Heather’s Bookshelf: Author Interview with David E. Huntley
Book Title: The B-17 Tomahawk Warrior: A WWII Final Honor
Released: 10/27/23
Genre: WWII Biographical Novel
Interview by Heather L. Barksdale
What inspired you to write “The B-17 Tomahawk Warrior: A WWII Final Honor”?
Huntley: As a nine-year-old and a survivor of the London Blitz I witnessed the immediate aftermath of an American bomber crash and explosion. The image of the crew's body parts being being picked up and placed in galvanized metal bins remained with me all of my life. It was more than 70 years later I saw the accident report on the Bomb Group's Memorial web site. There were several mysteries associated with the crash and I felt an internal need or force in me to resolve and investigate the crash.
How did you come up with the names of your main characters?
Huntley: Because this is a non-fiction book the names of everyone in the story are real.
Is there anything that you want readers to know about you, your writing process or your book?
Huntley: The writing of this story took 7 years of intense research, 2 continents of travel, and hundreds of interviews. I am extremely proud of the following accolades: 1/ My book has been accepted into the official Print Collections as a historic WWII document by both the JFK Library in Boston and the Imperial War Museum Research Library Room in London. The book is now available for future scholars and historians. 2/ The United States Air Force Public Affairs Office, after reading and approving the manuscript, gave permission for Major-General Mitchell A. Hanson to write the 3-page-Foreword. 3/ 102-year-old Major Lucky Luckadoo a combat pilot in WWII with the Bloody 100th Bomb Group, endorsed my book calling it, "a Herculean effort." Lucky was an advisor to the Speilberg/Hanks, "Masters of the Air" Apple TV Series.
If "The B-17 Tomahawk Warrior: A WWII Final Honor" was adapted into a movie, who would you like to see cast to play your lead characters?
Huntley: I don't know what child star would play me in the beginning, but without question if Michael Cain could be dragged out of retirement, he would be ideal to play me at this age today. Michael Cain is a Cockney like me and grew up in the same London millieu as I did. He is a couple of years older but would be perfect for this. Ah well, some wishful thinking there.
When you encounter writer’s block, what do you do to break yourself out of it?
Huntley: I cannot say I have ever had writers block. Any hesitation that may occur tends to work itself out quite quickly.
Are there any tips that you would like to share with other aspiring authors?
Huntley: As I have only written two books, I am not qualified to offer any valid tips except for the following. If you are writing any non-fiction of perhaps historical fiction, always check and recheck your facts, especially time-lines of those facts. I am not inafallable but I do go to extreme lengths to ensure details are verifiable as best I can.
What is your favorite genre, book, and/or author?
Huntley: Sorry, my age is showing here, I love my heritage of the English language even though I am not sufficiently erudite to pen a truly classic novel. I do love Dickens and my favorite book has always been Alexander Dumas' Count of Monte Cristo and currently, The Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles.
What are you working on next?
Huntley: I had started a memoir several years ago but the Tomahawk Warrior took over. My memoir is Alliance d'Amour: The Rise of Love & Devotion from the Ashes of WWII. Both my late wife and I survived WWII, me from the London Blitz and Sophe having lived under Nazi occupation in France. It would trace our story from life in London and Paris in the fifties, to Africa in the sixties and seventies, finally settling in Texas for the next forty plus years before Sophie went to heaven. As I approach my 88th birthday, I'm just not sure I have the energy or the time to complete this one.
Learn More About the Author and The B-17 Tomahawk Warrior: A WWII Final Honor:
X @DavidEHuntley, IG mdalainduna, FB David Huntley
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