The Fortress by Madeleine Romeyer Dherbey - Book Tour + Giveaway
The Fortress
by Madeleine Romeyer Dherbey
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
GENRE: WWII Historical
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
BLURB:
The war has not made much of difference in Alix’s life. Her father has seen to it that she grows up
unaware, unworried, but safe in her tiny village under the cliffs of the Vercors. All around her he has
built a fortress whose walls are impregnable—until the 27th of April, 1944. That day he makes a
stupid mistake up on the cliff, and the walls of the Fortress start crashing down.
Reality breaks into Alix’s life with unrelenting violence, unforeseen possibilities. From now on,
every decision she makes will mean life or death.
unaware, unworried, but safe in her tiny village under the cliffs of the Vercors. All around her he has
built a fortress whose walls are impregnable—until the 27th of April, 1944. That day he makes a
stupid mistake up on the cliff, and the walls of the Fortress start crashing down.
Reality breaks into Alix’s life with unrelenting violence, unforeseen possibilities. From now on,
every decision she makes will mean life or death.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
EXTRA INFORMATION:
Six weeks before D-Days, a thousand kilometers from the beaches of Normandy.
There are no generals in the French Vercors, just a handful of men and women against the Nazi war
machine. They come from Bretagne, Paris, and Slovenia, and the villages up on the cliff.
They are the Fortress.
machine. They come from Bretagne, Paris, and Slovenia, and the villages up on the cliff.
They are the Fortress.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
EXCERPT
“By now they already know something has happened, and sooner than later you’ll be linked to
Rieder’s disappearance. Now if they catch you, you will talk…”
Rieder’s disappearance. Now if they catch you, you will talk…”
“What makes you so sure of that?”
“You will talk, and then it becomes my problem. But that’s only part of it.
Once they figure out he’s dead, they’ll come for us too, and again that’s my problem.
Then there is the fact that my people, your co-dissidents whom you didn’t consult, want to kill you.”
He was leaning against a joist, head down, eyes almost closed. “They think you are an informer.”
Once they figure out he’s dead, they’ll come for us too, and again that’s my problem.
Then there is the fact that my people, your co-dissidents whom you didn’t consult, want to kill you.”
He was leaning against a joist, head down, eyes almost closed. “They think you are an informer.”
“And that’s your problem?” she snapped.
“Whether you like it or not.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Guest Post
Guest Post
Why did I choose WWII as the period for the book?
I was born in a small village nestled under the Vercors cliffs, an area that saw a lot of
action during WWII. It was where a couple of dreamers envisioned a plan to
build an army of resistants that would support Anvil, the Allied landing on the
French Mediterranean coast.
I grew up there long after the liberation, on the wrong side of glory.
Three of my uncles were condemned to death for collaborating with the
Vichy government and betraying C2, a Resistance camp located at Malleval, to
the Nazis. Their sentences were later commuted to forced labor, but the
national disgrace verdict stood, and they had to leave the area to avoid being
murdered. Despite the death threats, my father— who had fought with honor
during the war—decided to stay. The legacy, hard to overcome in a community
mauled by four years of occupation and violence, is my first personal
connection to this story.
Then, there is the Vercors itself. Breathtakingly beautiful, dangerous, a natural playground for
all extreme sport lovers. Rock climbing, canyoning, spelunking, skiing, it’s
all there. But for me, it’s home. It’s where my ancestors have lived and are
buried, under those same cliffs.
It is a battle well-known to Historians and military
strategists that got surprisingly little artistic treatment. The
Fortress is a dream of freedom, a heroic battle, a military disaster, but also redemptive
last stand. Many books have been written on the subject, but no fiction, and in
fact, I was frustrated by the dryness of the accounts which I felt did not
reflect the human dimension of that battle.
There are also small things, like a Sten machine gun I found in the mud of a summer creek,
with this inscription, Pour ma Suzon Cherie, June 12, 1944;
or the story of a fifteen-year old boy, a resistant fighter whose name is forgotten,
who was tortured and murdered by the Nazis in the summer of 1944.
I wanted to do justice to the conflicting truths of men, women, families, rivals,
religions, collaborators, communists, nationalists and simple French patriots
during the Nazi occupation of my beloved Alp mountains. The plot is simply a
way to let them speak for themselves.
But there in the middle of my noble historical mission, a love story was born, and once it took roots,
it drove the narrative. Marc has pledged his life to defend the Vercors, and he
is a man of his word. It is with genuine distress that he discovers his growing
attraction to Alix, and he fights it. The tension that builds
between them, driven by irrepressible feelings and conflict, is shaped by the
violence that unfolds around them, rather than superficial sexual drama. That
love story made the writing almost hypnotic for me.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
AUTHOR Bio and Links:
Madeleine Romeyer Dherbey was born in the French Alps, moved to the United States
twenty-five years later, and currently lives in the mountains of Virginia with her husband,
two daughters, and Mikko.
twenty-five years later, and currently lives in the mountains of Virginia with her husband,
two daughters, and Mikko.
Website
FaceBook
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
GIVEAWAY INFORMATION
Madeleine Romeyer Dherbey will be awarding a $25 Amazon or Barnes and Noble GC to a randomly
drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour.
drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour.
4 Comments
Thanks for hosting!
ReplyDeleteYou're welcome!
DeleteCongrats on the tour and thank you for the opportunity to read about another great book. With so many readers in my family, always great to hear about more choices I think they'd enjoy reading.Having a family who loves to read, I always
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing the great post!
ReplyDeletePlease try not to spam posts with the same comments over and over again. Authors like seeing thoughtful comments about their books, not the same old, "I like the cover" or "sounds good" comments. While that is nice, putting some real thought and effort in is appreciated. Thank you.