In Unnatural Cause, I wove in a long-unsolved family mystery that dates back to World War II.
My very smart coauthor, Max Garwood, is a patent attorney and inventor. Max pitches brilliant plots to me and I craft a novel from his ten bullet points. Unnatural Cause, the recent book in the Marc Wayne Adventure Series, is probably equal parts Max’s fiction and my truth.
My grandmother was one of ten children who grew up in a small, patriotic burg in the Midwest. When the US entered World War II, her oldest sister’s son, who had been a pilot since he was a kid, enlisted. Grandma’s young husband, my grandfather, also joined the military.
What happened on July 6, 1944?
On July 6, 1944, the troop train carrying freshly minted soldiers including my grandfather, left Indianapolis on their journey to the European war theater. As the sun went down in Tennessee, the train jumped the tracks, careened down a cliff, and crashed into a large rock in the river. Was it sabotaged? The largest troop train wreck in the nation, that tragedy continues to dramatically impact the sleepy town of Jellico.
Grandma’s oldest sister was informed that her pilot son was killed in a test flight. Though they buried his uniform, many people said they saw him after the war. Family members who searched for him found his military record had been expunged.
What’s a novelist to do with an excellent plot and a long-unsolved family mystery?
Named after the herb, angelica, the tiny town of Jellico is the faithful keeper of the flame. Daily, people make the pilgrimage to the site of the devastation to ask questions and, as in my case, try to comprehend the moment that forever changed the dynamics of my family.
Where you’ve never been before
In each of my novels, I take the reader somewhere you’ve never been before and tell you about something you didn’t know. Unnatural Cause explores what could have happened during World War II. Visit Jellico, tour the Atomic City, walk the patriotic cemetery in Ohio, and consider how what people did and why they did it impacts us today.
From my research and the stories handed down through the family, I am certain the two vital men we lost during that war between good and evil did it right. The surprise ending in Unnatural Cause honors them and, just maybe, offers some closure for those of us with unsolved family mysteries. Something about the story resonated with readers because Unnatural Cause received Best Mystery Suspense of the Year.
On Veterans Day and every day, thank you to the many who served.
#VeteransDay #military #heroes #grateful
