About Jeane Slone
An interview with Jeane Sloane (excerpted from author-interviews at jeaneslone.com.
Why do you write historical fiction?
I like to write about little known parts of history. The beginning of my novel says, “let us not forget the good parts of history in order to enjoy them. Let us not forget the bad parts of history in order to not repeat them.†Finding little known pieces of the past and blending them together with factious characters is challenging for me as well as gratifying. It is like putting a puzzle together.
How long have you been writing?
I have only been writing for about six years. Unlike most authors I never wrote when I was younger.
In my previous life, (before retirement), I bought a Mac laptop for my business. I owned a large daycare center. I didn’t have much time to write a novel between working fulltime and raising a family, but I enjoyed the magic of my Mac after only having a typewriter. I was so amazed at the “delete†button and the “cut and paste.†I started fooling around with it and thought I would write about my mother.
Is She Flew Bombers about your mother?
No, my mother was in the Army during World War II but all she did was type for the Colonel. This was a necessary job but boring to write about! How I discovered information about the Women Airforce Service Pilots was after reading a huge scrapbook my mother had left me, which even included ration coupons! I read a two-inch column in one of her Army base newsletters titled, WASPS Fly into WAAC’s barracks. I was quite surprised to read there were women pilots during WWII. Asking everyone I knew, I found very few people heard about the adventures of the women pilots during WWII. This tiny article began my three-year research.
Why do you always write about war?
Many people would be surprised to hear that I actually was a peace activist and marched against the Vietnam War in 1970 in Washington, D.C. (I almost got tear gassed!) I have a wonderful chapter in She Built Ships where the heroine says, “How could so much death and destruction motivate people to accomplish such feats of cooperation and productivity? I was able to help build an entire ship in four days. Why can’t peace become the motivating force to bring this country together instead of war?â€
Then why do you write about war?
I am totally fascinated by the forties era. My parents brought me up with forties values; waste not want not, a stitch in time saves nine, etc.! I enjoy writing and researching about a very short period of time when women were allowed to become strong individuals, because most of the men left and went to war. Women became pilots, riveters, welders, policewomen, bus drivers, etc. Then the men came home and the women were told to go back into the kitchen, enjoy their modern appliances and MULTIPLY! Even the women pilots were turned down for commercial pilot jobs and were offered to become stewardesses.
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