Mari K. Eder's Blog, page 6

Photos from Sacramento Day for Women 2023

More Stories to Tell

And here it comes. Friends told me they saw my next book is already listed on Amazon and available for pre-ordering. WHAT? I didn’t know it was there. Nor did I know the actual publication date until I found the listing. It is just a little more than five months away—August 8th.

I knew the book would be released during the summer, but I wasn’t sure when. Now I know! And that date is coming fast!

The Correspondents

I think about Ruth Gruber whenever I read about women correspondents in WWII.

Ruth wasn’t exactly a combat correspondent, however. She was an experienced newspaper reporter by 1940, starting first with the New York Herald Tribune. By 1941 she was a government employee, working for Secretary Harold Ickes at the Department of the Interior.

But she didn’t just cover the war. Her personal brand of journalism is what has often been called “the first rough draft of history.” And Ruth didn’t objectively observe history being made. She was a witness and more.

Powering Into the New Year

In December, I took a long-overdue trip to Germany and visited holiday markets in Austria, Slovakia, and Hungary. This trip was planned for December 2021, but surging COVID cases across Europe last year caused holiday markets to shut down, and the trip was postponed.

How very different to be in Europe one year later. The energy crisis was a topic of conversation at every gathering. Some holiday lights didn’t shine as brightly. Castles were illuminated but for shorter periods of time. Some lights didn’t come on at all.

Photos from My Talk at the 2022 Veterans Day Memorial in Bethesda, MD

Attitude of Gratitude

Most important things first! We WON! I want to thank everyone who voted for The Girls Who Stepped Out of Line as the recipient of the People’s Choice Award in nonfiction at the Library of Virginia’s 25th annual Literary Awards celebration. I couldn’t have been more surprised. While still in shock at hearing my name, I managed, with shaky knees, to pull myself up those stairs to the Library’s magnificent landing above the gala crowd and accept the award on behalf of those Girls.

It really is all about them, those women of the greatest generation. They served, sacrificed, and for too many years went unheralded, and without the thanks and honor they were due. I have been humbled by the opportunity to bring their stories forward and share them with this generation and the next.

Research – Digging In and Hitting Rocks

I was unlucky when I started researching many of the people I wrote about in The Girls Who Stepped Out of Line. It was February 1st, 2020 and the world was on the verge of a massive change.

Just days after signing the contract to write the book for my amazing publisher, Sourcebooks, society began to close down. COVID had taken over. Offices were shuttered. Movie theaters emptied. Schools went from in-person learning to virtual. No one was prepared. The virus threatened and people were dying by the thousands. Hospitals were filled. Businesses began to fail. Teachers struggled; kids felt lost. Administrators didn’t have the resources to keep up. Restaurants laid off workers.

The Importance of Libraries

I love libraries—how rich they look, the careful displays that librarians create to inspire young minds and draw in readers. The smell of books entices me too. I liked to look at what’s new, what’s featured, and of course, the older books are just as important, drawing me in closer to share their promise of incredible stories waiting to be shared. 

I grew up in a small town in western Pennsylvania. We didn’t have a town library. At least not one sponsored by the town. But two enterprising high school teachers started a library in their home, and on Saturdays, like most kids in town, I trekked there with my friends to see what we could find. 

Taking Flight

I learned much about the Women’s Air Service Pilots (WASP) from reading about Ola Mildred Rexroat and her journey to become a pilot and serve in the WASP. Along the way, I have done some additional research on the WASP that has led me to other sources and of course, museums. 

I’ve visited, in person and virtually, a number of aviation museums and learned much about the European and Pacific air forces during WWII and the roles that women played in those organizations. They were assigned to support roles, from communications to photography, and medical roles.

Exciting Book Award Announcements & A Look at Post-Pandemic Reading Trends

Before the pandemic, I often bought books in airport bookstores. You know, the books you can buy, read, and then return for a trade-in. But without the ability to fly anywhere, my ability to keep up with this resourceful program simply lapsed. But it appears that bookstores are now, in these early post-pandemic days, flourishing once again. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, bookstore sales in May 2022 increased 12.3 percent over last year, with revenue bouncing back to a new record – $665 million.