About the Book

Book: Francine’s Foibles Author: Linda Shenton Matchett Genre: Christian Historical Romance Release date: September 12, 2023

She’s given up hope. He never had any. Will they find it together? World War II is finally over, and America is extra grateful as the country approaches this year’s Thanksgiving. But for Francine life hasn’t changed. Despite working at Fort Meade processing the paperwork for the thousands of men who have returned home, she’s still lonely and very single. Is she destined for spinsterhood? Grateful that his parents anglicized the family surname after emigrating to the United States after the Great War, first-generation German-American Ray Fisher has done all he can to hide his heritage. He managed to make it through this second “war to end all wars,” but what American woman would want to marry into a German family? Must he leave the country to find wedded bliss?

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About the Author

Linda Shenton Matchett writes about ordinary people who did extraordinary things in days gone by. A native of Baltimore, Maryland, she was born a stone’s throw from Fort McHenry (of Star-Spangled Banner fame) and has lived in historical places all her life. She is a volunteer docent and archivist at the Wright Museum of WWII and a former trustee for her local public library. She now lives in central New Hampshire where she explores the history of this great state and immerses herself in the imaginary worlds created by other authors.

More from Linda

Francine O’Malley is a secondary character in Estelle’s Endeavor, and I decided she deserved her own book. The idea for Francine’s Foibles sprang from the stories my mom told me about her time working at Fort Meade processing discharge paperwork for returning servicemen. Because my grandparents lived in a small town near the base, I’d driven past countless times, but it was fun to research what it was like during World War 2 and the years immediately following. The Laurel Historical Society was a wonderful resource with lots of information and photos from “back in the day.” Initially opened in 1917 and called Camp Annapolis Junction, the base is located in Maryland about twenty miles southwest of Baltimore and twenty miles east of Laurel. The name quickly changed to Camp Meade but in 1928 was redesignated Fort Leonard Wood. According to www.home.army.mil, Pennsylvania congressmen were so angered at the removal of the name of their native son they held up appropriations until the army agreed to name the new permanent installation Fort George G. Meade, in honor of the Union general. During World War 2, the base was used as a recruit training post and more than 3.5 million men past through its gates. A small portion of the facility was also used as a POW camp for Japanese, German, and Italian prisoners. Mom was still single during her time at Fort Meade, and I loved imagining her as a wide-eyed young woman doing her part for the war effort and greeting handsome soldiers as they set foot back on American soil. This one’s for you, Mom! Linda Shenton Matchett

Interview with the Author

If a reader were to ask you what author you are like, what would you answer? I hope they would say I’m similar to Elizabeth Camden who writes historical fiction about women in unusual jobs. For example, in her book With Every Breath, the female protagonist works with the hero to find a cure for tuberculosis. Ms. Camden’s books are incredibly well researched and contact lots of information without being boring. That is what I strive to do in my stories.

If you could travel back in time, what time-period would you go to? As difficult as it would be to live during WWII, that’s the time-period I would visit. To experience women entering the workforce in great numbers, performing jobs formerly only held by men, and expanding their horizons. The era is often romanticized, and I’d like to experience the real flavor of the time.

What is your favorite book and why? I read Joanne Bischoff’s Lady and the Lionheart at least once a year. Her ability to provide description which enables me to see, smell, and hear life in the circus is exquisite while providing an emotionally wrenching story. The happily ever after is swoonworthy. Heather Blanton’s Romance in the Rockies series is a close second.

Share with me a few of your favorite things. Sweeping mountain views. Sitting in a kayak on a still lake. Boston Terriers. Riding trains. Watching football. A crisp fall day. Sitting on the sun porch during a rainstorm.

What is one question you would like readers to ask you? What would be your answer? I hope they ask me why I write which is actually a difficult question to answer without sounding cavalier. I write because I can’t not write. I’m happiest with I’m writing. If I get cranky, my husband asks if I “need to go write.” I process life through writing. I’ve journaled since I was a teenager, but before that I began scribbling stories when I was about seven or eight years old. For me to escape into another time exploring “what ifs” fills me. It’s my happy place. Even if I never published another book, I would continue to write stories.