Alice’s Notions is the story I always wanted to write. The 1940s was such an interesting period of time to write about. This generation was called “the greatest generation” for good reason.
This was the generation, forged in the trials of the Great Depression, who put their lives on hold and sacrificed everything to fight a war against the evil Nazi regime, then faced the threat of the Soviet Union bent on taking over the world.
Alice’s Notions takes place right after World War II ended and includes many of the aspects of what it would have been like trying to get back to normal when everything would never be the same. Alice is a war widow trying to come to terms with the loss of her husband during the war. She moves back home from the big city where she can feel safe, but nowhere is safe from the growing threats of the late 1940s, not even the hills of West Virginia.
Another thing I loved about the story was the movie references. It reminds me of a classic 1940s movie with all the intrigue and romance of that time period. Alice is a movie buff who describes everyone she meets by the movie characters they remind her of. Alice was described by her late husband as looking a lot like Judy Garland. She describes one of the two men interested in her as Cary Grant, smirk and all. One movie I reference was The Postman Always Rings Twice. It was a big hit in 1946 and had the theme that the truth will always come out. Alice’s dilemma in the novel was trying to sort out what the truth was and who she could trust. There is defiantly a noir 1940s feeling about this novel.
The movie is set in Burning Bush, West Virginia. The town in the novel is based on the village of Kimberly, West Virginia where my mother was raised. As I wrote the novel, I could imagine my grandmother as a young married woman raising her six children there. Many of the historical research and details of the setting and time period came from stories told by my uncles and mother about when and where they grew up. Many of the characters were based on people my family knew and described in detail. It was a lot of fun writing a story which includes the elements of my family history.
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Tamera Lynn Kraft is an award winning author. She’s been married for 38 years to the love of her life, Rick, and has two married adult children and two grandchildren. Tamera has two novellas in print: A Christmas Promise and Resurrection of Hope. Her first full length novel, Alice’s Notions, was released in April. You can contact Tamera on her website at http://tameralynnkraft.net. You can sign up for Tamera’s Author Newsletter at http://eepurl.com/cdybpb
About Alice’s Notions:
World War 2 widow Alice Brighton returns to the safety of her home town to open a fabric shop. Between her mysterious landlord, her German immigrant employee, her neighbors who are acting strange, and a dreamboat security expert who is trying to romance her, Alice doesn’t know who she can trust.