BOMBS FELL” BLOG TOUR! @BAKEANDWRITE @4WILLSPUB #RRBC | willowdot21
This book sounds great! Congratulations Robbie! One of the most intriguing things about your writing is all of the different things you’ve tried in such a short span. I know you’ve written children’s books with your son, and now this one with your mom. I think it’s refreshing not to get locked into one thing.
As far as this particular book, I love the title. Never having known anyone who’s lived through a bombing, you immediately get a reader’s attention with the subject. I realize this is fiction, but since your mom and siblings lived through this experience, it gives you more ownership and expertise. About the only thing in my life that would have some comparison was the fear of waiting for a tornado. We huddled in the basement, wondering if we were doomed. I have to think it is the same kind of powerless feeling.
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Hi Peter, Robbie writes so many genres. All of her books are interesting. Writing this book with her mom was an interesting experience and I wish to have done it when my parents were still alive. They had never seen the war or going into a shelter. They moved back to China during WWII when Japan took over Hong Kong. I would have loved to hear their stories about the lives back then.
Thank you for stopping by, read and comment. You’re much appreciated.
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Hi Pete, yes, I imagine that any situation that you have no control over and which can destroy your property and even kill you, is very scary and traumatic. This book is a fictionalised biography of my mom’s life so it is quite close to a memoir. The fictionalised part is what I filled in through research and imagination because she couldn’t remember details. She was 7 years old when the war ended.
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As I sit down to write my memoir, I don’t recall all the details, Robbie. My learning of writing a memoir told me to write it as interesting as an novel. So There has to be some inventive part in the memoir. In your mom’s situation, probably you must fill in many gaps.
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Great post Miriam, well done Robbie 💜
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Thank you so much, Willow. We appreciate your support. ❤
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I am so happy to help 💜
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Thank you, ❤
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💜
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Thank you, Willow.
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A pleasure Robbie, good luck 💜
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Congratulations Robbie and wishing you every success. 🙂
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Thank you for visiting Marje. Robbie has wonderful support here. 🙂
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Yes indeed. We’re all here to support each other. ❤
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Exactly, Marje. We do have a supporting community here. ❤
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❤ x
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❤
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Thank you, Marje.
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Congratulations on a great beginning for your blog tour, Robbie! Best wishes for much success! 🙂 Sharing this! ❤
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Great to have you stopping by and comment, Marcia. Thank you so much for sharing! ❤
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Thank you, Marcia, I appreciate your sharing and you visit.
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Great way to start your tour, Robbie, with the insight to the title. Thanks for hosting, Miriam:)
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You’re perfectly right, Denise. Start with the title is a great way to share about the book. Thank you for your support. It’s my pleasure to host Robbie’s tour.
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Thank you, Denise. It was quite an effort to think of 10 interesting topics for the tour. How we settled on the title popped up as something that might interest people as it is quite difficult sometimes.
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🙂
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Hi, Miriam! I enjoy reading about an author’s thought process. Thanks for hosting Robbie. A fascinating post! Wishing Robbie a fun and successful book tour! 😀 xo
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I find the thought process fascinating also, Vashti. Thank you for joining the fun of the book tour and cheering along. Have a wonderful week, Vashti. ❤
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It’s my pleasure, Miriam. You have a great week, too! ❤
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I will, thank you, Vashti. ❤
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Thank you, Vashti. I also enjoy learning about other authors writing processes.
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Its nice to see Robbie here. Wishing you all the best Robbie, enjoy your book tour. Thanks for hosting Miriam.
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Thank you, Balroop, for visiting me here. I appreciate your support.
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I appreciate your visit and comment, Balroop. It’s my pleasure to have Robbie here.
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Wishing you a fabulous blog tour, Robbie. To be able to collaborate with your family and see the war through another’s eyes is an incredible endeavour. I imagine it must have been an emotional experience… and a rewarding one, too. Cheering you on, always. 🙂
Thanks for sharing the love, Miriam. Happy Monday!
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HI Natalie, thank you for visiting me here. It was a rewarding and interesting process to write a book with my mother. I certainly opened my eyes about book collaborations, I’m not sure I could write with someone who wasn’t very close to me.
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It’s great to see you coming by and cheering Robbie’s tour, Natalie. Thank you so much. I remember when Robbie first mentioned about co-authoring a book with her mother and made visits to her. It was a wonderful experience for her and her mother.
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I cannot begin to imagine how living where those bombs fell must have been like… My own parents lived more out in the country and were children themselves, but both families had evacuees live with them for a while who came from London and those built up areas being bombed… And I remember my Gran telling me of the time they had while they stayed as part of her family… I was even issued with a ration book … when small… and still have it today..
Lovely to read Miriam and thank you for sharing Robbies book… All her stories and her posts are wonderful reads..
Many thanks again..
Take care.. Sue 🙂
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Thank you, Sue, for your lovely comment. I think people really did make the best of things during these times. People can be very resilient during times of hardship. I am sure you enjoyed your gran’s stories and the ration book is a lovely memento of these times.
