Tag: Right Here Waiting by K. E. Belledonne

A MelanieM Review: Right Here Waiting by K. E. Belledonne

Rating:  3.5 stars out of 5

Right Here Waiting cover

Author’s synopsis: 

In 1942, Ben Williams had it all – a fulfilling job, adoring friends and the love of his life, Pete Montgomery.

But World War II looms over them. When Pete follows his conscience and joins the Army Air Force as a bomber pilot, Ben must find the strength to stay behind without the love of his life, the dedication to stay true and the courage he never knew he’d need to discover his own place in the war effort.

Good friends help keep him afloat, until a chance meeting on the home front brings him an unexpected ally—one who will accompany him from the stages of New York City to the hell of the European warfront in search of his love.

Written in the style of a 1940s film, Right Here Waiting is an homage to classic wartime romances from the Golden Age of Hollywood.

 

Right Here Waiting by K. E. Belledonne is a first novel (as far as I can tell) by this author.  I have used their blurb and note to highlight one of my issues with this novel.  Supposedly written in the overly dramatic style of a 1940’s screenplay, this story suffers from some of the same excess that those movies and screenplays exhibited, to the occasional detriment of what was an otherwise terrific story.

That’s not to say that I didn’t love parts of this book, because I did.  Some sections and elements had me in tears they were so well done.  But I had to wade through some not so fabulous scenes, elements,  and dialog to get there.  Let’s take a closer look.

First of all, I admire Belledonne’s taking up the challenge of not only writing a historical romance but one written in a particular style.  Double the challenge, double the courage, double the way a story could fall short.  Historical fiction is one of the hardest things in the world to get right, doubly so (again) to do it in your first novel.  The author must be able to fold those historic elements from the era they have chosen into their story in such a way that its not an information dump.  Instead those pieces of history must be subtly fitted into the plot in such a way that the reader absorbs the information as a natural part of the narrative..  What the author shouldn’t do is make a reader feel as though they have been whapped over the head by historical “things”  throughout the story.  Pointing out that Ben’s large wooden radio with its glass tubes warming up is a little too explanatory.  Ben would have simply turned on the radio, not been aware of the cabinetry or other elements, rickety table included.  For me, it felt that everything had one or two or three more adjectives than was necessary (here and throughout the story) in hopes to make everything seem more authentic.  This included, unfortunately, people talking about doodlebugs, robot bombs and buzzing when all around are screaming and dying.  Falling bombs are killing people and destroying everything around them.  What type of bomb is probably the last thing anyone would care about. Sigh. The author goes overboard in trying to make the reader see every historical detail she has researched and included.  And that bogs down the emotional flow of the story.  And yes, this is a pet peeve of mine, if you couldn’t already tell.

And then there is the dialog, at least the dialog from the “civilian” scenes.  At one point Ben reminds Peter to “stay hydrated”, something I’m not sure they would have said in the 40’s.  Plus there’s an awful lot of weeping going on (not that men can’t cry, far from it), no, more that its done in the overly dramatic manner you might expect from a 40’s drama and damsel in distress. The situation was poignant enough and didn’t need that embellishment (that’s what it felt like) for the reader to find it powerful.

Now on to what I loved.  The war scenes.  Once Belledonne whisks her characters away from New York City and into the various locations of WWII, then this  story starts to come alive.  Pete’s squadron and their camaraderie is wonderful.  I felt like I became intimately acquainted with these men, their aircraft and their stories.  I cared about them and their questionable survival up in the air against the enemy.   Ben too solidified into someone I truly liked and committed to once he became a part of a sort of USO traveling show.  His relationship with the effervescent and fabulous Gwen Andrews (how I loved this character) vibrated with life and energy!  They were fun, snarky, real, and you felt in the moment with them and the rest of the show troopers.  The same goes for Ginger, a good friend of Pete and Ben’s back home, who went to war with Pete as a nurse.  Their relationship felt as though they were truly old, close friends and their dialog and scenes not only reflected that but made us believe in it as well.

Looking back, I wish that a great editor had made one or two more passes over this manuscript, that could have solved most of the issues that I felt kept this from being a 5 star story. Belledonne can right some fantastically believable relationships, her dialog can snap with verve, and her scenes make you sob or laugh depending upon the situation.   And I appreciate the chances she took in her style of writing and era.  From looking at her website, it’s clear that the 40’s hold a special place in her heart so I hope she will continue to put her own touch on M/M historic fiction.  I look forward to seeing what new stories K. E. Belledonne will give us.

I do recommend this story, not every issue that bothered me will bother another reader.  Pick it up and decide for yourself.

 

Cover Artist Colleen, cover design by buckeyegrrl.  What a gorgeous cover.  Perfect in style and content, its definitely one of my favorites this year.

Sales Links:  Interlude Press    Amazon       Buy It Here

Book Details:

ebook
Published February 10th 2015 by Interlude Press
original titleRight Here Waiting
ISBN 1941530281 (ISBN13: 9781941530283)
edition languageEnglish

Fly Back to the Past with K.E. Belledonne’s Right Here Waiting! (contest)


magnifying glass and focusRight Here Waiting
by K.E. Belledonne

BookCover_RightHereWaiting

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About Right Here Waiting…

In 1942, Ben Williams had it all – a fulfilling job, adoring friends and the love of his life, Pete Montgomery.

