Book marketing and the humble business card

4 Comments
Old school? Yes! Still I love business cards.

When I tell people I’m an author, they often blurt out, “I’ve always wanted to write a book!” At which point I smile politely and urge them on. Why? Because writing books is fun and exciting. One gets to meet all kinds of people and travel to interesting places for research. And we live with fascinating characters, ones we can see and hear and chat with, which sometimes has loved ones questioning our sanity.

That said, the dark side of publishing is the part that comes moments after we slice open that delivery box and cuddle our baby in our arms, because then we must let them go. Like children we raise to grow up and head out into the world, we must also send our books away, hopefully to people who will love them as much as we do.

The question is how do we get readers to buy our books?

The marketing and selling of books has become multifaceted and complicated since the advent of the Internet, which sometimes makes writers want to toss their laptops out the window in frustration. In the old days—pre Amazon’s birth in 1995—an author could hand over a manuscript to a publisher, sit back, and wait for others to promote their book. But no more. Authors are now involved in every aspect of marketing, and if they don’t take it seriously, it won’t matter how brilliant their novel is. Did you know that before accepting a manuscript publishers will often scour the Internet to check an author’s digital footprint? And if they find the author is without a website, blog, podcast, proper social media links, and masses of followers, that manuscript—no matter how award-worthy—just might end up in the nearest digital trash bin.

I’ve done my best to follow book-marketing guidelines. I have a website where I blog weekly. I share reviews and promotions and am active on various social media platforms. I’ve engaged publicists at my own expense and held book signings. I give book talks and offer myself as a guest on podcasts. And despite all of that, let’s just say I’m delighted to be receiving  those monthly Social Security and pension checks, because there’s no way I could live on my royalties. (This is where I generally tell aspiring young authors that they should never, ever quit their day jobs to be writers.)

The thing is, authors need to find promotional avenues that work for them. And here is where I’ll mention the humble business card. I have always believed in that wee slice of paper, though I sense many feel that “technology” is outdated. But even today, in our digital world, business cards are perfect conversation starters, especially if one puts a little effort into their design. And then there’s the rather shocking idea that when one hands out a business card there’s a living, breathing human being reaching out to grasp it. Yes, I know when one hits the send button on our blogs and ads and posts they have the ability to reach lots of people, but there’s something special about looking someone in the eye and talking about your book.

Today, I rarely leave the house without a few business cards tucked in my pocket. I always have my latest book cover on the front and relevant contact information including my email address and website link on the back. I also list the titles of all my published books. Then I watch and listen. When I see someone with a book, I ask what they’re reading, which often leads to a conversation. Two strangers talking about books can be magical. If you don’t believe me, try it sometime.

As for all the other marketing approaches, the best advice is pick a few and stick with them. Try not to spread yourself too thin, and choose promotions you enjoy. For example, as a former TV sports reporter, I never met a microphone I didn’t like, so I enjoy being a guest on podcasts. However, Instagram always had me fumbling for something to post. It was almost a relief when someone from TikTok took over my account. (I know I should start over, but I just haven’t been able to make myself do it. Here’s hoping my publisher hasn’t noticed.)

So, get out there, fellow authors. Find what works for you. And always have a few business cards in your pocket.

Your Forgotten Sons

Inspired by a true story

Anne Montgomery

Bud Richardville is inducted into the Army as the United States prepares for the invasion of Europe in 1943. A chance comment has Bud assigned to a Graves Registration Company, where his unit is tasked with locating, identifying, and burying the dead. Bud ships out, leaving behind his new wife, Loryane, a mysterious woman who has stolen his heart but whose secretive nature and shadowy past leave many unanswered questions. When Bud and his men hit the beach at Normandy, they are immediately thrust into the horrors of what working in a graves unit entails. Bud is beaten down by the gruesome demands of his job and losses in his personal life, but then he meets Eva, an optimistic soul who despite the war can see a positive future. Will Eva’s love be enough to save him?

Release Date: June 6, 2024

Amazon

Apple Books

Barnes & Nobel

Google Books

Kobo

Universal Buy Link

Bookstores, libraries, and other booksellers can order copies directly from the Ingram Catalog.

Find Anne Montgomery’s novels wherever you buy books.

