70th Anniversary of Monte Cassino

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On February 11, 1944, Monte Cassino, a historic abbey in Italy, was bombed by the Allies. It was a move that was taken with reluctance because of the history and significance of the abbey. It was also used by the Germans as propaganda in Italy. “The Allies will destroy all of your great building and monuments. They find no value …

Monuments Men: Rachel’s Camera

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Tomorrow the giveaway I’m hosting to celebrate the release of Shadowed by Grace ends. I wanted to make sure you each had an opportunity to participate. In this I’m giving away the camera that Rachel Justice, the heroine, uses. You might think she’s fictional, but while I was writing her scenes I would play with this camera to make sure …

Monuments Men: Rose Valland

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Rose Valland fascinated me from the first time I read The Monuments Men. This woman is truly one of the unsung heroes of the Monuments Men. I can’t wait to see how she is portrayed in the movie. Rose Vallard was a woman ahead of her time. She received an art degree, but couldn’t find a paid position at a …

Monuments Men: who was James Rorimer

Cara Monuments Men, researching Leave a Comment

If you’re excited about the Monuments Men movie, you might be curious who the characters are. Today I wanted to fill you in on the real person behind Matt Damon’s character.  In the movie, he’s called James Granger. In real life the Monuments Man was Second Lieutenant James J. Rorimer. Before joining the military in WWII, Rorimer had already become …

The Real Monuments Men: Part 1

Cara Italy, Monuments Men, researching Leave a Comment

In Shadowed by Grace, I delved into the world of the Monuments Men in Italy. The movie that releases next week explores some of what this elite group did in France and Germany, while I recreated part of their job in Italy during WWII. Capturing life in Italy during WWII was quite a challenge. The photo shows just a few …