Cara C. Putman's Blog, page 97
February 8, 2014
Monuments Men: History Wrapped in an Engaging Story
Last night, Eric and I got a chance to watch Monuments Men on opening night. This is a movie I have anticipated since learning George Clooney was in production in the fall of 2012. That’s a long time to anticipate the movie!
I wasn’t disappointed.
This movie captures the tone of the Monuments Men. It grasps what this small group of men was trying to do and honors their memories. It also communicates their sacrifice and devotion. It visually portrays a piece of what was at stake during WWII — and the balancing act. Yet it did this without becoming dark and maudlin. Eric and I saw the 9:15 p.m. showing — in a theater filled primarily with college students — students who laughed out loud multiple times. The humor never detracted, but in enhanced the movie because it didn’t become slap-stick.
Monuments Men has an A cast: Matt Damon, George Clooney, Bill Murray, John Goodman, Cate Blanchett, Hugh Boneville and more. They all fell into their characters and became the Monuments Men they portrayed. The movie is a war movie, but the violence is limited and at a level I can take my 13 and 10 year-olds to see. There was some language, but not heavy…I didn’t count, but it wasn’t a distraction. There is also only mild innuendo and the outcome to that was PERFECT. I literally bounced in my chair because it mirrored history!
There were a couple twists to the story. Nothing major — the key one being the kid who interpreted didn’t show up as early as they portrayed, but he did play a role later in the process. This is a movie I will see again — and enjoy.
February 6, 2014
Monuments Men: Rachel’s Camera
Tomorrow the giveaway I’m hosting to celebrate the release of Shadowed by Grace ends. I wanted to make sure you each had an opportunity to participate. In this I’m giving away the camera that Rachel Justice, the heroine, uses. You might think she’s fictional, but while I was writing her scenes I would play with this camera to make sure I knew what she would actually do.
Rachel was an artist in her own way as a war photojournalist. As I researched the amazing handful of women who served as war correspondents and photojournalists, I knew this was who Rachel was. This was her purpose and reason for being in Italy. But I needed to know what kind of camera she would use. How would she manipulate it? How could she develop the film? Great research fills many of the gaps, but there’s still nothing like actually holding the camera in my hands. That’s where my amazing husband came in. He saw what I was looking at and ordered two from ebay! Have I mentioned that he did this at least a year before I had a contract for the book?
Yes, he’s amazing. The video will show you the camera and a bit about how Rachel would have used it. And it’s going to some lucky person. Might as well be you!
February 5, 2014
Monuments Men: Rose Valland
Rose Valland fascinated me from the first time I read The Monuments Men. This woman is truly one of the unsung heroes of the Monuments Men. I can’t wait to see how she is portrayed in the movie.
Rose Vallard was a woman ahead of her time. She received an art degree, but couldn’t find a paid position at a museum. Instead, she was a long time volunteer at the Jeu de Paume museum, next to the Louvre. When everyone was leaving as the Germans moved into Paris, she stayed behind, a mole of sorts in the museum. the Jeu de Paume became a clearinghouse for the art wealth of Paris and France. Most of the art removed from the area went through that museum. Each night she would go home and make her own list of what was there, where it was headed, and by which transportation.
She was a woman it was easy to forget, and that quality is why she was so successful. Still Second Lieutenant James Rorimer had to earn her trust before she released all that she knew to him.
February 4, 2014
Monuments Men: who was James Rorimer
If you’re excited about the Monuments Men movie, you might be curious who the characters are. Today I wanted to fill you in on the real person behind Matt Damon’s character. 
In the movie, he’s called James Granger. In real life the Monuments Man was Second Lieutenant James J. Rorimer. Before joining the military in WWII, Rorimer had already become a curator at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. He was an expert in medieval art and his determined personality made him perfect for the tough world of immediately post-Nazi Paris. In the midst of the changing waves of control, he entered the city that had avoided destruction. However her art had been scattered to the four winds: some stolen by the Nazis, others like the Mona Lisa hidden from view. All missing pieces needed to be identified and then located. With the help of Rose Valland — the woman I’ll talk about tomorrow, he was able to locate crucial information that eventually lead to Germany.
On the homefront, he’d left a pregnant wife behind. He missed the first two years of his daughter’s life because he was in Europe.
You can learn more about Rorimer here and here.
