Then through a friend of mine, I contacted a woman in England who sent me xeroxes of newspapers from June 1940. Reading those articles was an early step on a long journey of research, interviews, and trips to Deal, Ramsgate, Dover and Dunkirk, and of course the many drafts of writing my book. But I know a man who was - a man who lives in my village back in England. This is how I began a correspondence with Harry Elliott, whom I later would dedicate my book to. My husband Pete and I met Harry and his wife, Fran, on a research trip to England in 1993 and have been good friends ever since.
Writers ask a lot of questions.
They weren't sure it was a story that would appeal to American readers. I thought they were wrong. I believed in my words and in the importance of the rescue. Sometimes writers have to have a lot of faith in their ideas when others don't. Then I sent my book to Margaret McElderry.