Goodreads

Amazon

BookSirens gives Your Forgotten Sons 5 Stars!

2 Comments

My thanks to Virginia Dill of BookSirens for her 5-Star review of my novel Your Forgotten Sons.

“What a brilliant book! I couldn’t put this novel down…It is a solid five-star read. An unputdownable accounting of innocence, greed, the horrors of war, and the selfishness and criminal behaviors of some who seek to profit off the misfortunes of others. Your Forgotten Sons should be a must-read for all lovers of fiction, especially WWII fiction. The tale was educational, provocative, enlightening, and so well done. I hope Anne Montgomery writes another tale such as this. Her books have found a place on my bookshelves.”

Find the rest of the review at here.

YOUR FORGOTTEN SONS

INSPIRED BY A TRUE STORY

ANNE MONTGOMERY

Bud Richardville is inducted into the Army as the United States prepares for the invasion of Europe in 1943. A chance comment has Bud assigned to a Graves Registration Company, where his unit is tasked with locating, identifying, and burying the dead. Bud ships out, leaving behind his new wife, Lorraine, a mysterious woman who has stolen his heart but whose secretive nature and shadowy past leave many unanswered questions. When Bud and his men hit the beach at Normandy, they are immediately thrust into the horrors of what working in a graves unit entails. Bud is beaten down by the gruesome demands of his job and losses in his personal life, but then he meets Eva, an optimistic soul who despite the war can see a positive future. Will Eva’s love be enough to save him?

Order your copy today

Amazon

Apple Books

Barnes & Nobel

Google Books

Kobo

Universal Book Link

Find Anne Montgomery’s novels wherever you buy books.

Goodreads

Amazon

Of Social Security, ashes, and wind chimes

4 Comments

I’m at the age where I find myself thinking more about death and dying. Perhaps that’s because I’m now on Social Security, a financial payment that we’re encouraged to take as late as possible, since the money keeps growing at 8% yearly, which is a damn good return on one’s investment. Before taking those monthly stipends, we’re asked to consider how much we have in savings and what other forms of income we’ll have in retirement. And, of course, we’re told to gage just how long we think we might live, in an effort to not run out of money in our later years.

Though experts can’t pick an exact number, it’s thought that our genes are responsible for between 20 and 40% of our longevity. That has me feeling pretty positive since my dad died one week shy of 96 and my mom was about to turn 99 when she moved on. Still, one never knows when that speeding meteor from outer space will plunge through the atmosphere and strike one on the head, a scenario I mention because, if I had a choice, that’s the end I’d pick: death by giant space rock. Imagine the headline. Wouldn’t that be cool? Of course, I’d want to be instantly vaporized, if for no other reason than to dispense with the “What do we do with her body?” scenario.

My sweetie pie and I have already had the “When we’re dead…” discussions with the kids. We have instructed them who to contact and explained how their inheritance will work. (Sorry, guys, no one gets a dime until you’re at least forty, so use your educations and get good jobs and pay your bills while you wait for us to kick off.)

Then the conversation always turns to our remains.

“I don’t want to be buried,” I’ve explained on multiple occasions. “I’m an organ donor, so let the doctors take whatever they think is useful. Then cook me.”

“You want me to put your ashes in the sea?” Ryan asked. Though the question might sound strange, we’re both scuba divers, so yes, I liked the idea.

“How about you dump some of me in the sea, some of me in the mountains, some of me in a forest, and some of me in my beautiful Sonoran Desert?”

Ryan stared with a look that said, “Nothing is ever simple with you.”

I’m sporting a lot of metal parts, so I was wondering where they would go when I’m creamated.

The thing is, I don’t care where my ashes end up. The kids can toss them in the kitty litter, if they want. But I know there will be a bit of a glitch with the dispersal of my earthly remains because of…metal. I have a lot of it. I’m carrying a titanium plate and 11 screws in one leg and I sport a handful of metal plates, spacers, and screws in my spine. Not sure about my teeth, but since they’re awful—I’ve put a lot of dentists’ kids through college—I’m guessing there might be a bunch of metal in my mouth, as well.

I’ve learned that, when I’m dead, they’ll shove me into a big toaster, cook me to the desired texture and temperature, and then they’ll rake through my ashes to find my metal bits. I picture them placing that hardware in a ziplock bag and handing it over to the kids.

