Read this book: WINNIE'S WAR

Thanks to my insatiable appetite for historical novels as a tween and teen (Sunfire Romances, anyone?), I aced my AP American history exam. I kid you not--I remember reading the topic for one of the long essays and thinking "this is just like the plot of Josie!" (thanks for the college credits, Vivian Schurfranz, wherever you are).  So I'm always psyched to see exciting new historical fiction. Today I'm welcoming fellow Debutante Jenny Moss to my blog, author of debut historical novel WINNIE'S WAR.

About Winnie’s War

 

A debut novel set against the backdrop of the Spanish Flu epidemic of 1918.

 

Life in Winnie's sleepy town of Coward Creek, Texas, is just fine for her. Although her troubled mother's distant behavior has always worried Winnie, she's plenty busy caring for her younger sisters, going to school, playing chess with Mr. Levy, and avoiding her testy grandmother. Plus, her sweetheart Nolan is always there to make her smile when she's feeling low. But when the Spanish Influenza claims its first victim, lives are suddenly at stake, and Winnie has never felt so helpless. She must find a way to save the people she loves most, even if doing so means putting her own life at risk.

 

Jenny answered my favorite questions for authors:

--I think teen books can, and should, be read by grown-ups. Tell my grandma Grace why she should read your book.  Twelve-year-old Winnie learns a lot about grownups during the course of the book. Grownups, reading Winnie's story, might learn (or rather *remember*) what it's like to be young and curious.

I'd be very interested to know what your grandma Grace thinks of any of the Deb books. Will you report back? :)

--What would your 16-year-old self say if she read your book? Sixteen-year-old me would have wanted to meet Winnie.

--I am fascinated by writers' inspirations. Tell me about a real-life setting that found its way into your book. My grandmothers lived down the street from one another in a small Mississippi town. My memories of the time I spent there inspired me to create my own small town: Coward Creek, Texas.

Finally, here's the scoop about Jenny...

 

JENNY MOSS is a former NASA engineer. She earned a master's degree in literature and taught writing as an adjunct at University of Houston-Clear Lake. Winnie's War is her first novel. She lives with her two teenagers in Houston, Texas.