A two-time Golden Heart finalist, Ellen writes emotional and
romantic WWII women’s fiction. A world-traveler and small plane pilot, she
lives in Minnesota with her husband, three rescue cats and an elderly bearded
dragon.
A GIRL DIVIDED
Rural China, 1942. Twenty-two-year-old Eugenia Baker
exists in a bubble as yet untouched by WWII. Content to help her father with
his missionary work, Genie sees her future as a straight, if narrow, road—until
an American pilot arrives, warning them of the approaching Japanese army.
Lieutenant Ted Younan is one of the Flying Tigers,
volunteer fighters protecting China from aerial attacks. After rescuing Ted
from his downed plane, Genie’s father asks the flyboy to get his daughter
across the mountains so she can escape to the United States. To leave her
beloved home—much less chaperoned by her father’s overbearing assistant,
Nathan—is the last thing Genie wants, but she reluctantly agrees.
Ted is unlike any man Genie has known, and he opens her
eyes to the idea of determining her own fate and chasing her dreams. But Genie
has her doubts when tragedy thrusts responsibility upon her and the war creates
unexpected opportunities, challenges…and temptations. Now, a world away from
the woman she was, Genie must discover the woman she wants to be.
STORY EXCERPT
Ted held her gaze for a long moment
after the dance ended. She felt as though she could fall into the mahogany
depths, never to resurface. “We should probably go back to the table. Our
drinks have arrived.”
Genie leaped back, mortified by her
behavior. It’s
embarrassing how you throw yourself at him. Nathan’s words sank
like a dagger into her chest.
“It looks like Joe ordered us some
food, too.” Ted gestured for her to lead the way. “Good man!”
She started for the table when she
caught sight of George by the bar. He was chatting with a dark-haired woman in
a green dress that left little to the imagination. Unexpectedly, his hand slid
down the woman’s back to rest familiarly on her buttocks.
Actually, he was doing more than
resting his hand on the silk-clad cheek; he was actively massaging it, the
emerald fabric bunching under his fingers.
Genie slowed. “Ted . . . um
. . . does George know that woman?”
Ted turned to follow her gaze. After
what sounded like a muffled expletive, he immediately redirected her movements,
cutting off her view. “Forget you saw that.”
“But he was . . .” A curious
tension curled deep in her body as she sought the words to describe the scene,
her mind’s eye caught by the sensual ripple of silk as it caught between his
fingers, the displacement of the woman’s soft flesh beneath the fabric. Heat
climbed up her neck, leaving her flushed, shaky.
“Doing nothing you needed to see. I
guess they’ve lowered their standards since the last time I was through.”
“What do you mean?”
“Never mind. They’ll be leaving soon
enough.”
Joe stood politely as she reached the
table. “You kids have fun?”
“When did they start letting birds in?”
Ted asked angrily before she could say a word.
Joe looked around the club. His
eyebrows rose when he reached the bar area. “Well, well . . . so
that’s why he sent a waiter back with the drinks.”
“Warn me if he starts to bring her this
direction,” Ted growled as he pulled out her chair.
“No worries about that,” Joe said,
resuming his own seat. “They’re heading toward the door.”
“What . . .” she began, and
then the pieces began to fit: Ted’s discomfort, George’s hand so low, the tight
dress, “birds” . . . birds of paradise, her father had once called them. “That
woman was selling herself? She was a prostitute?”
She knew about prostitution, of course.
The world’s oldest profession was mentioned several times in the Bible, and
missionaries everywhere worked to stop the trade. She just hadn’t seen a fallen
woman in the flesh before.
Her gaze flicked to the bar again.
George and the girl were indeed gone. Her stomach clenched, but not with
disgust as she had expected. Her emotions weren’t nearly that uncomplicated. To
her shame, beneath her discomfort also lurked a certain fascination.
Picking up her fork, she couldn’t stop
herself from wondering what would happen next. Where would the two conduct
their business? In a room with a bed? An alley? Would they both disrobe? Or only
the girl?
Would she, the girl, like it?
At that
thought, she forgot to swallow and breathe separately, and choked.
Ted smacked her
on the back. “You all right?”
She managed a
smile over her glass. “Fine.”
FIND A GIRL DIVIDED ON AMAZON
Q&A WITH ELLEN:
LIZ: What was your favorite book as a
child?
ELLEN: Wow, that’s a tough one! I would say the one that has stuck
in my imagination the longest is The
Island Stallion by Walter Farley. A wanna-be archaeologist on a pristine
Caribbean Island with gorgeous wild horses … who wouldn’t be swept away? There
was even a kind of HEA plot: would the hero win the stallion’s love and trust?
LIZ: How did you come up with the idea
for this book?
ELLEN: I’ve always been fascinated by the nooks and crannies of
history, the things that get overlooked or overshadowed. In this case, it was
China’s experience of WWII and the Women’s Airforce Service Pilots (WASPs) here
in the United States. I also have to thank my childhood friend, Heather, for
having a grandfather who was a missionary that traveled through China, and
inspired the creation of my heroine’s father in the novel.
LIZ:
If you described your book in three words, which would you choose?
ELLEN: Adventure, self-discovery, independence, I guess. Oh, and
plot-twists, but that would be four, so never mind.
LIZ: You’ve been granted one
superpower for one week. Which power would you choose, and what would you do
with it?
ELLEN: I suppose it would come as no surprise to anyone who also
knows I’m a pilot, but I would love to have Supergirl’s ability to fly. I’ve
had more dreams than I could count about jumping into the air and then just
floating there, completely defying gravity. It’s such a rush, even in my
dreams.
LIZ: Name three things on your desk
right now.
ELLEN: Two beanie baby cats (different colors) and a cross-stitch
project I’ve been working on for nearly 20 years, but don’t tell anyone, or
they’ll think I’m a procrastinator.
LIZ HAS GOTTA ASK: What’s the most personal thing
you’ve ever put in one of your books?
ELLEN: The most personal thing in A GIRL DIVIDED is the terror
Genie feels when she botches her first solo landing attempt. I’ve had my own
hair-raising close calls, as has any pilot. We just rarely mention them to
anyone other than other pilots, who would nod their heads in sympathy.
ELLEN’S QUESTION FOR YOU:
In A GIRL DIVIDED, Genie lets her friend talk her into swim
lessons even though she’s terrified of water. When I turned 50, I challenged
myself to earn my private pilot’s license, even though I was terrified. What’s
the most challenging thing you have every done?
I have a $10 Amazon
gift card for one lucky commenter today!
WHAT’S NEXT?
My next book is Violet
Exposed (tentative title), to be released October 2019.
CONTACT ELLEN:
Website: www. Ellenlindseth.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/EllenLindsethAuthor
Twitter: https://twitter.com/EllenLindseth
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/15289905.Ellen_Lindseth