F. asked Elizabeth Wein:

When writing Code Name Verity and Rose Under Fire, did you ever fear not being able to flesh the story or characters enough to do the victims of war justice?

Elizabeth Wein all the time, particularly with Rose Under Fire. For a while I felt like CNV wasn't doing justice to the women of the SOE because I was portraying Verity as a coward, and NONE of them collapsed under the pressure of torture or imprisonment as she appears to. With ROSE, my main problem was just feeling like I didn't have the moral right to tell this story. But I really felt it was important to bring these messages to a new audience, in an accessible format.

When Rose Under Fire was published I had a sobby moment of "IT'S NOT GOOD ENOUGH. IT'S NOT ENOUGH AND WILL NEVER BE ENOUGH." I have been truly stunned and thrilled by the positive response it's been given by almost every reader.

flag