“Make a windchime,” I told my son Troy. “String up my parts and hang me in the yard.”

“Really?” he said.

I grinned, picturing my fragments singing in the wind. “Absolutely!”

YOUR FORGOTTEN SONS

INSPIRED BY A TRUE STORY

ANNE MONTGOMERY

Bud Richardville is inducted into the Army as the United States prepares for the invasion of Europe in 1943. A chance comment has Bud assigned to a Graves Registration Company, where his unit is tasked with locating, identifying, and burying the dead. Bud ships out, leaving behind his new wife, Lorraine, a mysterious woman who has stolen his heart but whose secretive nature and shadowy past leave many unanswered questions. When Bud and his men hit the beach at Normandy, they are immediately thrust into the horrors of what working in a graves unit entails. Bud is beaten down by the gruesome demands of his job and losses in his personal life, but then he meets Eva, an optimistic soul who despite the war can see a positive future. Will Eva’s love be enough to save him?

Order your copy today

Amazon

Apple Books

Barnes & Nobel

Google Books

Kobo

Find Anne Montgomery’s novels wherever you buy books.

Goodreads

Amazon

Time for girls softball to go!

4 Comments
In 2014, Mo’Ne Davis of the Philadelphia Taney Dragons became the first girl to post a win in the Little League World Series. Still, she would eventually have to settle for softball.

The Paris Summer Olympic games are almost upon us, and what you won’t see might surprise you. There will be no baseball or softball teams taking the field.

For baseball, the primary issue involves scheduling. Almost 28% of players in the big leagues are from other countries. The league would struggle should all of them, as well as those slated for the U.S. team, skip over to Paris in the middle of the season.

As for softball, well…the game just isn’t that popular worldwide.

So here’s where I make my plea. Isn’t it time, finally, to do away with girls interscholastic softball? Girls should be playing baseball. The outdated idea that women can’t handle the game is ridiculous.

It’s not like women playing baseball is a new idea. If you’ve seen the iconic movie A League of Their Own, you know the story. In the 1940s, when the men shipped off to World War II leaving the professional game in shambles, 600 women stepped up to try out for the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League, 280 of which made the final cut. While the players were forced to wear short skirts and encouraged to play up their femininity, it was their skills as players that drew fans to ballparks. But when the men came home, the women were destined to be housewives and mothers, their well-oiled mitts and favorite bats stashed in an attic, leaving nothing but memories.

During World War II, 280 women played pro-baseball with the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League, but when the men came back the women went home.

Somewhere along the line, it was decided that women were too “girly” and weak to play on a full-scale baseball diamond, so softball seemed the perfect fix. A softball field is considerably smaller than its baseball counterpart, with bases just 60 feet apart as opposed to 90. Girls play with an oversized bat and a significantly larger ball.

Now please don’t get all puffed up and point out that softball is not easy to play—I’m looking at you 40+ league players. And I’m in no way denigrating the skills of the girls and women who excell at softball. It’s just that I’ve seen both games from what you might call the best seat in the house. While I primarily umpired amateur baseball for 25 years—from youth to high school to adult leagues—I was occasionally asked to take the plate in softball games, where I quickly learned that softball is not baseball.

And never will be.

As to women being too weak to handle baseball, well, that just makes me laugh. I learned a few decades back that there are plenty of women tough enough to hurl themselves headlong into bases and fly flat out to catch a line drive.  I met some of those players in the Women’s National Adult Baseball Association,  a short-lived pro league in which I served as an umpire.

I spent 25 years calling balls and strikes in amateur baseball. Trust me. It’s nothing like softball.

Today, there are no girls high school teams. The reason, we’re told, is that there aren’t enough girls who want to play the game. Those few who do must try out for boys teams, an inequitable solution all around.

What’s the answer? Maybe, if we encourage girls to play baseball in Little League, like we do with boys, more would become interested early on. And here I mean all-girls teams, where there would be no unfair comparisons to boys. They’d learn those specific and difficult skills the game requires—hitting, catching, throwing, pitching—while they’re still young, and will be better prepared to succeed on the diamond than if they tried to learn the game in high school.

