Elinor Florence's Blog, page 10
February 20, 2018
Wildwood Launches!
YOU ARE INVITED to read the first few pages of my new novel Wildwood, about a single mother from the big city who follows the footsteps of the original homesteaders when she inherits an abandoned farmhouse in northern Alberta. Follow the links at the end to order the entire book. Enjoy!
January 16, 2018
Australian Heroine Survived Massacre
After a bullet from a Japanese machine gun tore through her body, Australian nurse Vivian Bullwinkel floated face down in the sea and feigned death. She was the sole survivor of the 1942 Bangka Island Massacre, in which 22 nurses were forced to wade into the ocean at gunpoint and then shot in the back.
December 19, 2017
My 2017 Year in Review
My Dear Friends -- This year has been one of mingled joys and sorrows. We never know what the future holds, but from my house to yours, and with all my heart, I wish you the very best surprises in the mysterious new year that awaits us.
November 7, 2017
Iris Porter Served in Egyptian Desert
Plucky Iris Porter of the British Women’s Auxiliary Air Force slept in a tent for two long years, swam in the Mediterranean Sea, rode camels, and visited the pyramids – all while serving her country in the burning Egyptian desert during World War Two.
October 17, 2017
Honour Our Veterans Banners Take Flight!
Let the bells ring out and the banners fly! After seeing this program in Ontario, I pitched the idea of honouring our local veterans by putting their photographs on individual banners. It meant months of hard work by my partner Sandi Jones and me, but the banners are now hanging downtown in our dear little town of Invermere, British Columbia. Read on to see how it was done!
September 19, 2017
Bracelet Mystery Solved!
Four long years ago, reader Emily Tucker of North Battleford, Saskatchewan, asked me to find the owner of this Royal Canadian Air Force souvenir bracelet. After an exhaustive search, I located the owner's brother in Cambridge, Ontario!
August 15, 2017
Jim Milne: RCAF Pilot, Instructor, Artist
A case of mistaken identity thwarted Jim Milne’s plans to fly against the enemy, so he spent the war in Canada as a navigation instructor instead. When not on duty, he sketched some very amusing cartoons in his flying logbook!
July 4, 2017
Wildwood Unveiled
I’m departing from my regular schedule to reveal the brand new cover for my novel Wildwood, coming in spring 2018, now available for pre-order! My website has also been updated with some welcome changes. To learn more about my new book, Read On. (Wartime Wednesdays will be back in August, with another compelling wartime story.)
June 20, 2017
Ben Scaman, Doodlebug Destroyer
Ben Scaman of Banff, Alberta, was flying Spitfires with the Royal Canadian Air Force when the V1 flying bombs, often called doodlebugs, began to rain down on England in 1944. Remarkably, Ben pioneered the technique in which a skilled pilot could tip one of these murderous missiles off balance, causing it to crash harmlessly into the countryside.
May 16, 2017
Weird Willie, Our Wacky Wartime Leader
Canadian prime minister William Lyon Mackenzie King, also known as Weird Willie, gazed into his crystal ball, communed with his dead dogs, and saw images in his shaving cream. Yet many historians believe that he was our greatest prime minister ever.
