Sally Jameson Bond

Great question! For some, it may seem a natural transition, spending so many years near all those bookshelves and then, eventually, finding two books I wrote on those shelves! But I had no intention of becoming an author until early 2015. I was pretty sure I would retire when I reached 66, but what then? One day, out of the blue, I decided I would write a novel about a POW camp that was located near Algona, Iowa during World War II. It was an insane idea, but once I made the decision, I had to follow through. It’s who I am. And guess what? I discovered I love writing novels!

It was my husband who inspired me when he told me there was a prisoner of war camp near Algona (close to where he grew up—his dad told him about Camp Algona when he was young). For several months, he was completely unaware of his inspiring words because I didn’t say anything to him or anyone else about my idea for some time (just in case I changed my mind). But eventually I did tell him, and others, and as they say, the rest is history (pun intended).

Initially, I didn’t consider who my target audience would be. Early in my author journey (the research stage) I had dinner with a good friend who is a retired librarian. Our conversation revolved around my story ideas. She asked, “Who’s your target audience? Your protagonist [17-year-old Phee Swensson] is a teenager. Sounds like a Teen and Young Adult story to me.” And she was right. However, to my knowledge, my readers include a 12-year-old girl and a 94-year-young woman who reads two to three books a week on her Kindle! (By the way, she loved my book.) And here's something that was totally unexpected: two good friends, gay men in their seventies, have told me they love My Mother’s Friend. I was so pleased to hear that!

I’ve been a fan of Teen & Young Adult books for years. I think many older adults are. I was cognizant of language and scenes that might be offensive to some. My Mother’s Friend is a sweet (forbidden) love story. It is not a romance novel.

As many readers probably know, there is an abundance of WWII novels out there. However, very few are set on the home front in the American Midwest. I think that aspect is appealing to some.

You might be surprised to learn that historical fiction is not my favorite genre to read. Don’t get me wrong; I’ve enjoyed many historical fiction books over the years. (You didn’t ask, but Ken Follett is my favorite author.) Before I thought about writing My Mother’s Friend, most of the TBR books on my nightstand were memoirs or biographies/autobiographies or non-fiction history books. I’m reading a lot more historical fiction now.

Believe it or not, history was my worst subject in school. I flat out hated it. But early in our marriage, my husband and I moved (from Iowa) to Virginia where history oozes from every crack and crevasse. I soon learned to love history, especially the Civil War and WWII eras. In 1981, I embarked on my first of several trips to Europe where my attention was grabbed by all the WWII sites and stories and artifacts there. We were in Berlin (the first time) in May 1991, and that experience helped me shape the opening and closing chapters of My Mother’s Friend.

So, it seemed reasonable that I would choose to write a story about World War II. However, I knew absolutely nothing about prisoner of war camps in America. (And I just recently learned there were three POW camps in the U.S. during World War I: two in Georgia and one in Utah.) Honestly, I was astonished when my husband told me about the camp near Algona. How did I not know about that!? By May 1945, there were over 500 camps in the U.S. holding over 425,000 POWs, mostly Germans, but some Italians and a few Japanese. My primary goal for writing My Mother’s Friend was to educate others about that little-known part of our country’s history.

There’s one more thing I will add here. A part of me wishes I had been alive during World War II. Writing My Mother’s Friend got me pretty close.

My Mother’s Friend takes place in Iowa where I grew up and attended college. (I hold a Bachelor of Music degree from the University of Iowa.) I chose to use music prominently in my story for two reasons: first, it’s what I know; second, a good friend who is very knowledgeable about the history surrounding Camp Algona encouraged me to use music as a vehicle to connect Phee with her German POW friend Horst. I am so very grateful for that suggestion. It seems to work quite well.

I have been an active participant in music ensembles—choirs and instrumental—since I was a young child, singing in the children’s choir at church and eventually singing in choral groups all through school and even in college and beyond. I picked up the trombone the summer before fifth grade (that would have been 1962) and didn’t put it away (permanently) until July 13, 2018, when I was honored to perform with The United States Army Band “Pershing’s Own” on the steps of the U.S. Capitol Building in Washington, DC. One of the characters in my book, the older brother of my protagonist, was a member of that band during WWII.

