It is my pleasure to have Elaine Faber as my guest today to talk about the wives and sweethearts of the brave men who fought in WWII...
As we think about honoring our VETERANS on Veterans Day, let’s also honor their wives and sweethearts for their steadfastness during WWII. These ladies were hometown patriots as they fought the war from the home front. In Mrs.Odboddy–Hometown Patriot, elderly, eccentric Agnes Odboddy was such a patriot.
Rationing:
American housewives willingly gave up their precious food, clothing, tires, and other goods to aid the war effort. Ration stamp booklets were issued and many items including sugar could only be purchased when accompanied with the appropriate stamp.
Just imagine how frustrating to find your coffee rationed to one pound every six weeks per adult. This was due to blockades affecting Brazilian ships attempting to bring coffee to the US (During part of 1942-43). The majority of the available coffee was sent to the troops.
Beef was in short supply and costly, as well as eggs, resulting in many resident chickens in suburban backyards. (Agnes obtains six chickens, but because she has no chicken coop available, she puts them in the bathroom. What could possibly go wrong?)
A limit to purchase only five tires during the entire war was put in place. By today’s standards, that sounds sufficient, but rough roads and poor tires were conducive to multiple flat tires. With a few exceptions for doctors and other public safety professionals, gasoline was rationed to four gallons per week, requiring folks to car pool, ride buses, use bicycles or walk. Speed limits of 35 mph were most common.
Victory Gardens:
To appear patriotic and reduce reliance on the limited supply of vegetables and fruit available, citizens were almost required to plant a victory garden. Suburban front yards were converted to rows of cabbages, zucchinis, tomatoes and carrots. Any vegetable with a high yield requiring limited space became the main ingredient of Meatless Monday. Even Mrs. Roosevelt planted zucchini in the White House Rose Garden.
Watch Towers:
Ever fearful of another Japanese air attack, watch towers were erected every several miles along the California and Oregon coastline requiring volunteers to be the eyes and ears for the military. Radar was invented during the war but was in limited supply.
As Agnes’s fantasy mystery-adventure progresses, she experiences every phase of rationing, growing a victory garden and manning a watch tower. As a dedicated hometown patriot, she is determined to root out a ration book conspiracy, identify a perceived Nazi spy and prepare for a visit from Mrs. Roosevelt. With the return of an old lover who wants to re-ignite their romance, things heat up. With chickens in the bathroom and a search for a million dollars in missing Hawaiian money, this hysterical romp through the WWII era is a fascinating novel like you’ve never read before.
Mrs. Odboddy–Hometown Patriot is available in e-book and print at Amazon: http://tinyurl.com/hdbvzsv
Elaine Faber is the author of three cozy cat mysteries and the humorous novel, Mrs. Odboddy-Hometown Patriot. The sequel, Mrs. Odboddy-Undercover Courier will publish later this fall. She has published short stories in magazines and multiple anthologies.
Elaine’s cozy mysteries include: Black Cat’s Legacy; Black Cat and the Lethal Lawyer, and Black Cat and the Accidental Angel. Black Cat, the cat with the memories, tackles a California cold case murder, a Texas embezzling lawyer, and skullduggery at an emu farm in the Sierra Nevada foothills. She has published short stories in magazines and multiple anthologies as well.
Elaine lives in Elk Grove, CA. She and her husband share their home with three house cats, the inspiration for the Black Cat Mysteries. The Agnes Odboddy character is a figment of Elaine’s vivid imagination and in no way relates to her quirky personality.
Contact Elaine at Elaine.Faber@mindcandymysteries.com (e-mail)
http://www.mindcandymysteries.com (Website)
Books Available at Amazon:
http://tinyurl.com/lrvevgm Black Cat’s Legacy
http://tinyurl.com/lg7yvgq Lethal Lawyer
http://tinyurl.com/07zcsm2 Accidental Angel
http://tinyrul.com/hdbvzsv Mrs. Odboddy – Hometown Patriot
, and the 
. Her fourth Cait Morgan Mystery, 
won the 2015 Bony Blithe Award for Best Canadian Light Mystery.
(#1)
(#2)
(#3)
(#4)
: A Cajun Country Mystery, has been nominated for an Agatha Best First Novel award, a Lefty for Best Humorous Mystery, and a Daphne Award for Best Mainstream Mystery. The second Cajun Country Mystery, 
, will be available in September 2016. Ellen’s TV credits include Wings and Just Shoot Me; she’s written over 200 magazine articles; her published plays include the award-winning Graceland and Asleep on the Wind. Ellen Byron is a native New Yorker who lives in Los Angeles and attributes her fascination with Louisiana to her college years at New Orleans’ Tulane University.