Monthly Archives: October, 2013
Snapshots of World War 2: My Parent’s Documents
These documents are letters of commendation and praise by the Dutch government and the department of the Dutch Interior Forces given to both of my parents after the war, thanking them for their service to their country. My mother is identified as having been a courier, my father commended for his courage in the service […]
Today is the Day!
As I sit here writing this, I still can’t believe that today has arrived! There is nothing like the feeling of pub date. Sending your baby off into the world, hoping your readers will fall into the story as you did when writing it. I am already so gratified that readers of SAVING MAX have […]
Snapshots of World War 2: My Grandfather
Johannes Hurkmans, my grandfather, was born in 1889, a tall man with piercing hazel eyes. As you can see from the document, he became a naturalized American citizen. He had a tough life, never getting beyond a sixth-grade education because he had to go to work to help support his family. He became a waiter […]
Snapshots of World War 2: My Grandmother
Here is a nice shot of my grandmother, Jacoba Stoltenkamp Hurkmans, leaning against the balcony. She was 41 when the war began. My aunt Netty (which is where my “Antoinette” comes from) was seven years younger than my mother and was sent away to the country for the better part of the war so she would […]
Snapshots of World War 2: My Father
Frans van Heugten, my father, lying in the dunes probably watching my mother swim in the winter in Scheveningen, a [then] small beach town near The Hague. My father was an intellectual, always reading, quiet and somewhat shy. Within the family, though, we knew his wit and humor. Oh, and I left out stubborn. He defined […]
Snapshots of World War 2: My Mother
This photograph is painful for me to see. My mother, Jacoba, on the beach in Scheveningen toward the end of the war. You can see how pitifully thin she is, every rib showing, her emaciated arms and legs. But look at that smile! No, nothing ever kept my mother down for long! Even in the […]
Homestretch For The Tulip Eaters!
So it is. On Tuesday, October 29, my second novel, THE TULIP EATERS, will make its way into the world. How does it feel? Crazy. Fantastic. Incredible. All true.When I wrote SAVING MAX and it wasn’t published for ten years (yes, you should have seen my face then, when my neck didn’t resemble a frightened […]
