The Mind of Hitler, Continued

As stated in previous posts, there were twelve important questions about Hitler that needed to be answered in my historical novel, In the Mouth of the Lion. They were: Did Hitler have supernatural powers? Who killed Geli Raubal, Hitler’s niece? Why was Geli Raubal killed? How did her murderer get away with it? Who is

The Mind of Hitler

As stated in the previous post, The Guardienne [see the link to the Guardienne Paper on ResearchGate], there were twelve important questions about Hitler that needed to be answered in my historical novel, In the Mouth of the Lion. They were: Did Hitler have supernatural powers? Who killed Geli Raubal, Hitler’s niece? Why was Geli

The Guardienne

Every writer should be an amateur psychologist. If your characters act in ways inconsistent with human behavior, your readers will throw up their hands (or just throw up) and say, “Nobody would do that!” Their suspended disbelief will drop like a dead bat. But, besides knowing what your characters would not do, psychology can help

Book Review: The Glassblower

The Glassblower, by Petra Durst-Benning, is a little slow to get into, but the story of the Steinmann sisters and their struggles in glassblowing soon drew me in. With the death of their father, Johanna, Ruth, and Marie have lost their last parent and their income. Life becomes frighteningly uncertain, and the young women face

Does Hitler Matter Anymore?

What we believe about Hitler is that he was an obviously inhuman madman whose deliberate hatred motivated him to kill millions of people in concentration camps. But was it that simple? What if he was, if not perfectly sane, sufficiently so to be fully responsible for his actions? And what dark psychological forces underlay that

Dining at the Bellinghausen

In the early 1950’s when you walked into the Restaurante Bellinghausen, the aroma of sauerkraut and the sounds of bistro dishes clanking filled the air. Yet the boisterous chatter of the German language was the real surprise. This flourishing Mexico City delicatessen, located in the posh zona-rosa district, teemed with curious tourists, wealthy residents, but

Book Review: Jack of Spies

Jack of Spies (from Soho Crime) is the first book in a new David Downing spy series. It follows Jack McColl, a luxury car representative and part-time spy, around the world in 1913, as he gathers useful military information for England…and sells an occasional vehicle. War with Germany is on the horizon, accompanied by often

Book Review: In The Garden of the Beasts

Erik Larson’s book is the true story of William E. Dodd and family. Dodd, a historian, wanted a new job involving little work and much spare time–a sinecure–to complete his six-volume history of the “Old South.” He put out the word in Democrat circles that he would consider a job as US minister to a