But World War II looms over them. When Pete follows his conscience and joins the Army Air Force as a bomber pilot, Ben must find the strength to stay behind without the love of his life, the dedication to stay true and the courage he never knew he’d need to discover his own place in the war effort. Good friends help keep him afloat, until a chance meeting on the home front brings him an unexpected ally—one who will accompany him from the stages of New York City to the hell of the European warfront in search of his love.

Written in the style of a 1940s film, Right Here Waiting pays homage to classic wartime romances from the Golden Age of Hollywood.

And now a special excerpt from Right Here Waiting

“And now, coming to you from a secret location, pre-recorded earlier today, in cooperation with the Armed Forces Radio Network, we are proud to present one of our brave young men, United States Army Air Forces Captain Peter Montgomery, performing a special song from all our troops here to all of you folks back home.”

Ben gasped and rushed to the radio to turn up the volume. He closed his eyes and pictured Pete standing in front of the microphone in his freshly pressed uniform—khaki, the color of his eyes when he laughs—standing surefooted and strong. Crowds never made Pete nervous; singing for millions of people over the radio wouldn’t be a problem for him. When they’d sung duets during Ben’s shows at the Black Cat supper club, Pete was always so smooth and sure, never a tremor or nerves. And now, Ben could just picture him: Pete’s eyes would be closed; he’d have a slight smile; his hands would be either gently folded behind his back or holding the microphone stand.

The honey sound of Pete’s voice singing “I’ll Be Home for Christmas”—a voice Ben hadn’t heard in two years—poured from the radio, simple and unaccompanied. He sank to his knees in front of the set and turned the volume even louder. He reached out with one finger to caress the wood, stained golden-red because Pete swore it was the same color as Ben’s hair in the summer. The set reverberated under his fingers. Ben put his entire hand on the set, feeling the vibrations of Pete’s voice through the wood in almost the same way as he’d felt Pete’s voice through his chest when Pete would sing him to sleep, Pete’s naked chest under Ben’s palm, their legs tangled and bodies satiated.

Ben didn’t feel the tears streaming down his face and ignored the pain in his knee as he knelt there—he only felt Pete. Pete’s happiness and joy in the world, Pete’s kindness and generosity, Pete’s caring and love—Ben was enveloped in thoughts of Pete. For this short song, a song of longing and dreams of home, which he knew Pete had picked as a secret code of their own, he and Pete were together, just as they’d be together again, someday soon.

After the song ended, Ben heard Pete whisper, “Merry Christmas.”

“Merry Christmas,” Ben whispered back. “Be safe, darling. Come home soon.”

Right Here Waiting will be released by Interlude Press on February 10, 2015.

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About author K. E. Belledonne

K. E. Belledonne is a writer, editor and translator based in the French Alps. A native New-Englander, Kat spends her spare time listening to Glenn Miller records, reading history books and cheering on her beloved Red Sox.

Ms. Belledonne describes her story as “like an old friend—the book you curl up with when you’re not feeling well. You know how it goes. You know how it will end, but it just makes you feel better reading it.”

Right Here Waiting is her first novel.

We asked K.E. one of our favorite author questions, here is her answer:

Q. People say write what you know. Do you think that is right or even important?

I think it’s both right and important. I think it’s impossible to write competently about something that you know absolutely nothing about. There’s always an element of your reality, or a fragment of yourself in anything you write. It doesn’t mean that every single character is an exact copy of yourself, or that you can’t write about something you’ve never experienced.

But I believe that what makes us love books, what keeps us coming back to books – we see ourselves reflected in them. We relate to these characters, we consciously or unconsciously find the commonalities we share with the characters we love. It’s what makes us care about them, root for them, and continue reading.

Now, this doesn’t mean that I am doomed to write nothing about people exactly like me (no matter how well small, round, knitting aficionados who like disco dancing and long walks on the beach might make for an interesting short story). One of the main characters of Right Here Waiting is a WWII bomber pilot who happens to be gay. I am neither of those things.

However, I am a human being, and I write about human beings. There are some grand over-arching commonalities we all face, regardless of age, time period, job, or sexual orientation. Love, separation, deprivation, not belonging, sorrow, loss, joy, hurting – these are things that almost every single person on the planet has experienced, in one way or another.

Pete is fathoms deep in love, and I know what that is like. I can write about that.

Pete misses the love of his life with a bone-deep ache. I know that feeling, too. I can write about that.

Pete’s life as a bomber pilot overseas is that of constant tension and danger – though, thankfully, my experience with it is not as extended as his, I do know about living in states of emergency and what the aftermath of an adrenaline rushes feels like.

Now, there are many other things that I’ve had to research. I’ve chatted with many people about their experiences, and I’ve had to imagine and envision some aspects of this story. But I’d like to think that in the end, readers remember the authenticity of the characters’ emotions.

Contact/Follow the Author at:

Her website http://www.kebelledonne.com, on Facebook at , on Goodreads at  and on Twitter at @kebelledonne.

VBT_TourBookCoverBanner_RightHereWaitingRight Here Waiting Sales Links:   Amazon       Interlude Press  eBook and Paperback

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Contest: Must be 18 or older to enter.

THE AUTHOR WILL BE GIVING AWAY:

K.E. Belledonne will be awarding a $25 Interlude Press GC to a randomly drawn winner and a digital copy of RIGHT HERE WAITING to 10 randomly drawn winners via rafflecopter during the tour.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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