Author: Katie Slattery
A Grueling Search for Tiny Things – Careful Proofreading matters
The proofreading is finished! It was a grueling and worthwhile task. My team of 3 (my editor, my eagle-eyed friend, Barbara, and myself) have combed proof copies of Immigrant Soldier. My editor used a time honored method for checking a final proof of material seen too often—she read it backward. My friend read it for the…
Eight Notable Ritchie Boys
The Ritchie Boys, brought together by their proficiency in German, Italian or French, were trained in intelligence work by the US Army under whose command they helped defeat the Axis powers in WWII. After their service was completed, like veterans today, they had to find a place for themselves in civilian life. As a group,…
Using Family Stories—or Not
From the very beginning, I was fascinated by the stories my uncle told of his experiences during WWII. But, as I began to write Immigrant Soldier, I wanted the book to be more than just a war story. I wanted to write about the forces, both political and personal, that changed him from a frustrated teenager…
Life in Nazi Europe through Historical Fiction
I have always loved historical fiction and, naturally, books that take place in Europe just before or during World War II fill my shelves. They helped me have a feel for the era, something that was invaluable as I wrote Immigrant Soldier. Here are some of my favorites, all books that depict life in Nazi-occupied Europe…
A Book in My Hand—A Baby Past Due
What a journey this has been! More than 15 years gestation and birth is just around the corner. It has been an exciting two weeks as my editor, my designers, and I send a flurry of emails back and forth. But we have accomplished our goal. Immigrant Soldier was uploaded to the publication arm of Amazon (CreateSpace)…
A Very Big Man – Man Mountain Dean
One common memory that almost all the Ritchie Boys share is of the oversized instructor of hand-to-hand combat, Man Mountain Dean. He obviously made an impression commensurate with his size. Dean, who stood over six feet tall and weighed in excess of 300 pounds, must have seemed, to the young soldiers he instructed, a literal…
An African-American Ritchie Boy – William Warfield
If you have ever heard a recording of William Warfield singing “Ol’ Man River,” from the musical Showboat by Jerome Kern, you will not have forgotten his deep, rich, bass-baritone voice. Warfield’s emotional rendering of this song about the hardship and despair of black laborers in the late nineteenth century makes my heart ache every time I…
Crossing the T’s and Dotting the I’s
When I sent what I believed to be a clean, mistake-free copy of my manuscript to a Ritchie Boy who had promised to write me a review, I was amazed when he found not only some German language that needed correction, but a few other small errors. I conveyed my distress to my editor, and…
In Remembrance of Pearl Harbor
Today is the 73rd anniversary of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. At 8:00 am on the morning of December 7th 1941, the Imperial Japanese Navy launched a surprise military strike against the US Pacific Fleet anchored in the sheltered harbor near Honolulu. Just as we today can easily remember the morning of September…
The Inside Tells a Story – Interior Design Matters
When you open a book and look inside, there are certain things a reader expects— title page, copyright page, maybe a dedication, and a table of contents, especially for nonfiction. A self-publishing author determines the content of these pages, but it could be a steep learning curve for a writer to get everything laid out…