Today's Wednesday Wonders features Richard Whitten Barnes and his novel, Enemies.
About the
Book:
It is November 11, 1968, fifty years to the day since the
armistice of the Great War. The seventy year old German diplomat Jurgen Stern
is in Ottawa, Canada on a special assignment. He rescues a portfolio mistakenly
left behind in his hotel lobby by a man near his own age. Inside are drawings
that are obviously from a soldier’s perspective of WW1. One of the sketches is
so intriguing he is compelled to find this man and learn the truth about it.
The story reverts back to 1916 when Brian MacLennan, a farm boy from northern Ontario joins the Canadian Expeditionary Force. At the same time, young Jurgen Stern has been conscripted by the Imperial German Army. Their experiences in that brutal war are followed until they become entangled in a way that will take fifty years to unravel. The two men face the consequences of those events a half century in the past and must put them right.
The story reverts back to 1916 when Brian MacLennan, a farm boy from northern Ontario joins the Canadian Expeditionary Force. At the same time, young Jurgen Stern has been conscripted by the Imperial German Army. Their experiences in that brutal war are followed until they become entangled in a way that will take fifty years to unravel. The two men face the consequences of those events a half century in the past and must put them right.
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| British Remembrance Poppy - WWI |
Book Trailer
Click HERE
Excerpt:
Once
in town, they both knew there was one more good-bye. Owen stopped the sleigh a
few doors down from John Richards’ store and post office. When Brian hesitated,
Owen practically shoved his older brother off onto a snowbank. Brian trudged to
the door of the neat frame house which was opened before he could knock.
“Get
in here, Brian MacLennan, before I catch a death of cold!” a cheery middle-aged
woman admonished. She shut the door behind him as he stamped the snow from his
boots. “Sarah’s just…well, fixing her hair. She saw your sleigh from the
window.”
“Thank
you, Mrs. White,” he mumbled, embarrassed but pleased at her suggesting his
visit might be special to Sarah.
She
retreated into the house. It was a few minutes before he heard “Hello, Brian,”
in a soft but confident voice.
Brian
had only recently built enough nerve to approach Sarah White. To him, she was
the essence of elegance. Every boy in the township vied for her attention. She
was younger than he by two years, and at nineteen, it was a miracle she was
still unattached.
He
had displayed some of his drawings at a crafts fair at the town hall last
autumn, and she had been there. She’d admired his ability, and they talked
about his wanting to go to school somewhere instead of farming. It soon became
clear this girl was not only beautiful, she was knowledgeable in literature and
art. He was smitten. He sketched her from memory and presented it to her one
afternoon, fearing she’d be offended, but she wasn’t.
“I
heard at the post office about your signing up,” she said.
“Yeah.
I…can’t stay. I’m meeting the train.” He couldn’t think. He wanted to hold her.
“I’ll
miss our talks,” she said.
“Oh!
I mean, yes?”
She
smiled, and pulled something from the folds of her frock, handing it to him.
Brian
stared, unbelieving, at the photograph mounted on stiff pasteboard. It was
professionally taken, capturing the every detail of what made her so special.
He stood there, speechless.
“Perhaps
you’ll think of me from time to time,” she said.
“Sarah!”
he stared at the picture, then at her. “I will,” he croaked, and
carefully slipped the photo into his breast pocket. "Well, then…” He motioned
to the door and the waiting sleigh.
She
reached to place a palm on his cheek.
“Be safe, Brian,” were her last words.
Interview with Richard Whitten Barnes:
1.
Robyn Echols:
What prompted you to write ENEMIES?
Richard W. Barnes: I
was looking for something topical. It occurred to me that the 100th
anniversary of the WW1 armistice is upon us. My wife and I both have fathers
who served in that conflict (yes, we’re that old!). Her father fought for the
Germans, and after emigrating to the USA met a Canadian who it turns out fought
against him in some of the same battles.
If that isn’t fodder for a story, I don’t know what is.
2.
Robyn
Echols: Do you usually write historical
war novels? If not, what other genres of books have you written?
Richard W. Barnes: ENEMIES
is my fourth historical novel. I also have written four mystery novels. Two of
the historical novels deal with events in WW2, while the third has the war of
1812 as a background.
Honestly, I don’t have a preference for either genre. For
me, there isn’t much difference in the two. Both require a lot of research to
make them credible, and both require an intriguing plot to make them readable.
3.
Robyn
Echols: Are there any human stories that
either prompted you to write this novel, or that impressed you in the process
of your research?
Richard W. Barnes: My
wife’s story of her father was a big influence in choosing the plot for ENEMIES.
As to stories from my research, there were several. Two which come to mind are:
Ernst Jünger’s book, STORM OF STEEL an autobiographical
account of his time as a German officer. His incredible survival in spite of
often bad leadership of the German high command is inspiring.
On the other side, the story of Canada’s commander, Arthur
Currie is really interesting. This flawed, complex man was instrumental, to a
large extent, in turning around the war in the Allies favor.
Anyone interested in WW1 should acquaint themselves with these two stories.
4.
Robyn
Echols: How did writing or researching
for this novel touch you or change or perceptions of this war?
Richard W. Barnes: I
always knew the casualties were horrific over the four years of WW1, but my
delving into the details of individual battles (thousands killed on both sides
in a single engagement, ill-conceived assaults resulting in needless
casualties, etc.) my eyes were opened.
5.
Robyn
Echols: Tell us about the cover.
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| Poppies Field in Flanders - WWI battleground |
Richard
W. Barnes: The Canadian man on the cover
of ENEMIES is the uncle of a lady I know in Ontario who was in the CEF
(Canadian Expeditionary Forces). The young German boy is my wife’s father. We
were both the youngest children of parents who had us at a relatively advanced
age, thus our first-generation connection with WW1. My dad was in the Rainbow
Division of the American Expeditionary Forces.
6. What are your future writing goals?
Richard W. Barnes: Oh dear! You had to ask.
I guess I’m leaning toward another mystery involving my character
Andy Blake, a female cop who resides
in the Northern Ontario Island of St. Joseph. I have, like Phillip Craig and
Cynthia Riggs, who wrote mysteries set in the island of Martha’s Vineyard,
become attached to this person as if she were real.
About
the Author:
Richard
Whitten Barnes is a native Chicagoan, graduating as a chemist from Michigan
State University. He is now retired from a career in international chemical
sales and marketing, which has taken him all over the world. Barnes is a
veteran of the U.S. Army 82nd Airborne Division and an avid sailor. He lives in
Lake Wylie, S.C., but spends summers with his wife Marg and dog Sparty at their
cottage on St. Joseph Island, Ontario, on the shores of Lake Huron.
Author Links:
Enemies Purchase Links:
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