A Chat with Linda Shenton Matchett

It isn’t often that we have previous authors come visit on the Back Porch, that makes today’s guest a special treat. I have reviewed her books before, but have never had the honor of interviewing her. So let’s grab a warm beverage and curl up in a comfy chair and welcome Linda Shenton Matchett, author of Francine’s Foibles.

Welcome to the Back Porch, Linda. It is such a pleasure to have you here for a visit and to talk about your writing experience and Francine’s Foibles with us.

You have written MANY books that take place in a time that many of us can only imagine what life was like. What inspired you to become a writer? When I was young, probably seven or eight, my parents gave me a package of pens and a notepad and encouraged me to fill it. (The cover even has a bouquet of pencils on the front!) I don’t know if they saw imagination or were just trying to find something for me to do and stay out of trouble, but I fell in love with writing and have been doing it in some form or other my whole life.

I bet your parents never imagined how that simple gift would impact you.
What advice would you give to aspiring writers who are just starting out? A writing career is a marathon, not a sprint. Expect to put in time and work because “overnight successes” are rare. Read lots of books in all genres, not just the one you’ve selected. If you find a book you think is badly done, study it to figure out why. Do the same thing for an excellent book. Most importantly, find a community of other writers. They’ll be your biggest cheerleaders.

That is what prompted me to write. I couldn’t find what I wanted to read so I did what you suggest and my own ideas began to flow. Writing is definitely a marathon. One that is continually evolving as you gain more knowledge and experience.

Let’s talk about Francine’s Foibles. What research did you conduct, if any, while writing this book? How did it influence the story or characters? The story was inspired by my mom’s time at Fort Meade in the mid-1950s typing discharge paperwork for returning servicemen. I had the memory of conversations with her, and I had lived in Maryland as a young adult, so that gave me the framework. My research included looking at maps of the area as well at Fort Meade during WWII. I didn’t want to include streets or buildings that didn’t exist yet. I also had to dig into the discharge process. Back then the typewriters were manual, and Mom always talked about how physically demanding it was, so I looked into that as well.

That sounds like a fascinating occupation and I’m sure there where some cases that broke her heart as well.

What do you hope readers will remember most about your book after finishing it? I love second-chance stories and many of my books feature that theme. I hope people will remember that no matter what they have done, God always gives us second chances, sometimes more! We hang onto our past and let it color our future, and yet as Psalm 103:12 reminds us “As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our wrongdoings from us.”

Amen to that–we are never too far gone for the Father to welcome us home with open arms.

Can you share any details about your upcoming projects or works-in-progress? I’m very excited about my current projects. I’m writing a mail-order bride story that is part of the Home & Hearts Mail Order Bride series and will release in April 2025. My non-fiction book, The American WWII Home Front Told in 29 Objects is with my editor, and my husband and I are working on the photographs and illustrations. That is going to be a Kickstarter project and is slated to come out on the 80th anniversary of the end of the war in May 2025. I’m researching and outlining the remaining books in my Resistance Chronicles series that is about Norwegian-American siblings who serve in various resistance cells during WWII. I’ve already finished book 1. Those will start releasing in the fall of 2025.

Oh I can’t wait to see that! I hope it all goes well.

Thank you, Linda, for joining us this morning. I pray this tour is a blessing to you and the success of Francine’s Foibles.

Readers, please keep reading to discover more about Francine’s Foibels and possiblly even enter the giveaway.

Thank you for joining us this morning.

Melissa

About the Book

Book: Francine’s Foibles

Author: Linda Shenton Matchett

Genre: Christian Historical Romance

Release date: September 12, 2023

She’s given up hope. He never had any. Will they find it together?

World War II is finally over, and America is extra grateful as the country approaches this year’s Thanksgiving. But for Francine life hasn’t changed. Despite working at Fort Meade processing the paperwork for the thousands of men who have returned home, she’s still lonely and very single. Is she destined for spinsterhood?

Grateful that his parents anglicized the family surname after emigrating to the United States after the Great War, first-generation German-American Ray Fisher has done all he can to hide his heritage. He managed to make it through this second “war to end all wars,” but what American woman would want to marry into a German family? Must he leave the country to find wedded bliss?

Click here to get your copy!

About the Author

Linda Shenton Matchettwrites about ordinary people who did extraordinary things in days gone by. A native of Baltimore, Maryland, she was born a stone’s throw from Fort McHenry (of Star-Spangled Banner fame) and has lived in historical places all her life. She is a volunteer docent and archivist at the Wright Museum of WWII and a former trustee for her local public library. She now lives in central New Hampshire where she explores the history of this great state and immerses herself in the imaginary worlds created by other authors.

More from Linda

Francine O’Malley is a secondary character in Estelle’s Endeavor, and I decided she deserved her own book. The idea for Francine’s Foibles sprang from the stories my mom told me about her time working at Fort Meade processing discharge paperwork for returning servicemen. Because my grandparents lived in a small town near the base, I’d driven past countless times, but it was fun to research what it was like during World War 2 and the years immediately following. The Laurel Historical Society was a wonderful resource with lots of information and photos from “back in the day.”

Initially opened in 1917 and called Camp Annapolis Junction, the base is located in Maryland about twenty miles southwest of Baltimore and twenty miles east of Laurel. The name quickly changed to Camp Meade but in 1928 was redesignated Fort Leonard Wood. According to www.home.army.mil, Pennsylvania congressmen were so angered at the removal of the name of their native son they held up appropriations until the army agreed to name the new permanent installation Fort George G. Meade, in honor of the Union general.

During World War 2, the base was used as a recruit training post and more than 3.5 million men past through its gates. A small portion of the facility was also used as a POW camp for Japanese, German, and Italian prisoners.

Mom was still single during her time at Fort Meade, and I loved imagining her as a wide-eyed young woman doing her part for the war effort and greeting handsome soldiers as they set foot back on American soil.

This one’s for you, Mom!

Linda Shenton Matchett

Blog Stops

Simple Harvest Reads, November 14 (Author Interview)

Texas Book-aholic, November 15

Artistic Nobody, November 16 (Author Interview)

Happily Managing a Household of Boys, November 16

Locks, Hooks and Books, November 17

Guild Master, November 18 (Author Interview)

Debbie’s Dusty Deliberations, November 19

Fiction Book Lover, November 20 (Author Interview)

Truth and Grace Homeschool Academy, November 21

Back Porch Reads, November 22 (Author Interview)

For Him and My Family, November 23

Stories By Gina, November 24 (Author Interview)

Mary Hake, November 24

Holly’s Book Corner, November 25

A Modern Day Fairy Tale, November 26 (Author Interview)

Leslie’s Library Escape, November 27

Giveaway

To celebrate her tour, Linda is giving away the grand prize of a $25 Visa gift card and a signed copy of the book!!

Be sure to comment on the blog stops for extra entries into the giveaway! Click the link below to enter.

Enter the Giveaway Here

2 Comments

Jcp on November 22, 2024 at 10:56 am

Sounds great!
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Roxanne C. on November 22, 2024 at 1:22 pm

I love that Linda’s mom and her work was the inspiration for this book. I remember using my mom’s manual typewriter when I was young. Having to use carbon paper to get copies required more manual strength to not the keys.
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