{What's On Your Kindle?} Kenneth A. Baldwin on The Shards of Lafayette

 1918. France. Reports of unexplained rogue attacks have come in from both sides of the Western Front.

When Marcus Dewar is tasked with investigating the aerial bombardments, it’s not because of his aviation record. To make a name for himself, he will have to escort his best friend, a woman named Jane Turner known for her witchlike repairs on damaged aircraft, through some of the war’s most dangerous battle zones.

But when they learn the rogue pilots seek out arcane devices filled with magic powerful enough to alter the war, it will take more than some hedgewitch tactics and smart flying to return with their lives.

And in a conflict that values human life so little, that’s the least they have to lose.

Book Information

Release Date: June 2, 2023

Publisher:  Eburnean Books

Kindle eBook: 2305 KB; $6.99

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Drops-Glass-Magic-Shards-Lafayette-ebook/dp/B0C42B144X

 

Kenneth A. Baldwin writes stories that blur the lines between history, magic, dreams, and reality. He loves finding oddities in history books with unbelievable tales or unexplained phenomena. His first series, The Luella Winthrop Trilogy, takes place during just such a time when late 19th-century Victorians struggled to balance a surge of occultism and never-before-seen scientific advancements.

Before he started writing novels, Kenny paid his way through law school by writing, performing, and teaching humor. You can still catch him on stage or in corners of the Internet that feature sketch and improv comedy. Now, he lives nestled under the Wasatch Mountains with his wonderful wife, sons, and Golden Retriever.

Website & Social Media:

Website ➜ www.kennethabaldwin.com 

X ➜ http://www.x.com/kennethabaldwin 

Facebook ➜ www.facebook.com/kennethabaldwin 

Goodreads ➜ www.goodreads.com/kennethabaldwin  

 

Welcome, Kenneth! Your book, The Shards of Lafayette: Drops of Glass Book 1, sounds absolutely awesome. Can you tell us the story behind that intriguing title?  

 Kenneth: Of course. The title is a little glimpse at the magic system. During WWI, there was a group of volunteer combat pilots from the United States that flew for the French Foreign Legion. When I first started researching this volunteer squadron, I got completely sucked into its colorful roster. They were guys from all walks of life, including some who left behind Ivy League educations because they felt so passionately about protecting France. Because of the United States’ neutrality at the time, they came up with an unofficial name for the group called the Lafayette Escadrille. The magic system in the book is based on the courage and, perhaps insanity, of those early pilots. The Shards of Lafayette, in other words, are a little bit like shards of magic littered throughout the Western Front.

Can you tell us a little about your main characters?

Kenneth: I wrote the story from the perspective of two people. The first is Marcus Dewar. He’s a young kid that got seduced by the romance of war time propaganda and wanted to make a name for himself and his family. So he volunteered to go drive ambulances in WWI. Eventually, he was pulled into the air service and became a combat pilot. He’s really thirsty to prove his worth, but he also has a big problem. He’s been at war for a while, but he can’t bring himself to take a human life.

His best friend, Jane Turner, is his aviation mechanic. As she was growing up, her mother’s eccentric best friend decided Jane needed an arcane education and took it upon herself to teach her everything she knew about the unseen world. So, Jane uses these little hedgewitch tricks to fix planes, and she’s got a reputation for it around the air base.

Where is your book set and why did you choose that particular location?

Kenneth: This book is set near the front lines on both sides of the Western Front during WWI. The story grew directly out of the setting because I was inspired to write it after diving into research about these pilots. But it was actually pretty difficult to decide when the story would take place and where specifically scenes and sequences needed to happen. I take the historical side of this series really seriously. I want readers to learn about this part of the past. So the plot works its way through the last year of the war, and the settings in the book are selected because they were true and accurate locations that would have been important for Marcus and Jane’s mission based on where specific pilots were stationed back then.

What part would you say was the most exciting to write about?

Kenneth: I loved writing Jane’s chapters, especially as the requirements of her journey took her into new territory. A woman in an airplane was not unheard of in 1918, but it was definitely an anomaly for military service. The few female pilots of the era were exhibition based that flew for entertainment shows or sponsored events. There’s a chapter where Jane has to cross that threshold from mechanic to air servicewoman. Since that whole aspect was new to her, it allowed for me to use her point of view as a vehicle to talk plainly to the reader about how the world was different back then. 

What's next for you?

Kenneth: I’m happy to say that the sequel, Strands of Fire, is coming out in February. I’m just getting first impressions back from some of my trusted beta readers, and it’s so nerve-wracking but very fun. The second book dives more deeply into the magic and the character arcs of both Marcus and Jane. So, I’m really excited for that.