WWII fiction – Linda Mahkovec

It’s easy to create the feeling of contentment that comes from coziness and simple pleasures. Fresh flowers, the scent of baking pervading your home, music softly playing in the background.

The colder weather — especially with the approach of Christmastime — lends itself to creating such an atmosphere. It can start with using a favorite cup for your morning tea, or a piece of toast with jam, or the scent of coffee and a warm muffin.

I like to think that my Christmastime series captures, to some degree, the sense of pleasure and comfort: the scent of pine, a fire crackling in the fireplace, a radiator hissing and filling a cold apartment with warmth, the laughter of children.

Though the backdrop to the series is WWII and life on the home front is full of struggles and hardship, the overall tone of the series is uplifting and comforting.

Sad things happen, shocking events take place, but the characters roll up their sleeves and do their part to make the best of things. Love, family, friendship, and neighborliness are in the forefront and shape the stories.

Celebrating life — its holidays, the seasons, small day-to-day beauties, the quest for meaning — fill the pages of Christmastime.

So as the temperatures drop and the holidays approach, experience a sense of well-being for yourself. Fix a cozy hot drink, turn on a lamp or light a candle, and grab a warm blanket. Then nestle into your favorite reading chair and snuggle up with CHRISTMASTIME.

(Images from Pinterest)

The following photographs are from my Pinterest boards. I started to collect images of the 1940s when I began writing the Christmastime series — stories that take place on the home front during World War II.

I wanted to get a sense of the times in order to better portray Lillian and her friend Izzy, and all the women in the series — women who live and work in New York City,

as well as those who run an orchard and live on a farm.

There are young mothers and career women, volunteers and performers, of all ages. And of course, there are a few images on the boards of men, to help portray the relationships in the books.

Some of the photographs on the Pinterest boards are of famous women,

others depict the not-so-average women of the day,

whose lives were turned upside down by the war. They rose to the challenge — going without, making do, and stepping into roles they never imagined for themselves.