All they need is a little encouragement. And if girls come out to play baseball in force, what excuse will those in charge have to deny them the opportunity?

YOUR FORGOTTEN SONS

INSPIRED BY A TRUE STORY

ANNE MONTGOMERY

Bud Richardville is inducted into the Army as the United States prepares for the invasion of Europe in 1943. A chance comment has Bud assigned to a Graves Registration Company, where his unit is tasked with locating, identifying, and burying the dead. Bud ships out, leaving behind his new wife, Lorraine, a mysterious woman who has stolen his heart but whose secretive nature and shadowy past leave many unanswered questions. When Bud and his men hit the beach at Normandy, they are immediately thrust into the horrors of what working in a graves unit entails. Bud is beaten down by the gruesome demands of his job and losses in his personal life, but then he meets Eva, an optimistic soul who despite the war can see a positive future. Will Eva’s love be enough to save him?

Pre-Order your copy today

Amazon

Apple Books

Barnes & Nobel

Google Books

Kobo

Review a copy early by going to NetGalley. Sign in here.

Bookstores, libraries, and other booksellers can order copies directly from the Ingram Catalog.

Anne Montgomery’s novels can be found wherever books are sold.

Goodreads

Amazon

Tackling the lionfish one earring at a time

2 Comments
While lionfish are lovely, they are a venomous invasive species that is devastating the Caribbean, our Atlantic coastline, and beyond.

Lionfish are beautiful creatures, so when I’ve seen them speared I’ve sometimes felt momentarily sad. However, the sentiment passes quickly when I remember the monster we’re up against.

Originally from the warm tropical waters of the Indo-Pacific, the splashy, venomous fish—whose spines can produce a horribly painful sting—appeared one day off the coast of South Florida in 1985. How the creature got there remains a mystery, and it’s rapid spread throughout the waters of the Caribbean Sea, the Gulf of Mexico, and along the eastern coasts of both North and South America has astounded marine scientists.

What’s the big deal, you ask? Lionfish are voracious eaters. They prey on just about any small fish or invertebrate species, noshing on those little guys like someone going free range at a casino buffet. They eat and eat and eat, and when they’re full they purge themselves and start again. The problem, of course, is that when they’re done, there are no little fish to grow up into big fish, leaving our reefs decimated of most marine life.

My friend and fellow diver Phil Karp visited me in St. Croix and taught me how to make lionfish jewelry.

And the worst part is lionfish have no natural predators. So if something isn’t done to stop them, the Great Mexican Reef—the second largest barrier reef in the world which stretches from the Caribbean coasts of Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras and Brazil—will be nothing but a dead zone.

So what do we do? It turns out that once those vicious spines are removed lionfish are quite yummy, but because they’re not very big, fishermen often decline to hunt them. A number of places throughout the Caribbean sponsor lionfish roundups and chef competitions in an effort to get diners interested in eating the fish, but the animals reproduce so rapidly—they release 50,000 eggs every three days year round—that all those plates of lionfish ceviche, blackened lionfish, and lionfish tacos hardly  touch the problem.

So here’s where I introduce my friend Phil Karp. As an aside, let me point out that Phil and I grew up in the same town in New Jersey. Though we didn’t know each other, we struck up a conversation at our 50th high school reunion and discovered we shared a love of scuba diving.

Phil is one of those problem-solver types. He’s been diving all over the world and the lionfish issue vexed him. He wondered if there might be a way to increase the value of the lionfish making it more attractive to fishermen. Then, he looked at the stunningly-spotted spines and fins on the creature, gathered a bunch in a ziplock bag, and located a couple of jewelers. Together they created a line of earrings, necklaces, and bracelets.

Lionfish jewelery may not solve the problem, but the lovely pieces just might spread awareness and keep people focussed on the issue.

And that’s not all. Phil began traveling around the Caribbean, spreading the word and teaching local women how to make the lionfish jewelry, an endeavor that not only increased the value of the fish up to 40%—which gave fishermen more of an incentive to catch it—but also provided women with a beautiful product to sell.

Is lionfish jewelry enough to stop the assault? Maybe not. But it’s a way to keep the problem in the public eye. And when we add those pretty baubles to lionfish recipes and lionfish tournaments and scuba divers always at the ready to spear the little buggers, maybe we can make a dent.