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I did enjoy her stories and yes the ration book is kept safe and a reminder of history.
Have a great week Robbie. 💛🤗
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It’s so wonderful, Sue, that you learned about your parents’ childhood and heard stories from your Gran. I could imagine you had a ration book to read. This book is a treasure to connect your present with the past. Through your experience, you could relate to Robbie’s book.
I appreciate your visit and comment, Sue.
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Thank you Miriam 🤗💓
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You’re welcome, Sue. ❤
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A mother’s memories turned into a book to capture the imagination whilst depicting the horrors of war. Well done, Robbie, congratulations.
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Thank you, Danny. this was a wonderful project for my first novella and I really enjoyed it. My mother takes great pleasure in reading posts and reviews about this book and I am glad it makes her happy.
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It’s precious to see a different perspective and find meaning from horrible situations. I’m glad Robbie and her mother enjoy this writing project,
Thank you for your visit and comment, Daniel!
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I enjoyed reading about your collaborative process for arriving at this book’s title, Robbie. Titles are never easy! Actually, there’s no part of putting a book together that’s easy. This book is special because much of it is taken from the perspective of family members who lived through this trauma. Thanks for hosting Robbie, Miriam!
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Thank you, John. Writing this book was special for me because it is about my mother’s childhood and my family. I learned a lot during the writing process about her early life. I agree that everything to do with writing presents its own challenges, but that is what makes if interesting and fun.
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You’re right about choosing the title and doing any part of a book, John. Every author would agree with you. It was a heartwarming experience Robbie and her mom had in writing this book. And it’s wonderful she learned more about her mom through the process.
Thank you for reading and comment, John.
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I enjoyed reading Robbie’s explanation of how she and her mother chose the title for While the Bombs Fell. Having read the book, I think the title perfectly represents the story of Elsie and her family during WWII.
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Thank you, Liz, I am glad you found this post interesting. One of the reviews I had said that the reviewer expected a lot more war scenes and battle action that is included, because of the title. I thought it was fitting because life was going on while the bombs fell in Europe.
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It sounds as though the reviewer didn’t read the blurb. The front cover art is also clear in depicting what the book is going to be about.
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I think so too, Liz. Thanks for adding your thoughts.
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Yes, a fictionalized memoir is not the same as a history book.
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You’re welcome, Robbie.
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Thank you for sharing your insight on the book, Liz. It’s good to know your thoughts of the title and felt it was fitting.
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This sounds like a nice change from the WWII books that get so deep into the war. It’s amazing the things in life we can become accustomed to and accept simply by their repetitive nature.
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Hi Ronesa, I am glad you enjoyed this post. It is amazing how people adapt to difficult circumstances in their lives. My mom didn’t know anything else as she was quite young during the war, and she never questioned anything about it.
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Yes, Ronesa, human instinct is amazing. We can adapt to any environment especially in Robbie’s mom’s situation. Thank you for your visit and comment.
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It is enchanting to see you hosting Robbie. She is excellent and a voracious writer of children as well as adult books. Thank you so much dear Miriam for sharing her great review.
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Thank you, Kamal, for visiting me here and commenting. I appreciate your support.
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Welcome Robbie and my support is always with you the way you support me too in my writing too. Love and light to you dear.
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You’re very welcome, Kamal. It’s my pleasure to host Robbie’s here. Your stopping by and comment are very appreciated.
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Thank you so much Miriam and yes I agree with you, Robbie is very talented and a superb person.
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She is, Kamal and she is good in all she is doing!
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Yes Miriam 😊😊😊
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❤ 🙂
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😊😊😊😊
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It’s nice to meet you, Robbie! I teach the Holocaust to my students through reading the novel Prisoner B-3087. This book interests me because it provides a different perspective of how the world lived during the time period of the Holocaust. I look forward to reading it and sharing it with my middle school students. 🙂
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Thank you, Yvette, and for letting me know about this book which sounds wonderful. I enjoyed researching While the Bombs Fell and learning more about my mother’s childhood and her family.
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Thank you, Yvette. What a wonderful way to teach the Holocaust through reading a novel. The students learn the facts through an interesting story. Thank you for your comment.
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It is wonderful to see Robbie here, Miriam. I enjoyed reading her book about her mother’s experiences during the war.
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Thank you for reading and commenting, Norah.
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My pleasure, Robbie.
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Thank you, Norah. It’s wonderful for Robbie to work with her mom to write this book. The writing experience is a treasure!
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Yes. It’s a wonderful bonding experience. You get to know each other so well when you work together.
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Reblogged this on Robbie's inspiration and commented:
I am over at The Showers of Blessings blog this morning with the first post in my While the Bombs Fell book tour. This post is about how my mother and I chose the title of this book. Miriam has a lovely blog and shares beautiful photographs and poetry. Do go over and have a look around.
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Great, Robbie! I’ll come over to comment also. Right now I’m watching the news about the Coronavirus!
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Hi Miriam, thank you for hosting the first day of my While the Bombs Fell book tour. Much appreciated.
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You’re very welcome, Robbie!
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