​As a host of the Online for Authors podcast, I recently had the opportunity to delve into the compelling narrative of "Alive and Beating," a novel penned by Rebecca Wolf. Our conversation unraveled the essence of her book, revealing insights and inspirations that authors themselves may find inspiring.

Under Two Flags is a historical fiction by Janis Robinson Daly. And Josephine? She is a character you will want to meet! She is the daughter of US immigrants who embraced all things American. Her mother gave up a promising career as an opera singer and her father built a business from nothing. Josephine, having her mother's singing gift, believed she, too, might be an opera singer until her father's death changed everything. Now, as WWI erupts in Europe, Josephine is given a chance of a lifetime - to study opera in Germany at the same school her mother had been forced to leave.

As with most adventures, Josephine arrives wearing rose colored glasses, assuming the war would be a mere inconvenience. However, she quickly learns the war permeates every aspect of German life. And as an American, she was suspect - a privileged oddity at best and a potential spy at worst.

What happens when the US enters the war? When a German solider takes a fancy to Josephine? When one of Josephine's friends is accused of being a spy? When the cold and hunger leave her weak with anemia? When her teachers find her too American? When being Jewish clashes with food rations? When homesickness makes her rethink all of her choices? When going home is no longer a choice?

Under Two Flags is a fictionalized version of a real woman during WWI - and it's a story you won't want to miss.

Purchase a copy of Under Two Flags:
Paperback: https://amzn.to/4qvihEK​
Kindle: https://amzn.to/3MbjEu9

(Read more reviews here)

On our latest podcast episode, I had the pleasure of speaking with Kim Gottlieb-Walker, a photographer whose career began amidst the vibrant chaos of the 1960s and 1970s. Kim's novel, "Lenswoman in Love," offers readers a vicarious experience of this revolutionary period. Through the eyes of the protagonist, Maddy Garfield, the book explores rock and roll, the underground press, and the protests that catalyzed social change.