Why Write about the Monuments Men?

Books are born many ways. Shadowed by Grace started when I walked by a display at our local library the summer of 2010. There a new non-fiction book stood cover out.

The photo on the front piqued my interest: a clearly WWII soldier standing with a large painting. The stories I read in that book, Monuments Men, by Robert Edsel, intrigued me and made me want to learn more. Before long, characters and story ideas filled my mind, and I began fleshing out the story that became Shadowed by Grace.

The idea of an elite, tiny group of soldiers who were tasked with saving Western civilization fascinated me. Their task was compounded by the fact that WWII was the first war that involved constant aerial bombardment.

What challenges would they face?

What would they fear?

Then I started looking for unique roles American women filled on the European front. The idea of a war correspondent who was a photo-journalist seemed the perfect fit. An artist in her own right, she would understand the importance of saving art. Rachel Justice and Scott Lindstrom were born and became the heroine and hero in Shadowed by Grace.

You can read the first chapter here.