Please welcome author Carrie Lofty and be sure to enter her contest at the end of the post.
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Joe from His Very Own Girl is an incredible hero, but I also have
an amazing fondness for his lady love, Lulu Davies, a British civilian pilot. The
war took an atrocious toll on populations around the world. That much is well
documented and horrible. The reverberating change that came about as a result
of mobilization, however, were the advancements made by women in many fields.
One such field was aviation. Jackie Cochran was a daredevil
celebrity who helped found the Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASPs) in the
United States. By allowing civilians to move planes between hangars, weapons
fitting, and their ultimate destinations across the country, the WASP ideal was
to free military men from the task. In truth, the WASPs were greatly for show.
British flyer Amy Johnson, however, achieved far more by helping
to found the Air Transit Auxiliary. Its pilots ferried every type of plane,
including four-engine bombers and the first jets. The ATA was almost entirely
co-ed, and was the first British institution to offer equal pay to men and
woman. Although Johnson died in a plane wreck over the Thames early in the war,
her innovation meant unparalleled air efficiency in Allied Europe.
Of course, these female innovators weren’t always accepted. In His Very Own Girl, Lulu and Joe go more
than a few rounds about her ambition and her place in a peacetime world. Joe is
a traditional guy. It’s hard for him to accept that the woman he loves could
out in a war-zone, as vulnerable as he is.
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Capt. Piper leaned against the wall and crossed one
boot over the other. He finished another swig of coffee, downing the foul stuff
with the expression of a child being force-fed castor oil. “You got a letter,
right? I’m curious where it was posted from. Have you looked?”
Joe took the envelope out of his tunic pocket. “St.
Petersburg? Are you kidding me?” “That contact of mine in Aachen—he did a
little digging on your girl. Turns out the ATA has authorized women to ferry
aircraft in all Allied territories.”
“But Russia?”
“She’s been out of England for at least three weeks.
What started out as a flight to Marseilles wound up taking her all over—St.
Petersburg, Cyprus, Athens. Pilot logs even have her in Rhodesia. She flew some
Commonwealth general down there for his mother’s funeral.”
Joe had to swallow past a lump of panic and an
unexpected sense of admiration. “Where is she now?”
“Don’t know. Could be back to London. The hop down
to Rhodesia was eight days ago.” The captain set his tin cup aside and produced
two four-packs of cigarettes, the kind that came with every K-ration.
Curious and proud and full of dread, Joe tore open
the envelope.
Dear Joe,
I can’t explain why
I love flying, other than it sets me free. It makes me proud. And you’re right
about respect, Joe, because I treasure the respect I’ve earned among my
colleagues.
As for the
traveling, I’m getting it out of my system. Then you’ll be stuck with me. Stay
safe and I will too.
Love,
Your Lulu
Although most people recall images of Rosie the Riveter, working
factory jobs left empty by men, but few know the true influence of daring, gifted
women at the tops of so many varied fields. I love to think that Lulu, daring
heroine extraordinaire, embodies that magical spirit. Good thing her guy Joe
loves her too!
Summer has been a blast! Available now from Pocket Books are
three Christ Family romances. FLAWLESS
kicked it off with a tale of an estranged couple's search for love. The 99¢ tie-in novella, "A LITTLE MORE SCANDAL" follows two
aspiring lovers to London. And the Scottish-set second novel, STARLIGHT, was an
RT BookReviews 4½ Star Top Pick. "Richly nuanced characters and a superbly
realized Victorian setting come together brilliantly." ~ The Chicago
Tribune
I've also launched a co-written pseudonym, Katie Porter , with my long-time friend and critique
partner, Lorelie Brown. Our "Vegas Top Guns" series of contemporary
erotic romances launched from Samhain with DOUBLE DOWN and INSIDE BET, both of
which were RT BookReviews 4½ Star Top Picks: "This racy, raunchy, hella
good read…will move Fifty Shades of Grey to the children's section of the
bookstore."
Where to find me:
Twitter: @carrielofty
I'd like to give away a digital copy of HIS VERY OWN GIRL in any
format. Just answer: What impressions of WWII women do you have? Do you recall
stories of the era from women in your family?
Thanks again to Romance Reviews Today for featuring His Very Own Girl!