An Alternate History Epiphany

Many who have seen advance copies of my new novel, A Fly On The Wall, asked me how I received my “what-if” epiphany concerning Heinz Linge.

A reasonable question with a simple answer: It came as a result of seeing the film The Remains of the Day, discovering the lurid and questionable tell-all: I Was Hitler’s Maid, and pouring over Linge’s actual autobiography, in succession.

Through those three sources, I became fascinated by decisions that people on the sidelines of history make when faced with obvious evil and what might have occurred if they’d thought, felt—and acted—differently.

Even as an academician necessarily walled in by the canons of scholarship, I’ve always been captivated by the what-ifs of history…

…what if the South won the “War of Northern Aggression” (the winners get to name their wars)?

…what if Hitler got the atom bomb first? (unthinkable, you say?)

And now…

…what if a valet altered the course of World War II?

There’s much, much more that went into my decision to spend years on this particular what-if. For the whole story, please join my mailing list community. I’ll send you an essay on the topic (including excerpts from the novel), absolutely free as a token of my gratitude, and you’ll stay in the loop regarding my debut alternative-history epic, A Fly on the Wall.

Enough about me. What real-life historical events inspire you to wander down the what-if rabbit hole? Please leave a comment and we can talk about it. I’m eager to share.