2-3-4 Challenge Book Discussions #2 discussion

The character of Helga was based in part on my grandmother, Edna Schriever, who dealt with what must have been early stages Alzheimer’s for years and managed to keep most of us from realizing it! She was an extremely intelligent woman, whose default expression was a beautiful smile. Whenever I went to her house as a young teenager, she always asked me to write down my address. I used to laugh. “Grandma, of course you know my address.” But she would insist and tease me until I did, and then make sure that I put my name on the top. Then she’d make a big show of putting it in a special drawer in her sideboard so she wouldn’t lose it. Throughout the day, I’d catch her looking in that drawer, and it wasn’t until years and years later that I realized she must have been having moments of complete forgetfulness — and that she was trying to figure out who the heck I was!

My grandmother also lived in a California-style bungalow. (She lived in New Jersey, but the bungalow was right out of the Arts & Crafts style that was all the rage in California in the early 1900’s.) I saw a program on bungalows when I was channel surfing with my husband at about 2 a.m. one night, and I got all jazzed — “Hey, my grandma lived in a house like that!” (I found out that the big stone fireplace in her dining room was made from “river rocks,” and that when she first had the house built in the 1920’s, it probably cost about $4000.) When I created my character of Stan Wolchonok, I wanted to give him some kind of outside interest, away from his life with the Navy SEALs, and decided to give him the hobby of fixing up and re-selling bungalows.

The antique furniture that Stan wants for his house was made by the Stickley family. Stickley pieces were from the same Arts & Crafts period of American architecture as the bungalows mentioned above. (My grandmother’s house was filled with Stickley furniture. It was gorgeous — all oak and straight lines and masterfully made!) Shortly after I was married, my grandmother gave me one of her Stickley rocking chairs. It’s in my living room today!

The WWII subplot in OVER THE EDGE focuses on the heroic rescue effort that saved most of the 7800 Danish Jews from the Nazi roundup in the autumn of 1943. If you want to read some fascinating accounts of the rescue try Darkness Over Denmark by Ellen Levine, In Denmark, It Could Not Happen by Herbert Pundik (This book was my personal favorite!), The Rescue of the Danish Jews (Moral Courage Under Stress) edited by Leo Goldberger, and Boats in the Night (Knud Dyby’s Story of Resistance and Rescue) as told by Martha Loeffler.

How interesting! Thanks for sharing, Jonetta.

You’re welcome! It seemed interesting to me, too.

It's always interesting to know the inspiration and thought processes of a good author.

Completely agree, Lynn!

Very interesting. Our first house was a 1910 Sears kit house. It had the best floorplan for a two-bedroom house I have ever seen. I also have an original Stickley rocking chair. It was a gift from a dear older lady in my church on the birth of my first child.

Fantastic, Jonetta. I love reading about a family's history like this.

Anita wrote: "Very interesting. Our first house was a 1910 Sears kit house. It had the best floorplan for a two-bedroom house I have ever seen. I also have an original Stickley rocking chair. It was a gift from ..."

That’s really interesting, Anita!

I’ve had an interest in architecture and furniture (more along interior design) since I was a kid and did it as a sideline for a bit. The craftsman homes have always been appealing, though not my personal style. I love the look, though. Here’s an example that seems to fit what was described in the story:



You should hold onto that Stickley furniture, too. Love those lines and they are frightfully expensive. Here’s an example of the style:

Karen ♐ wrote: "Fantastic, Jonetta. I love reading about a family's history like this."

I was happily surprised when I found this on her website.

I rocking chair is in the mission style and I had to reupholster my seat. I did it in brick color leather.

How interesting. The house above looks like my aunt's; the color and style.

One of the reasons why I’m such a big Brockmann fan.

Jonetta wrote: "One of the reasons why I’m such a big Brockmann fan."

I love her work too. I wish she would continue with the Reluctant Heroes series.

So do I!

Thanks for the information Jonetta.
It is wonderful to see the real story behind the characters.

If anyone is interested in a movie about the rescue of the Danish Jews, there is a wonderful one with D.B. Sweeney called "A Day in October"

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0101646/

Thanks, Lauren!

Lynn wrote: "Jonetta wrote: "One of the reasons why I’m such a big Brockmann fan."

I love her work too. I wish she would continue with the Reluctant Heroes series."

I also wish she would continue the Reluctant Heros Series. I loved the first book and couldn't wait for the next . . . that never came. Actually, I wish she would write another Troubleshooter or another Tall, Dark and Dangerous or even just a simple romance like her early books, they were really great. I just would like her to write.

I’ve followed Brockmann for years and she’s spent much of that time working on projects with her son and husband. I just figured she just got worn out but thought she’d be rejuvenated by now.

I really miss her stories.