I’ve been told most authors write their first books for themselves. Aside from my desire to educate my readers about POW camps in America, I suppose that’s true for me and my first novel as well. But I wrote the sequel for my readers who were all very anxious to know what happened to Phee after the end of my first novel. Near the end of My Mother’s Friend, Phee is at the train station in Algona (as shown in the cover) where she has just said goodbye to the man she loves. Part One of the sequel, My Mother’s Son, begins just a week after that train station scene and continues through the birth of her son in July 1946.

As I wrote My Mother’s Friend, ideas for My Mother’s Son came to me and I incorporated many of them in the story. Phee’s daughter Mollie MacAlister is involved in both stories, and the setting moves from Algona to Brainerd, Minnesota. And of course, there are new characters in the sequel. I think new settings and characters help to keep the story fresh, but it’s also comforting to revisit characters you cared about in the first story.

Writing the sequel was relatively easy for me. Promoting it is a challenge as I don’t want to give anything away. Details are better left unspoken (or unwritten).

I am the second of five children, so growing up in a houseful of people is what I know and remember. (Phee, the daughter of a Lutheran pastor, is also the second of five children.) I was blessed by that, having two parents who loved us and took good care of us. Also, all four of our grandparents were always nearby, and I treasure those memories as well. Writing about close and loving familial relationships was not difficult for me. Writing about a Lutheran family in a small town in Iowa is also what I know and remember. (I was raised in the Lutheran Church, and my uncle and cousin were/are Lutheran pastors.) In My Mother’s Son, I explored the world of infant adoptions and the pain many unwed mothers experience as they struggle with the decision to keep or give up their babies. It’s heart wrenching.

Even though my dad didn’t talk about his war experiences too much when I was young, I always knew he had served during both of those wars. He trained as a naval aviator and was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the U.S. Marine Corps in August 1944. He eventually flew C-47s (carrying troops and cargo and mail) in the Pacific at the end of the war. Because he was a Marine officer, he was recalled to active duty during the Korean War in the early 1950s. After I got past my aversion for anything historical, I began to pay attention and was intrigued by the fact that my dad had served in the military. (His great grandfather had served in the Civil War, and his father served in the Army during World War I. My husband was also in the Army at the end of the Vietnam War and for a few years after, so I’m connected to the military over several generations. My husband helped me get a lot of the Army stuff right in My Mother’s Friend.)

I modeled my protagonist, Phee Swensson, after my mom. Phee was my mom’s nickname, and she was a talented pianist and singer who dabbled in composition when she was in high school. Mom was a prolific writer. She didn’t write books, but she kept a journal for many years (I have all of them) and wrote notes and letters to friends and family near and far almost every day. I don’t know this for a fact, of course, but I truly believe I “inherited” my mom’s propensity for writing. It just took me a long time to find it.

By the time I started writing My Mother’s Friend, I had over two years of research under my belt. (I didn’t know what I didn’t need to know, so I tried to learn everything!) Not only did I need to feel comfortable writing about a POW camp in Iowa, I also needed to know what life was like on the home front. I wanted my readers to “be there.” Many of them probably don’t have a connection with that part of our history. So yes, I wanted them to learn, but I also tried very hard to tell a story that would mean something to them on an emotional level. I’ve heard from many readers, either through direct contact or the reviews they post on Amazon, that I was successful in that goal. It’s very rewarding to know that.

After months—no, years—of thinking about my story, I began writing My Mother’s Friend in a cabin at Claytor Lake State Park in southwest Virginia on December 29, 2017, one month after I retired. I wrote the final Algona chapter there because it takes place on December 29, 1945. (Don’t take a cue from me; that’s not how you’re supposed to write a book.) Over the next eighteen months, I wrote and wrote and wrote and wrote and when I finished the first draft, I’d written over 280,000 words! Oops! I soon learned I’d written enough words for three books, so I spent the next three years cutting chapters and characters and paragraphs and sentences and words and probably a comma or two. (The most difficult cut was removing Sam the dog. He didn’t need to be there, but still…) The final version is just under 102,000 words, an acceptable length for historical fiction.