February 3, 2014
Shadowed by Grace and the Monuments Men
The launch of Shadowed by Grace continues. Thank you so much to everyone who has already bought a book. Tune back in later this week as I begin revealing the lost chapters…some fun reading for those who have purchased the book and want to learn more about the characters.
Yesterday I had the great fun of being a guest on Chris Fabry Live. A Moody program, we spent the better part of an hour talking WWII, Monuments Men, my motivation for writing historical fiction, and … what it’s like to be a second generation homeschooler. If you’re interested, you can listen to the interview, by clicking on the banner below.
This week Monuments Men enters movie theaters across the country! I am so excited to see what George Clooney and his team have done with the story of these men. I’ll be there Friday night … and will let you know my thoughts as soon as the movie is over. This week, I’ll be highlighting some of the real stories of the men and women on who the movie account is based.
Don’t forget to enter my cameras past and present contest. In addition to receiving one of the cool new Polaroids, you’ll also receive the camera that Rachel Justice uses in the book. Oh, and tickets to the movie. And in case, you’ve somehow missed it, here’s a movie trailer.
February 2, 2014
The effects of WWII in Hannover, Germany
One of the things we found in the Rathaus are detailed dioramas of Hannover at different times in its history. The first one is from the late 1600s and shows a walled town. Then then have one from 1939, 1945, and modern day. In each of them we can place where we live, work, etc. The detail is incredible.
But the reason it’s worth posting some photos is to give you an idea of the devastation wrought in Germany by WWII. The night before we left for Berlin, Eric and I watched a PBS special on the Bombing of Germany during the war (one of the only shows we could get…and very appropriate to where we are and our interests). I’d head that only 10% of Hannover survived the war. After seeing the dioramas that’s not such a random statistic any more.
The church in the bottom photos as it is today…
These aren’t perfect but come close to showing you the same sections of town from before and after the war.
The big circle on the left is WaterlooPlatz — where the soccer games are viewed right now. Behind that, the black building is the synagogue which was destroyed on Kristallnacht — the night the Jewish persecution started in a heavy way in Germany. Where we live now is just off the photo to the left with downtown working around the church in the right and north.
The same area after WWII. There’s nothing left.
The large building in the front is the Rathaus. You can see the church which was on the right above now in the left.
After the war.
January 31, 2014
Valentine’s Day Giveaway: Kindle Fire HDX & 12 Novels!!
I’m so excited to announce a very special Valentine’s Day giveaway.
I’ve joined with eleven best-selling author friends to bring our readers this great giveaway. In addition to a brand new Kindle Fire HDX, the winner will receive new or upcoming books as follows:
A Beauty So Rare by Tamera Alexander
Butterfly Palace by Colleen Coble
Dancing with Fireflies by Denise Hunter
Hallowed Halls by Hannah Alexander
It Had To Be You by Susan May Warren
A Match Made in Heaven by Mary Connealy
Princess Ever After by Rachel Hauck
A Promise Kept by Robin Lee Hatcher
Shadowed by Grace by Cara C. Putman
Silver Bells by Deborah Raney
Somebody Like You by Beth K. Vogt
Wildwood Creek by Lisa Wingate
The giveaway runs from February 1st through February 13th. A winner’s name will be drawn on and announced on Valentine’s Day.
This giveaway is open to entrants with USA mailing addresses.
Entrants must be 18 years old and over. No purchase is required.
The winner will receive a Kindle Fire HDX and 12 novels.
Not all novels included in the prize package will be available at the time the winner is announced. Books will be sent to the winner as they become available. The prize is valued at over $400.
Entrants must complete ALL 12 MANDATORY entry options (the first 12 listed on the Rafflecopter form) to be eligible to win. Before the prize is awarded, completion of all 12 mandatory entry options will be confirmed.
Entrants can earn extra entries by completing any or all of the remaining twelve options.
Every attempt will be made to announce the winner within 48 hours of the end of the giveaway.
The winner of the Kindle Fire HDX and novels will be given 48 hours to reply to the email they are sent. If they do not respond to the announcement email within 48 hours, another winner will be chosen.
January 30, 2014
Ways we knew we were in Germany
Way we knew we were in Germany:
R offered salami pizza as an option along with the more traditional pepperoni or cheese when we played restaurant at the park.
