GUEST POST
My Arabella Stewart Historical Mystery series is set shortly after the end of the Great War, which claimed the lives of approximately 8.5 million soldiers. Along with those deaths came terrible destruction in the French countryside. Yet, poppies were still growing in places throughout the conflict.
John McCrae, a Canadian officer and surgeon, was moved to write the now famous poem “In Flanders Fields” after the death of a friend. Moina Michael, an American college professor, read his work in a magazine shortly before the armistice and wrote “We Shall Keep Faith.” Michael committed to always wearing a red poppy to remember the dead. She was instrumental in getting the American Legion to make the flower their symbol. In the United States, the Legion still sells poppies every year around Memorial Day, the last Monday in May. Proceeds go to help veterans.
The poppy remains a symbol to honor the fallen in the United Kingdom, Canada, New Zealand, and Australia. However, in those countries, it is sold and worn around November 11 which was Armistice Day, the end of hostilities in the Great War.
A “Poppy Appeal” began in England in 1921, by the Royal British Legion, and continues today. The Poppy Factory was opened in 1922 and employed wounded war veterans. It is still in business and continues to employ disabled veterans and dependents. Another Poppy Factory opened later in Scotland and is also still in operation.
France and Belgium commemorate November 11 with Remembrance Day. In France, the blue cornflower is the bloom of choice, instead of the poppy. Artificial cornflowers, known as the Bleuet de France, are sold. Funds go to victims of war. Sales date back to the 1920s when veterans of the Great War produced the artificial flowers.
BLURB
A Lethal Arrogance-An Arabella Stewart Historical Mystery Book 3
After returning home from her service as a United States Army Signal Corps operator in the Great War, Arabella Stewart’s goal, to save her family’s resort, seems within reach as the summer season progresses. She and her business partner, Mac MacLendon, look forward to re-establishing a successful championship golf tournament, once the signature event of the resort’s year. Problems arise when one of the contestants, an overbearing snob who has created problems at other competitions, clashes with more than one person. When he is found dead, the victim of a suspicious automobile crash, Bella once again helps Jax Hastings, the town constable and her childhood friend, investigate. As they pursue answers, Bella and Jax find several suspects who might have wanted to make the victim suffer for his lethal arrogance.
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AUTHOR BIO
D.S. Lang, a native Ohioan, has been making up stories since she was a little girl, and she still is! Along the way, she studied English and social studies as an undergrad. After graduate school, she went on to teach government and American history in high school. She also taught English at the junior high, high school, and college levels. In addition, she has worked as a program coordinator, golf shop manager, and online tutor.
Now, she spends much of her time reading, researching, and writing. Most recently, she has delved into the Great War era and the years immediately after it. Her Arabella Stewart Historical Mystery Series was inspired by her Great Uncle Brice who served in the American Expeditionary Force during World War One, and by her love of historical mysteries. In her spare time, she loves to spend time with family and friends, including her dog Izzy.
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