So, my thanks to Phil for his inventive idea. Now, let’s come up with some more.

Your Forgotten Sons

Inspired by a true story

Released June 6, 2024

Anne Montgomery

Bud Richardville is inducted into the Army as the United States prepares for the invasion of Europe in 1943. A chance comment has Bud assigned to a Graves Registration Company, where his unit is tasked with locating, identifying, and burying the dead. Bud ships out, leaving behind his new wife, Lorraine, a mysterious woman who has stolen his heart but whose secretive nature and shadowy past leave many unanswered questions. When Bud and his men hit the beach at Normandy, they are immediately thrust into the horrors of what working in a graves unit entails. Bud is beaten down by the gruesome demands of his job and losses in his personal life, but then he meets Eva, an optimistic soul who despite the war can see a positive future. Will Eva’s love be enough to save him?

Order Your Copy Today

Amazon

Apple Books

Barnes & Nobel

Google Books

Kobo

Anne Montgomery’s novels can be found wherever books are sold.

Goodreads

Amazon

Your Forgotten Sons: The origin story

Leave a comment

Authors get ideas for books in a variety of ways. In my case, since I’m a former reporter, the topics for my novels often came from stories I read about in the paper or watched on the news, subjects, discoveries, or societal issues that intrigued me, inviting me to learn more about them.

My most recent novel, however, came to me in a different way. My friend was in trouble, a health issue that, if things went wrong, would have had disastrous results, possibly paralyzing her from the waist down. She asked for my help. And then, the night before the surgery, she made a strange request.

“No matter what happens to me, promise that you’ll tell Bud’s story,” Gina said.

“A book?”

My friend of 40 years nodded and, despite what she was facing the next morning, she smiled.

How could I say no?

The blog Women Writers, Women’s Books asked me to write about how my World War II historical fiction novel Your Forgotten Sons—which was released June 6th in honor of the 80th anniversary of D-Day—came to be and the pitfalls I faced in my efforts to tell the story.

Find that article here.

Your Forgotten Sons

Inspired by a true story

Released June 6, 2024

Anne Montgomery

Bud Richardville is inducted into the Army as the United States prepares for the invasion of Europe in 1943. A chance comment has Bud assigned to a Graves Registration Company, where his unit is tasked with locating, identifying, and burying the dead. Bud ships out, leaving behind his new wife, Lorraine, a mysterious woman who has stolen his heart but whose secretive nature and shadowy past leave many unanswered questions. When Bud and his men hit the beach at Normandy, they are immediately thrust into the horrors of what working in a graves unit entails. Bud is beaten down by the gruesome demands of his job and losses in his personal life, but then he meets Eva, an optimistic soul who despite the war can see a positive future. Will Eva’s love be enough to save him?

Order Your Copy Today

Amazon

Apple Books

Barnes & Nobel

Google Books

Kobo

Anne Montgomery’s novels can be found wherever books are sold.

Goodreads

Amazon

Five books that show the reality of war

4 Comments

My just released novel Your Forgotten Sons tells the story of Sergeant Bud Richardville who served in the Graves Registration Service during World War II, a job that required Bud and his men to locate, identify, and bury the dead. So the novel is a true look at the horrors of war. With that in mind, I was asked to recommend five others books that represent war realistically. Find my choices here in an article that appeared in the online literary magazine Shepherd.

Your Forgotten Sons

Inspired by a true story

Released June 6, 2024

Anne Montgomery

Bud Richardville is inducted into the Army as the United States prepares for the invasion of Europe in 1943. A chance comment has Bud assigned to a Graves Registration Company, where his unit is tasked with locating, identifying, and burying the dead. Bud ships out, leaving behind his new wife, Lorraine, a mysterious woman who has stolen his heart but whose secretive nature and shadowy past leave many unanswered questions. When Bud and his men hit the beach at Normandy, they are immediately thrust into the horrors of what working in a graves unit entails. Bud is beaten down by the gruesome demands of his job and losses in his personal life, but then he meets Eva, an optimistic soul who despite the war can see a positive future. Will Eva’s love be enough to save him?

Order Your Copy Today

Amazon

Apple Books

Barnes & Nobel

Google Books

Kobo

Anne Montgomery’s novels can be found wherever books are sold.

