Flora J. Solomon

Diane Slocum, journalist and interviewer, posted an author interview in Authorlink, a news source for writers and publishers.

You can read it here.
http://authorlink.com/interview/nurses-endure-wwii-captivity-in-solomons-debut-novel-2015/

Announcing a GoodReads Giveaway open from January 27 through February 24, 2015. Twenty entries will be randomly drawn and the winners will receive a paperback copy of the newly published book, A Pledge of Silence. It costs you nothing. Good luck!

To enter the contest click here: Goodreads Giveaway

Publication date for the new edition of A Pledge of Silence is set for February 24, 2015. What has changed? The cover for one thing. The designers at Amazon did an excellent job. The women peering out from behind the deteriorating Japanese flag are the real Angels of Bataan and Corregidor. The picture was taken in 1943 by the Japanese while the women were in the prison camp. I asked for the cover to have an eerie feel, after all a prison camp is no cup of tea, eerie is what it is — and beautiful.

The book is newly edited. The first few chapter were shortened, and I added two chapters to the end to fill out the mother/daughter relationship as requested by my inquiring readers.

The paperback, e-book and audio book currently can be pre-ordered from Amazon.

After several rounds of elimination A Pledge of Silence is a finalist for Amazon’s Breakthrough Novel Award competition. Two-thousand contestants vied for the top spot in the General Fiction category. The prize is a publishing contract with Lake Union Publishing, an Amazon imprint. Watch for the new, improved edition to be released sometime after the first of the year.

My first television interview. Do I look as nervous as I felt?

A review from Publishers Weekly was the prize for making quarter finals in the Amazon’s Breakthrough Novel Award Competition. This review helped propel A Pledge of Silence into first place for General Fiction.

The review
This intricately woven novel asks the question, “how much can one woman take before she breaks?” Margie is a young farm girl who goes to nursing school and becomes an active nurse during World War II. This story not only reveals the struggles and discrimination women endured in this period of history, but the lengths some had to take to protect themselves. The pace of this book is near perfect. An amazing story that will leave readers thinking about the characters long after they the final page. Perfect ingredients for a breakout novel.

A Pledge of Silence was selected as a coveted B.R.A.G Medallion Honoree.
IndieBrag at Bragmedallion

I ran a successful promotion this week. My book, A Pledge of Silence, rose to rank #24 in All Amazon Books, #2 in Nook’s Top 100 Books, and #8 in Amazon’s Most Popular Book Historical Fiction.

I share this story at the book clubs I attend and it is always a favorite. Click on the link to read about Cocquette, an Alsatian who guided downed airmen from enemy occupied Belgium to safety in France. How does this story tie in to “A Pledge of Silence?” Think about the damage that could have been done had these airmen told this story in 1942.
Click here

Mildred Dalton Manning died March 8, 2013, at age 98. She was the last surviving Army nurse held prisoner by the Japanese in Manila for three years during World War II. Millie was 5’7” tall, and she weighted 115 pounds when she returned home in 1945. In a 1996 interview she said, “After coming home, we (the nurses) all put on a lot of weight right away. I was having trouble with depression and other things and went to the doctor. He said, ‘Well, sweetie, there’s nothing wrong with your appetite is there?’”

Picture downloaded from New York Times

Christoph Fischer, a noted reviewer from the United Kingdom, read my book and requested an author interview. To read his review and the interview, go here. http://ow.ly/n4NeT. While you’re there, check out the other books he recommends.

To the Angles historical marker on Corregidor Island, Philippines. Dedicated May 6, 2000, fifty-eight years after the nurses’ capture by Japanese forces, May 6, 1942. (phtoto credit: George and Carol Bell)

A Pledge of Silence has been nominated for the eFestival of Words 2nd annual Best of the Independent eBook Awards.

Finalists will be announced July 1 and then it is a public vote ending at the end of August.

“Some writers have the creative ability to describe an intense way of life. Solomon does just this with such an emotional tone. This is truly a novel that keeps the reader wanting more.” — The State Port Pilot

An incredible look back at the all too often forgotten role that American women played during the War. Mesmerizing. —Rosemary Smith, Librarian, Oakland, Maine

A detail-driven saga of a World War II nurse caught up in the war in the Pacific, enduring what cannot be endured and coping with her survival. A rich, engrossing story to shock you, pull at your heartstrings, and recommend to all. Carmen Amato, author of The Hidden Light of Mexico City