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Publisher: Endeavour Press Publication Date: October 12, 2017 Pages: 326 Add to Goodreads About the Book
On the wrong side of war, there is more than one enemy…
When Croatia becomes a Nazi puppet state in 1941, carefree young pilot Tony Babic finds himself forcibly aligned with Hitler’s Luftwaffe. Unbeknownst to Tony, his sweetheart Katarina and best friend Goran have taken the side of the opposing communist partisans. The threesome are soon to discover that love and friendship will not circumvent this war’s ideals. Downed by the Allies in the Adriatic Sea, Tony survives a harrowing convalescence in deplorable Italian hospitals and North African detention stockades. His next destination is Camp Graham in Illinois, one of four hundred prisoner of war camps on American soil. But with the demise of the Third Reich, repatriation presents a new challenge. What kind of life awaits Tony under communist rule? Will he be persecuted as an enemy of the state for taking the side of Hitler? And then there is Katarina; in letters she confesses her love, but not her deceit… Does her heart still belong to him? Based on a true story, John Richard Bell’s The Circumstantial Enemy is an energetic journey to freedom through minefields of hatred, betrayal, lust and revenge. Rich in incident with interludes of rollicking humour, it’s a story about the strength of the human spirit, and the power of friendship, love and forgiveness. Where to Buy
Interview
L: Can you tell us a little about yourself and your background?
JRB: I was born in Chigwell, UK and now reside in Vancouver, Canada. Before becoming an author of business books and historical fiction, I was the CEO of a Fortune 500 company and a global strategy consultant. My blog musings on strategy, leadership and branding have appeared in various journals such as Fortune, Forbes and ceoafterlife.com. L: Who or what inspired you to be an author? JRB: This was a natural progression from blogging. Blogging led to non-fiction. Non-fiction led to fiction. L: Who or what inspired your novel? JRB: The book is based on the true story of my 97 year old father in law. 17 years ago I wrote his biography. Granddad was 80 years at the time and he wasn’t about to be the first human being to live forever. The family had heard his tales over and over again – trials and tribulations of a young Croatian pilot coerced onto the wrong side of WWII. My daughter said, "If you don't write it, Granddad's story will be lost forever." That was the beginning of my life as an author. Several years later, I had this idea to fictionalize an already great story. The result was The Circumstantial Enemy. L: What would you say is the genre of your novel? JRB: 20th century historical fiction L: Why did you pick this/these genre(s)? JRB: The novel was based on a true story L: How did you develop your plot and characters? JRB: Conflict is vital to a good novel. When a good guy is caught on the wrong side of a war he encounters many enemies. I put together a stereotypical plot arc for the book and within that journey, emerged the characters. The next step was to develop them and know them like I know my own family. L: Who or what inspired your protagonist? JRB: The book is based on the true story of my 97 year old father in law. 17 years ago I wrote his biography. Granddad was 80 years at the time and he wasn’t about to be the first human being to live forever. The family had heard his tales over and over again – trials and tribulations of a young Croatian pilot coerced onto the wrong side of WWII. My daughter said, "If you don't write it, Granddad's story will be lost forever." That was the beginning of my life as an author. Several years later, I had this idea to fictionalize an already great story. The result was The Circumstantial Enemy. L: Who or what inspired your antagonist? JRB: It was only natural to create a character modeled on his wife. Her name was Katarina, the heroine of the novel. L: What was the most difficult part to write in the book? JRB: This was my first taste of writing fiction -- a huge challenge. A couple of thousand words of fiction later, I realized my naivety; I was in over my head, but that didn’t snuff my inspiration. I didn’t write another word for a year – reading every self-help book I could get my hands on regarding the art of writing fiction. L: What was your favourite part of your book to write? JRB: I particularly liked the hero's time in two POW camps on US soil. The fact that the US housed 400,000 prisoners in 400 POW camps between 1943 and 1946 is a relatively unknown fact. Prior to 1944, the US attitude of what went on behind the barbed wire was the enemy's business. As such, Nazi elements ruled. This was the case in The Circumstantial Enemy. But a wise War Department official (Leon Jaworski, later to be the Watergate prosecutor), changed all of that for very good reasons.
L: Are you a full time or a part time writer? If part time, what do you do besides write?
RJB: Part-timer L: What are you currently reading? RJB: All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr L: What are some of your favourite books or authors? RJB: Loved the early books of Wilbur Smith and most of Bryce Courtenay's novels including The Power of One and The Potato Factory L: What are your future projects, if any? RJB: A prequel and a sequel to The Circumstantial Enemy are in the works. L: What is your preferred method for readers to get in touch with you and your books? RJB: My website is http://ceoafterlife.com L: Do you have any advice for aspiring authors? RJB: Here is the publishing reality. Publishers would rather release the next John Grisham legal thriller than take on an unknown. Literary agents shun the endless piles of queries and manuscripts from unpublished authors? Less than 1% of all newbie writers break through the slush pile. Why then, so aspiring writers keep trying. Because they love writing. Do what you love; love what you do. More on this from my blog 'Branding the Aspiring Novelist' https://goo.gl/zB8L6Q
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