Please join me in welcoming my friend and fellow Wisconsin author, Terri Wangard, to the blog this week. She’s out with a fascinating new book, Roll Back the Clouds. I’ve read it, and you’re going to love it! Before we delve into what inspired her to write the book, let’s find out a little bit about it.
Geoff and Rosaleen Bonnard receive a once-in-a-lifetime voyage to England aboard the fabled Lusitania in 1915. Europe is embroiled in war, but that shouldn’t affect a passenger liner.
As they approach Ireland, a German submarine hurtles a torpedo into the grand ship. Rosaleen scrambles into a lifeboat, but where is her husband? She searches the morgues in Queenstown, heartsick at recognizing so many people. Geoff is finally located in a Cork hospital, alive but suffering a back injury.
While waiting for him to recover, Rosaleen is thrilled to meet her mother’s family, but a dark cloud hovers over her. The battered faces of dead babies haunt her. She sinks into depression, exasperated by Geoff’s new interest in religion. Her once happy life seems out of reach.
So Terri, what inspired you to write this unique historical novel?
Cruise ships fascinate me. Not just those currently afloat, but also sunken wrecks explored in documentaries. I have a collection of Bob Ballard’s exploration of sunken ships. The Lusitania is my favorite. Imagine sailing in a ship grand enough for King Solomon and all his wives. Imagine sailing aboard in May 1915, when a German submarine hurtled a torpedo into it.
On my first cruise, I opted for the least expensive cabin. Other than the lack of a window, the room was more than adequate. You would think first class rooms would have windows, but many in Lusitania’s first class had windowless rooms.
Lusitania’s third-class rooms had a bed and a sink. No toilet. In only a handful of first-class suites were bathrooms found. Everyone else had to run down the hall to the lavatories. Sinks had cold running water. The room stewards brought hot water each day for washing. For a bath, an appointment was made with the bath steward. (Are we having fun yet?)
Balconies are fairly recent additions. Not even Alfred Vanderbilt had a balcony on the Lusitania.
All of my cruises were taken to see the world. The passengers on the Lusitania cruised for transportation, not recreation. Business trips or family visits for the wealthier; immigration and the hope of a new life for others, like my ancestors. For these transatlantic sailings, every day offered the same scenery. Ocean in all directions. Any problems, and the bottom is a long way down. And help, as the Titanic discovered, can’t come fast enough.
After a dozen modern cruises, I still have trouble imagining life aboard the Lusitania. The necessity of keeping to one part of the ship according to class, dressing to the nines just to eat dinner. Creating Geoff and Rosaleen’s voyage allowed me to experience a Lusitania crossing vicariously.
Terri Wangard grew up in Green Bay, Wisconsin, during the Lombardi Glory Years. Her first Girl Scout badge was the Writer. These days she is writing historical fiction, and won the 2013 Writers on the Storm contest and 2013 First Impressions, as well as being a 2012 Genesis finalist. Holder of a bachelor’s degree in history and a master’s degree in library science, she lives in Wisconsin. Her research included going for a ride in a WWII B-17 Flying Fortress bomber. Classic Boating Magazine, a family business since 1984, keeps her busy as an associate editor.
Roll Back the Clouds can be purchased here: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1659679842
Facebook: www.facebook.com/AuthorTerriWangard
Instagram: @terriwangard
Pinterest: www.pinterest.com/terriwangard/
Terri is giving away a copy of Roll Back the Clouds. Follow the directions below to enter.
Thanks for joining us this week, Terri!
What’s your favorite part of Wisconsin?
The area around Green Lake. I spent a lot of time there while growing up. It’s beautiful!
Did you design the cover? Awesome.
I did. Thank you.
I like historical fiction. Where do you get your story ideas?
I’ve always loved the Lusitania. It made sense to use it as a setting.
I wrote the first book (Friends & Enemies) of my WWII series based on a series of letters written in the late 1940s by distant German cousins who received care packages from my grandparents.
Looks like an intriguing novel, Terri — and how fun you could take many cruises yourself for ‘research’. ☺️ That’s why I love to write historical fiction!
I’ve done a lot of traveling. Unfortunately, all those trips were before I started writing. Now, I’d love to return to the sites I write about.