I have long loved the World War II time period. Since discovering it in its richness as a teenager, I’ve often thought I would have made a better teen in the ’30s and ’40s than in the ’80s and ’90s.
I love my movies in black and white. I love my music with swing and soul. And I love the heart of a generation that united to fight a common enemy in ways that I hope we would today. That love for the history and time tugged me to this story. I’d been blessed to write two WWII series set on the home front. At the end of those, I began to pray about where I should go next.
Hollywood seemed logical. You’ve got glamour. You’ve got glitz. You’ve got movie stars who stayed and movie stars who put careers on hold to enlist. From Ronald Reagan to Jimmy Stewart to Clark Gable, many stars sought a role in uniform. But not everyone could. Some were exempt because of health. Some were exempt because of age. And others were the wrong sex. Yet as in so many parts of the country, many wanted to find a way to serve the cause.
The Hollywood Victory Caravan was part of that effort. The real caravan traveled by train from Los Angeles to Washington, D.C., where they opened at the White House. The true caravan was packed with stars, a veritable who’s who of Hollywood—Bing Crosby. Claudette Colbert. Desi Arnaz. Laurel and Hardy. Groucho Marx. Add in a couple dozen and you have the group that crossed the northern United States and stopped in cities like Chicago and Minneapolis to entertain crowds and, more important...sell war bonds. The trip was highly successful. Media of the time stated that if anything happened to that train, the stars would go out in Hollywood.
After learning of the Hollywood Victory Caravan, my mind began to spin with ideas. What if there were a second caravan? And what if it ended up having the flair of The Orient Express? What if people died and you had to suspect people you would never in a million years have believed capable of murder? While the second caravan is completely fictional, I hope you enjoy the flavor of the real caravan and authentic settings. And most of all the spirit of that Greatest Generation.
Many thanks to Susan Downs for approaching me about a historical romantic-suspense story and being every bit as excited about Stars in the Night as I was. It has been a thrill to work with Susan. And thanks to Ellen Tarver and Jim Davis for helping me express everything in the way I intended. I was so excited to work with the team at Summerside on this first release of this book. Sabrina Butcher, Crystal Miller, and Sue Lyzenga jumped in to help in such an important way by reading the book as I wrote it. They know me and my writing and made sure everything worked. And huge thanks to Robin Miller and Colleen Coble for brainstorming the germ of an idea into a full-fledged plot. I’ll never forget a call with Robin as I neared the end at a Panera where I live. I’m still stunned no one called the police to report a woman who was plotting murder.
Many thanks to my agent, Karen Solem, who has always believed in me and never pushed me. On the contrary, this amazing woman constantly urges me to slow down. A message I need to hear even as I struggle to follow it.
Most of all, thanks to my family: Eric for always believing in me and supporting my crazy dreams and the resulting crazy hours; Abigail, Jonathan, Rebecca, and Daniel for thinking it’s really cool that their mom is a writer. And to our parents Walt and Jolene and David and Virgene for supporting me in my writing. I couldn’t do this without any of them.
Jesus, may You be honored by the words I write. May they be a sacrifice pleasing and acceptable to You.