Traumatized by horrors witnessed during the Nazi invasion of France, a young woman retreats to the dense Breton woods where she becomes a member of the clandestine French Resistance. When she finds a critically injured American paratrooper whose plane was shot down, she shelters the wounded soldier in her secluded cottage, determined to heal him despite the enormous risk.
Ostracized by villagers who have labeled her a witch, she is betrayed by an informant who reports to the Butcher—the monstrous leader of the local paramilitary organization that collaborates with the Germans. As the enemy closes in, she must elude the Gestapo while helping the Resistance reunite the American with his regiment and join the Allied Forces in the Battle of Brittany.
Can true love triumph against all odds under the oppressive Third Reich?
Book Title: The Witch of the Breton Woods
Author: Jennifer Ivy Walker
Publication Date: July 10, 2024
Publisher: The Wild Rose Press
Pages: 163
Genre: historical romance/ romantic suspense
Join me in a cosy chat with Jennifer.
What inspired you to start writing?
I have wanted to be a writer since I was eleven years old. I became a high school French teacher, and wrote a little play for my students to perform at the state French competition. It was a blend of a medieval French legend (Tristan et Yseult) and the fairy tale, Beauty and the Beast. I also used to use puppets to illustrate the legend of Tristan et Yseult to my French IV class to help them better understand the novel. I got the inspiration to transform that play and puppetry into a novel--which evolved into my award-winning trilogy, The Wild Rose and the Sea Raven-- after reading A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas!
What was the hardest part about writing this book?
As a former French teacher, I knew the history of the D-Day invasion of Normandy during World War II and had visited the beaches where the Allies landed on June 6, 1944. I wanted to write a story of a young woman who is a member of the French Resistance, and the hardest part of writing this novel was coordinating my characters’ actions with the actual historical events which took place. I did extensive research into the military objectives of the paratrooper regiment division of the Allied Forces landing, as well as the German officers and their orders to defend the coasts of Normandy and Brittany as part of Hitler’s Atlantic Wall.
Does one of the main characters hold a special place in your heart? If so, why?
I dedicated this novel to my late brother Jeff, and the protagonist Beau has many of Jeff’s traits. He’s 6’4”, has sandy light brown hair and intense blue eyes, and is a lifelong Boston Red Sox fan as well as a former pitcher. So of course, the hero Beau has a very special place in my heart.
But I also love the character of Jules Fleury. He is the leader of the French Resistance group known as Les Loups (The Wolves). I love his fierce Breton heart and fiery, indomitable spirit. I also adore his passion for Lola (the woman he loves), for his sister Yvette (the heroine of the story), and for his beloved country (France).
If your book was to be made into a movie, who are the celebrities that would star in it?
I would prefer unknown actors and actresses. Beau would need to have “eyes as blue as the Breton Sea” and be very tall and athletic (he’s a former baseball player). Yvette would need to have long black hair and pale, silvery blue “haunted” eyes, with a generous, giving heart.
What do you hope your readers take away from this book?
I hope the uplifting message of love and courage triumphing over evil reaffirms their belief in the indomitable human spirit.
Jennifer Ivy Walker
Jennifer Ivy Walker has an MA in French literature and is a former high school teacher and professor of French at a state college in Florida. Her novels encompass a love for French language, literature, history, and culture, incorporating her lifelong study, summers abroad, and many trips to France.
The Witch of the Breton Woods is heart-pounding suspense set during WWII in Nazi-occupied France, where a young woman in the French Resistance shelters and heals a wounded American soldier, hiding him from the Gestapo and the monstrous Butcher who are relentlessly hunting him.
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Thank you for featuring Jennifer Ivy Walker here today, with such a great interview.
ReplyDeleteTake care,
Cathie xx
The Coffee Pot Book Club
Thank you very much for hosting me to promote The Witch of the Breton Woods!
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