I began writing My Mother’s Son in a cabin at Claytor Lake State Park on December 29, 2021. I finished the first draft in just three months—much better!

Initially, I was concerned that there would be too many distractions if I tried writing at home. But I have my space—my writing room with a door that closes—and I highly recommend finding a way to have a space that is just yours and no one else’s. Also, it helps to have a spouse/partner who is also creative (he’s a composer); he understands.

I can’t address “writer’s block” because I didn’t have that experience, not once, with either book. Amazing. Also, I am more productive in the afternoons for some reason.

I hope my books will encourage younger readers (or even older readers if they choose) to learn more about World War II in general and POW camps in America specifically. There are so many books out there, both fiction and non-fiction, to help them understand the significance and complexities of that war. And, of course, there are many online resources as well. As I mentioned earlier, there are not as many novels about life on the home front, and I believe My Mother’s Friend helps to fill that gap.

Other than learning about historical events and the dynamics of infant adoptions, my readers can expect their hearts to be warmed by both books.

For My Mother’s Friend, I started at “square one” with my research. I was very fortunate that I worked in an academic library with access to so many resources. I spent a day and a half at the National Archives in College Park, Maryland, where I took over 500 photos of original documents from Camp Algona. I also visited the World War II exhibits at the Smithsonian’s Museum of American History that week. In 2018, I traveled around Iowa, spending time at the State Historical Society Research Centers, the Camp Algona POW Museum, and Algona’s First Lutheran Church archives. I also interviewed several people who had specific knowledge about elements of my story. They included a journalist, the president of the Camp Algona POW Museum, the daughter of a German POW, the mother of twin boys, and six lovely people who lived in and near Algona during WWII.

The trick in writing historical fiction is balancing reality with what is essentially the product of the author’s imagination. We historical fiction authors try our best to avoid writing history books. Instead, we put characters and action in settings that are often real places that once existed (e.g., Camp Algona) or in some cases still do exist (e.g., the town of Algona). Successful historical fiction authors make it work. I hope I’m in that camp.

Here’s what I have learned about starting a new career after retirement: you absolutely must be passionate about your project or it will fail. If you’re a writer, choose to write about something you love, or are really interested in, or both. You will be immersed in this project for a long while; you can’t lose interest. I am passionate about WWII history, Iowa, music, and family relationships. Even after finishing My Mother’s Friend and My Mother’s Son, I am still passionate about all of it.

Also, be prepared to be busier than you were before you retired from your full-time job, especially if you choose to self-publish your books. If you love telling stories, all the time and effort will be worth it.

Well, sometimes I don’t. It’s challenging. But I try. I’m still learning to be selective with what I can accomplish and what I can’t. This past November (2023) I spent sixteen days in Iowa where I spoke and signed copies of My Mother’s Friend in seven cities/towns. It was exhausting, but I really enjoyed meeting so many interesting and interested people along the way. (I actually have fans in Iowa!) To date, I have been involved in fourteen book signing events.

Promotion is critical for all writers who want to be successful—traditionally published or self-published. For me, it’s the least fun/rewarding aspect of this writing journey I’m on. I’m still learning how to be successful with all that. (And I thank AllAuthor for offering your self-help platform.)

I do! However, once again—for my third book—I have chosen to write about something I know almost nothing about (but I’m learning “as we speak”). Life does sometimes get in the way of being productive. (I am in awe of people who work full time and write books as well. I couldn’t do it.) I really enjoy the research side of writing historical fiction. It’s important to get all those details right so readers aren’t taken aback at something that doesn’t ring true. As I did with book two, I look forward to meeting new characters in new settings.

My experience with AllAuthor has been very positive! I discovered you in 2022 just after I published my first book. This past December I upgraded to Pro-Author and I’m so glad I did. Your efforts to bring like-minded authors and readers together are commendable. Your site is very professional and easy to explore and manage. I’m still finding ways to use it to my advantage. Even though I’ve been on this author journey of mine for a few years now, I’m still amazed that I can be a part of your wide family of authors—and readers! You serve a purpose and I’m grateful to be a part of it. Thank you!