Goodreads

Amazon

On being an author

4 Comments

Being an author is exciting and exhilarating. It allows one to travel to far-off places without leaving home and to meet new people, ones you might never get to know in your regular life. But writing can also be a solitary struggle to get things just right. And then there is the fight involved in trying to get a book published, which can be daunting, as well as the added marketing and social media demands that inevitably come along. It’s understandable, perhaps, that authors often wonder if it’s all worth the effort.

All that said, I never set out to write books. It just happened. And despite the everyday battles I can’t imagine doing anything else.

My new historical fiction novel Your Forgotten Sons, a story of a man who served in the Army’s Grave Registration Service during World War II, has just launched. All I can say is that it’s kind of like raising a child and then sending them out into the world, all wrapped up in your hopes and dreams.

The online magazine Books Uplift, just posted an interview with me where I discuss my new novel, as well as what it means to be an author and what aspiring authors should consider when contemplating a long-term relationship with written words. Find that I interview here.

Your Forgotten Sons

Inspired by a true story

Anne Montgomery

Bud Richardville is inducted into the Army as the United States prepares for the invasion of Europe in 1943. A chance comment has Bud assigned to a Graves Registration Company, where his unit is tasked with locating, identifying, and burying the dead. Bud ships out, leaving behind his new wife, Lorraine, a mysterious woman who has stolen his heart but whose secretive nature and shadowy past leave many unanswered questions. When Bud and his men hit the beach at Normandy, they are immediately thrust into the horrors of what working in a graves unit entails. Bud is beaten down by the gruesome demands of his job and losses in his personal life, but then he meets Eva, an optimistic soul who despite the war can see a positive future. Will Eva’s love be enough to save him?

Order Your Copy Today

Amazon

Apple Books

Barnes & Nobel

Google Books

Kobo

Anne Montgomery’s novels can be found wherever books are sold.

Goodreads

Amazon

Your Forgotten Sons—Growing up in poverty: An excerpt

2 Comments

My World War II historical fiction novel Your Forgotten Sons is set for release June 6, 2024 in honor of the 80th anniversary of the storming the beaches of Normandy: D-Day. The book was inspired by the true story of a man assigned to the Graves Registration Service.

Joseph “Bud” Richardville was like millions of other young men who grew up in poverty in the shadow of the Great Depression. His family lived in a tiny house next to railroad tracks in Vincennes, Indiana, where his father ruled with a hard hand over his wife and children.

Bud was a poor student who often skipped school and got into trouble. Still he was charming and kind and most found it hard not to like him, with the exception of his father who believed Bud would never be anything but but an embarrassment to the family.

Find below an excerpt from Your Forgotten Sons.

Vincennes, Indiana

1930

Spring in Vincennes had remained cold. Bitterly so. Mickey, wrapped tight in a ragged gray sweater and a pair of cuffed jeans, shivered uncontrollably even when inside the house. Mickey was Bud’s favorite. Her sharp eyes and sometimes irreverence toward adults made the two of them alike, though they were separated by eight years.

Bud crept out of the house an hour before dawn, his breath crystallizing in a huff of white. His coat—a short, cracked, brown-leather jacket that had come by way of the charity ladies at church—wasn’t enough to quell the dry cold that crept onto and under his skin despite the jeans and threadbare sweater. He grabbed the metal bucket that rested beside the uneven front porch and bolted toward the trees.

Ten minutes later, Bud looked down the track and waited. Finally, he felt the rumbling. He’d picked the perfect spot. The train would slow inside town limits, and the small hill would give him the perfect trajectory. The golden light, shining like a small sparkling sun, bounced along the track. Bud crouched in the bushes, not wanting the engineer to see him.

The engine moved past, the tick, tick, tick of the wheels a strangely soothing sound for a massive mechanical vehicle. Bud counted three cars. It was the fourth that was his destination. At the same moment the third car rattled by, Bud launched himself into space. The metal pail banged against the side of the car and, distracted in his effort to keep a grip on the bucket, threw him off balance. His foot slipped on the top edge of the car, and Bud tumbled, though he managed to maintain his hold on the pail, while the other hand clung precariously to the rail atop the car.

