At a large plotting board in the center of the room, the women practiced receiving radar readings from Oscars (code name of the men at the radar units) to the Rascals (code name for the WARDs). The Women’s Air Raid Defense recruits received their first secret training in a blacked-out room in the palace. The day after the attack on Pearl Harbor, Iolani Palace was commandeered by the military when martial law was declared. The palace is the only official royal residence in the United States, and was once home to Hawaiʻi’s last reigning monarchs, before the overthrow of the Hawaiian Kingdom in 1893. ʻIolani Palace is another fascinating setting in the book. Pearl Harbor Visitors Center Puaʻena Point (near the Hale’iwa Airfield) I imagined how it might have been nearly 80 years ago, dogfights overhead, guns firing. The opening scene from my novel takes place not far from there, so I wanted to revisit the coastline before I began writing. Many US planes at Hickam and Wheeler air bases had been demolished in the invasion, but a few P-40s were sitting patiently at Haleʻiwa, waiting to see some action. There’s a tiny old airstrip in Haleʻiwa that became well known when a handful of pilots raced out there the morning of the attack on Pearl Harbor. I’ve often felt that in my novels setting is its own character. Little details, like what time of year the ginger blooms, the smell of burning sugar cane, or how cool the temperatures are in December, can make a big impact. When an author intimately knows the setting, I believe it translates to a more authentic experience for the reader. But one of my favorite parts of the research involves visiting the places in my books. I’ve also interviewed numerous elders, read dozens of fascinating books and oral histories, and watched Pearl Harbor movies and documentaries. The bedrock of my ideas, though, have been stories I’ve gathered from my parents and grandparents, who were here throughout the war. With each of my novels, my research has been a bit different. It’s one of the perks of writing WWII novels set in Hawaiʻi, or any beautiful locale for that matter. It may sound like a dreamy vacation, but for me, it’s research. The ocean is blue and deep, the wind cool in your hair. You walk along with your toes in the sand, searching for signs of an old airstrip between the ironwood trees. Picture this: a long white sandy beach with no one on it but a few turtles. Author Sara Ackerman takes us on location with her in Hawai’i, where the story is set, sharing what it takes for an author to capture the beauty of a place in a book. The much anticipated Radar Girls is an amazing story inspired by the real Women’s Air Raid Defense during the WWII.
0 kommentar(er)
