historical fiction writer, amateur photographer, retired computer guru and math geek
If you haven't already heard (what, you couldn't hear me shouting from the rooftop?) the e-book version of War Sonnets is now available for pre-order on Amazon, Apple, Kobo, and Barnes and Noble. Paperback and hardcover copies will also be avaible soon. In the meantime, here's a little teaser: the opening chapter of War Sonnets: … Continue reading War Sonnets Teaser
Yes, you read that right. The fifth of July. Do you know its significance? On July 5, 1945, General Douglas MacArthur declared the Philippines liberated. And on July 5, 2023? War Sonnets will be released! After five years and a ton of hard work, War Sonnets is going public. Copies will be available for sale … Continue reading The Fifth of July
HIROSHIMA --August 6, 1945 The awesome power of death, this day uncaged, Will, like the weak Pandora’s box of woes, Be with the world wherever war is waged, And dog man’s footsteps everywhere he goes. That it, this day, has claimed ten thousand lives, And saved, perhaps, a hundred thousand more Who poise in waiting … Continue reading The Poetry of War Sonnets: The Bomb That Changed the World
May/June 1945 枝広げ 追手惑わす マンゴの木 Eda hiroge Oite madowasu Mango no kiThe great mango tree Hides me from my searching foes Under wide branches. NIGHT PATROL Luzon, 1945 Outside the closed perimeter, we wait Until full dark; then , at a word, we go Like green-clad ghosts to stalk the distant foe. Still harbingers of … Continue reading The Poetry of War Sonnets: Hunter and Hunted
Leo's troopship lands in the Lingayen Gulf in early February 1945, shortly after the main assault force lands in late January. They meet no resistance, but the remnants of battle are fresh. Leo's sonnet envisions the landing troops that preceded him. Tadashi and Kaito, the only survivors of the raid on the Cabanatuan POW camp, … Continue reading The Poetry of War Sonnets: War Zone
In the fall of 1944, Tadashi is a guard at the infamous Cabanatuan Prisoner of War Camp northeast of Manila. He has been here for two years, and learned much about the Americans held captive there, as well as the cruelty of the Japanese brass. He yearns for home, for the wife he loves and … Continue reading The Poetry of “War Sonnets:” Strange Surroundings
Although they are from opposite sides of the world, Leo and Tadashi, the main characters in War Sonnets have a lot in common. They are both from families who have farmed the land for generations., a land they love. In those early days, before they are called to war, Tadashi's haikus and Leo's sonnets reflect … Continue reading The Poetry of “War Sonnets”: Before They Were Soldiers
When I last wrote about my War Sonnets characters, I had no idea I'd be adding a bunch more. Major changes took place in my most recent draft (Draft Three), the largest of which is the expansion of Tadashi's story to include more depth, more chapters and more characters. Let me introduce Tadashi's latest comrades: … Continue reading Meet the Men of “War Sonnets,” Part Three
A few weeks ago, I wrote about the poems in my novel, War Sonnets. Today "The Poetry of War Sonnets" becomes a series. Sonnets and haikus introduce certain scenes in Leo's and Tadashi's stories. Every few weeks I'll post one or two of them with a brief summary of the scene it precedes. You'll get … Continue reading The Poetry of War Sonnets
Leo Baldwin and Tadashi Abukara, soldiers fighting on opposite sides in the Pacific Theater of World War II have more in common that one might think. They are both farmers and poets. And they are both fighting for a cause they firmly believe in. Leo loves the sonnet. "The challenge of the sonnet intrigued him, … Continue reading The poetry of “War Sonnets”
Susannah Willey Writes 