“Shit!” Bud mumbled as he grappled his way into the boxcar. When he’d finally lifted himself over the edge, he fell with a thud into the dirty cargo. He took several deep breaths that dissipated in white clouds in the frigid dawn air. Then he stood awkwardly, the uneven freight and the swaying railcar making his footing unstable.

The town was just around the bend. Bud quickly went to work making small piles of coal and lining them up against the side of the boxcar. A few lights glowed ahead, inside the houses on the edge of Vincennes.

He was finished just in time. The first home appeared out of the gloaming. Bud crouched, ready. He scooped the first pile and filled the pail with hard lumps of shiny bituminous coal. Just as the train car approached the dwelling, Bud dumped the coal over the side. Then, he dug into the next pile and flung the contents again. Over and over, he scattered the lumps of stone, knowing his neighbors were in dire need of the heat-producing rock, which many of them couldn’t afford to purchase.

Sweat formed between his broad shoulders and ran in rivulets down his chest. Bud—overly warm now from the exertion—wanted to remove the frayed leather jacket, but the next house approached so quickly, he couldn’t afford to take the time. He worked his way down the inside of the car, dumping coal by every house the train passed. Then his home came into view. Bud dug the edge of the bucket into the loose coal, hauled up the stone, and poured it over the side. He felt like Santa Claus and whooped as the train pulled away from town.

Bud knelt in the coal, the rocks sticking into his knees. He peered into the waning darkness and waited for the best spot to depart the train, which was now leaving Vincennes and picking up speed. After crossing a small trestle, the train rumbled toward the soft grassy area near the river where Bud often went when he skipped school and where he sometimes took girls who’d let him kiss them. He’d have to jump, but he’d done it before and wasn’t worried. Still, the realization of his actions and the knowledge that he would pay for his theft made him wince. He was covered with coal dust. There was no way to hide his crime. Bud tossed the bucket over the side and leapt. He tumbled away from the moving train and rolled in the grass, then stood, brushed off his clothes as best he could, and retrieved the now-empty bucket that had spun down the riverbank.

Later that day, Bud stood with his face pressed against the old oak, the branches of which were so large they’d dropped to the earth and then curved back toward the sky. It took three grown men hand to hand to encircle the massive tree that had stood for close to two hundred years. Bud, striped to the waist, had both arms around the rough trunk.

“What is the matter with you, boy?” His father brought the switch down on his son’s back, slicing through skin, raising an instant welt. “The Bible says thievin’ is wrong.” He whipped his son again. And again.

But Bud never made a sound. It was Mickey who cried on the porch, the bucket of coal by her side, while Momma dabbed her eyes with a hanky.

That evening, Bud’s back smarted. He was unable to sit or lie down comfortably, still he didn’t miss the irony of the fact that the purloined coal now blazed in the black, pot-bellied stove, next to which his father sat, a cigarette dangling from his thin, colorless lips.

Mickey idly played with several hunks of coal. Then, she emitted a gasp. “Look, Bud!” she scrambled from her place on the floor, holding two large pieces of rock.

Bud, sitting rigidly in a high-back wooden chair, smiled at his little sister. “What have you got there, Mick?”

“It’s a flower.” She turned up the two halves of the broken piece of coal, showing a perfect fossil imprinted on both sides.

“I think that’s a fern.” He rubbed her tawny head. “Like the ones that grow out in the woods. Remember those?”

Mickey nodded and hugged the stones to her chest. “They’re beautiful!”

Her father rose from his seat by the stove. “Give me those, girl!”

But Mickey held the fossils tightly in her grip.

Then, her father reached for the pieces of coal, wrenched them from the child’s hands, and hurled them into the fire.

Your Forgotten Sons

Inspired by a true story

Anne Montgomery

Bud Richardville is inducted into the Army as the United States prepares for the invasion of Europe in 1943. A chance comment has Bud assigned to a Graves Registration Company, where his unit is tasked with locating, identifying, and burying the dead. Bud ships out, leaving behind his new wife Lorraine, a mysterious woman who has stolen his heart but whose secretive nature and shadowy past leave many unanswered questions. When Bud and his men hit the beach at Normandy, they are immediately thrust into the horrors of what working in a graves unit entails. Bud is beaten down by the gruesome demands of his job and losses in his personal life, but then he meets Eva, an optimistic soul who despite the war can see a positive future. Will Eva’s love be enough to save him?

