Warsaw Native Releases Historical Fictional Book ‘Things We Didn’t Say’
November 18, 2020 at 11:43 p.m.
Warsaw Native Releases Historical Fictional Book ‘Things We Didn’t Say’
By Jackie [email protected]
In 1944, linguistic student Johanna Berglund is forced to return to her small Midwestern town in Minnesota to become a translator at a German prisoner of war camp, said Green. Joanna doesn’t want to be there and the town doesn’t want the POW camp to be there. All sorts of intrigue and treason occurs throughout the span of the book.
Green moved to Minnesota after college and she didn’t know much about Minnesota. The inspiration of the book came when she learned there was over a dozen German POW camps during World War II in Minnesota, she said.
Part of the process of writing the book over the 10 months it took to write “Things We Didn’t Say” involved doing a lot of research about the POW camps and the interaction the community had with the camps, Green said.
Part of her research included going to Camp Algona POW Museum in Algona, Iowa. The museum provided Green with things like maps, menus and letters to help Green in her research.
During writing the book, Green said she wrote the book out of order as things came to her. She later rearranged everything.
“Because my writing style is so disorganized, there was a lot of editing,” she said.
Green said “Things We Didn’t Say” is an epistolary novel, which is a novel written through letters.
“That was a fun format to write,” she said.
Green said she would recommend her book to people who love a good historical fiction book. She said she hopes when they close the last page, they understand more about people.
She credited her roots in Warsaw in her ability to write historical fiction.
Green stated there were a lot of people in Warsaw that meant a lot to her and her writing journey. A lot of teachers, including those at Warsaw Community High School, encouraged her writing and interest in history and she said she wouldn’t be where she is without them.
“Things We Didn’t Say,” published by Bethany House Publishers, is currently available at Barnes & Noble, Amazon and other book stores.
In 1944, linguistic student Johanna Berglund is forced to return to her small Midwestern town in Minnesota to become a translator at a German prisoner of war camp, said Green. Joanna doesn’t want to be there and the town doesn’t want the POW camp to be there. All sorts of intrigue and treason occurs throughout the span of the book.
Green moved to Minnesota after college and she didn’t know much about Minnesota. The inspiration of the book came when she learned there was over a dozen German POW camps during World War II in Minnesota, she said.
Part of the process of writing the book over the 10 months it took to write “Things We Didn’t Say” involved doing a lot of research about the POW camps and the interaction the community had with the camps, Green said.
Part of her research included going to Camp Algona POW Museum in Algona, Iowa. The museum provided Green with things like maps, menus and letters to help Green in her research.
During writing the book, Green said she wrote the book out of order as things came to her. She later rearranged everything.
“Because my writing style is so disorganized, there was a lot of editing,” she said.
Green said “Things We Didn’t Say” is an epistolary novel, which is a novel written through letters.
“That was a fun format to write,” she said.
Green said she would recommend her book to people who love a good historical fiction book. She said she hopes when they close the last page, they understand more about people.
She credited her roots in Warsaw in her ability to write historical fiction.
Green stated there were a lot of people in Warsaw that meant a lot to her and her writing journey. A lot of teachers, including those at Warsaw Community High School, encouraged her writing and interest in history and she said she wouldn’t be where she is without them.
“Things We Didn’t Say,” published by Bethany House Publishers, is currently available at Barnes & Noble, Amazon and other book stores.
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