Spotlight on Ella's War, a new release from author Rusty Allen and Vine Leaves Press

 

It’s 1943 on the American home front, and Ella’s pent-up, common-law husband finally decides to leave their farm and enlist. Ella must either depart their seafaring town in coastal Delaware to pursue other dreams inland or try to save their farm. Their grade-school son, Reese, won’t budge, and Ella sees that farmers have a patriotic duty to stay on the land.  

The bay and ocean waters before them have been preyed upon by German U-boats, and their village has become a refuge for survivors. When an officer from a surrendered German submarine is sent to her as part of POW farm labor, can Ella embrace the help in order to survive? And what happens when Dieter becomes more than a hand to her, amidst prying eyes and under her beloved-but-conflicted son’s watch? How will she choose when her explosive husband returns from Europe wounded from infantry duty against the Germans?

In Ella’s War, we travel a journey amongst women and men whose lives are deeply altered by the circumstances of WWII. What heroic or questionable choices must they make to be true to themselves and come through the great conflict?
 
Praise for Ella's War

“Beautifully wrought, heart stopping, spirit lifting… What a human brew!” ~Ron Suskind, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of A Hope in the Unseen

“A dramatic, beautiful time and place…revealing storytelling. An extraordinary, rewarding read.” ~Chris Bauer, author of Jane’s Baby

“Gritty and sensitive—a story that is thought-provoking and will satisfy.” ~Stacy Creamer, editor, publishing veteran

"With deeply sympathetic characters, emotional challenges, and high-risk mortal consequences…superb and compelling tale.” ~Steven Hartov, New York Times bestselling author