Appliances are energy efficient, which really means it takes twice as long to wash a smaller load of clothes. Reality means we’re washing at least one load of clothes a day. The joy of a family of six.
The family at the big fountain…really, that’s what they call it.
The Zoo has amazing parks for the kids. J here: it has an awesome water slide. There are three slides. #2 & 3 are great because they feel like you’re going to die. They have lots of turns and fly when you’re on the inner-tubes. R here: it also has red, bouncy houses. They’re half circles…getting on them was impossible in the rain.
Each day involves an explore. But we’ve found some wonderful things on those explores including the shellacked slides with climbing walls.
fountain at the gardens…
The public transportation gets us most places we want to go in town. Now we have to decide what other side trips we want to take. With two weekends in a row out of town, we’ll have two or three left we can travel if we want to. Possibly a day trip to Hamburg. Maybe a trip up to one of the North Sea Islands.
Kids goofing off with Super Hero poses.
January 28, 2014
The Real Monuments Men: Part 1
In Shadowed by Grace, I delved into the world of the Monuments Men in Italy. The movie that releases next week explores some of what this elite group did in France and Germany, while I recreated part of their job in Italy during WWII.
Capturing life in Italy during WWII was quite a challenge. The photo shows just a few of the books I relied on while writing. In addition to the Monuments Men, I had to dive into the sequence of the battles up the boot of Italy, the devastation that impacted Naples, the liberation of Rome and much more.
Fortunately, I love research!
If you’ve read the book, you might be like me. Curious how much is real and how much came from my imagination. I’ve created several pinterest boards, so you can see a few more of my sources. You can find them here:
Florence WWII Photos and Sources
Montegufoni: the Tuscan Castle
Monuments Men: Shadowed by Grace
I hope you enjoy looking at these as much as I enjoyed creating them.
January 26, 2014
5 Tips for Surviving Bitter Cold with Kids
If you’re family is like mine, you meet yourself coming and going. There may be days that you and your spouse meet in the garage for a quick kiss as you run from activity to activity.
It’s easy to get used to that pace of life.
Then something happens.
Maybe it’s that cold, hard, snowy winter. Indiana has been locked in cold with snows a couple times a week for most of this month. Now you find yourself staring at your family, fighting cabin fever because the cold has you trapped inside. How can you manage attitudes that are creeping into your normally well-behaved kids? What can you do to keep your kids from hibernating on technology all day, every day?
Here are a few suggestions:
1) Step back and take a deep breath. Maybe God is building a pause into your hectic days. Look at this as an opportunity to slow down and find time to rediscover your kids and spouse. It’s also a chance to remind them how to entertain themselves.
2) Dig through your closets for toys, puzzles and games you haven’t played for awhile. Those may become rediscovered treasures that your kids will enjoy during the long hours. If you’ve found puzzles, set a timer and see how quickly your kids can do a 25 piece puzzle. Try different puzzles. Add to the number of pieces. Dig out that 500 piece puzzle that you normally don’t have time to work on. Even the younger kids can find the edge pieces or group the pieces by color or design.
3) When was the last time you read a book out loud? Pick a book and take turns reading sections. Encourage the readers to create voices and make it a dramatic reading. Have multiple copies of the book? Turn it into reader’s theater. Is there a movie based on the book? Then tell the kids you’ll read the book and then watch the movie and compare the two. What did the movie leave out? What did it add? Which did they like better?
4) Do you have a shelf filled with craft supplies? A drawer you haven’t touched because you’ve been too busy? Then open the drawer, empty the shelf, and invite the kids to have fun. Put an old tablecloth on the table and let them work. You’ll be amazed what they create.
5) Playdough. If you’re like us, you have a tub filled with playdough and supplies. Here’s another great opportunity to pull them out and let the kids have fun. Again, pull out an old tablecloth so you don’t have to worry about scraping dried playdough out of fabric. Another trick is to buy a dollar shower curtain at a dollar store and keep it on hand for those times the kids want to create. Cheap and easy to clean. And if you don’t have playdough, there are dozens of easy recipes on pinterest and the internet for making your own from readily available items in your home. Add glitter and food coloring to make fun varieties.
I hope these tips help you through the cold months. And you may just find you’ve created some great family memories while you stayed close to home. What do you do with your kids?