Join us at Changing Hands Bookstore in Phoenix on June 6, 2024, for the lanuch of Your Forgotten Sons. Find out more about the event here.

Pre-Order your copy today

Amazon

Apple Books

Barnes & Nobel

Google Books

Kobo

Review a copy early by going to NetGalley. Sign in here.

Anne Montgomery’s novels can be found wherever books are sold.

Goodreads

Amazon

Memorial Day: Why we celebrate

2 Comments

Back when I was a print reporter, my editor asked me to write a story on Memorial Day. “Go find out about all the events people can attend,” he said. “Parties, big sales, parades. Things like that.”

I frowned, which caught him off guard. “What?” He held out his hands palms up.

I had never refused an assignment before, still I couldn’t help myself. “Memorial Day isn’t about shopping and drinking beer. It’s about remembering.”

He looked at me for a moment. “Write whatever you want.”

So, I contacted the local Veterans of Foreign Wars post and interviewed a number of aging veterans, men who despite their advanced years, recalled vividly those who were left behind. 

“I was a foot soldier. Fifty-ninth field hospital. My brother was in the 7th Armored Division. He chased me and I chased him, but he was killed before I got to him.”

“The pilot of the helicopter was going to lower me down into the water and I leaned out and took a look. Here was these huge fishes going around eating pieces of bodies. Sharks. And you know they couldn’t declare that person dead because they didn’t know if it was one person or two. I thought about it ever since.”

“A buddy of mine…we went all the way through the war right to the end. Just outside of Cheb, Czechoslovakia he got captured and they stuck a pistol in his mouth and pulled the trigger. He was…22.”

I have over the years spent Memorial Day thinking about the veterans in my life who are no longer with us. My father who faced kamikazes and rode a destroyer escort into Tokyo Bay at the end of World War II. My dear friend Don Clarkson, a decorated hero of the Vietnam War who spent the rest of his life struggling with the demons he brought home. And now, I also remember Bud.

Sergeant Bud Richardville served in the 606th Graves Registration Service in the European Theatre during World War II. His job? Locate, identify, and bury the dead. Think about that.

With the help of a packet of letters now 80 years old, I tracked Bud through the landing on the beaches of Normandy, the frigid forests of the Battle of the Bulge, and General George Patton’s drive to free Czechoslovakia from the Nazis. All the while soldiers died by the hundreds of thousands on both sides of the conflict and Bud and his men were tasked with recovering whatever was left. Then they buried the remains in the graceful cemeteries they built, hollowed peaceful grounds today, spread across what were once miserable killing fields.

June 6, 2024 is the 80th anniversary of D-Day. My new historical fiction novel Your Forgotten Sons tells not only Bud’s story, but those of the men who labored alongside him. Soldiers who have rarely appeared in books or films, but who toiled to give the fallen the respect and dignity they deserved.

So, on this Memorial Day, I will remember my soft-spoken father, and my dear friend Don. But I will also remember Bud and those who served with him.

Your Forgotten Sons

Inspired by a true story

Anne Montgomery

Bud Richardville is inducted into the Army as the United States prepares for the invasion of Europe in 1943. A chance comment has Bud assigned to a Graves Registration Company, where his unit is tasked with locating, identifying, and burying the dead. Bud ships out, leaving behind his new wife, Lorraine, a mysterious woman who has stolen his heart but whose secretive nature and shadowy past leave many unanswered questions. When Bud and his men hit the beach at Normandy, they are immediately thrust into the horrors of what working in a graves unit entails. Bud is beaten down by the gruesome demands of his job and losses in his personal life, but then he meets Eva, an optimistic soul who despite the war can see a positive future. Will Eva’s love be enough to save him?

Release Date: June 6, 2024

Pre-Order your copy today

Amazon

Apple Books

Barnes & Nobel

Google Books

Kobo

Review a copy early by going to NetGalley. Sign in here.

Bookstores, libraries, and other booksellers can order copies directly from the Ingram Catalog.

Anne Montgomery’s novels can be found wherever books are sold.

Goodreads

Amazon