THE BIG INCH
by
KIMBERLY FISH
Genre: Historical Fiction, WWII
Date of Publication: January 19, 2017
Number of Pages: 344
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Kimberly Fish’s debut novel, The Big Inch, was released in February, 2017 and it reveals the lengths to which Texas oilmen, state, and federal governments would go to get Texas crude oil to the troops fighting their first mechanized war. With Nazi threats (and a steady stream of oil tankers sunk by German submarines) speed was necessary, as was OSS intelligence. The Office of Strategic Services was often staffed with female spies and Longview’s World War II efforts were critical for success.
Lane Mercer, sent to Longview, Texas in July 1942, is part of a select group of women working undercover for the fledgling federal agency, the Office of Strategic Services. Assigned to protect the man carrying out President Roosevelt’s initiative to build the nation’s first overland pipeline to hurry East Texas crude to the troops, she discovers there’s more to Longview than the dossiers implied. There’s intrigue, mayhem, and danger. Shamed from a botched OSS mission in France, Lane struggles to fulfill her mission and keep from drowning in guilt. Getting involved in local life is out of the question. Between family, do-gooders, and Nazi threats, she’s knitted into a series of events that unravel all of her carefully constructed, plans, realizing that sometimes the life one has to save, is one’s own.
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PRAISE FOR THE BIG INCH:
“With an eye for detail, Kimberly Fish weaves a compelling story of a war widow who finds herself in Longview, Texas in 1942. Reading Kimberly’s novel was a bit like going back to a cloak and dagger time, and I enjoyed the local references. Longview was an amazing place to be during WWII.” — Van Craddock, Longview News Journal, Columnist
“Kimberly Fish’s unique writing style snatched me out of my easy chair and plunked me down into the middle of her character’s life where I was loathe to leave when my real life called me back. Her descriptive visual writing drew me in on the first page. Can’t wait to read more stories by Mrs. Fish.” — Vickie Phelps Author of Moved, Left No Address
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How has being a Texan (or Texas) influenced your writing? I moved to San Antonio, Texas 25 years ago and got swept up in the story of German settlers carving out a free life in the Hill Country (having just moved there from Germany, it was terribly fascinating stuff to find out the oppression that drove immigration and what they endured.) Since moving to Longview, Texas I set about learning the story of the native Indians, the earliest settlers, the desperados, the freed slaves, the migrants, the church folks, the farmers, the railroad culture, and the dreamers who finally hit pay dirt with oil—knowing that people in history always seem more daring and brave is what drives me to write their stories. Or at least borrow their stories, and make them my own.
Why did you choose to write in your particular field or genre? I saw an opportunity to remind folks in East Texas what some of the crazy, big ideas our forefathers/mothers did in support of the World War II effort. I looked for a way to communicate that history in an entertaining plot.
Where did your love of writing, reading, and storytelling come from? I’ve been a dreamer, reader, storyteller, and writer from my earliest memory. More times than not, the world I created in my mind was far more interesting than the one going on around me. That was true until this most recent election cycle, now, all bets are off.
How long have you been writing? Since I knew what books were. Like most young readers, I started writing because I loved reading so much—and I wanted stories to end the way I wanted. I kind of kept that thinking going even as I wrote as an adult, but I like to think I’ve used a better vocabulary.
What kind(s) of writing do you do? I write professionally in the commercial marketing world, and pursue novel writing in my free time. If I’m not writing, I get a little cranky; almost as cranky as I am when I am writing.
What cultural value do you see in books? Books are the greatest human invention. Maybe the washing machine too, no, I’ll go with books.
How does your book relate to your faith? Faith is as integral to me as imagination. Every character in my book deals with faith, or the lack of it, in one way or another. Faith is the thread that gives hope a chance.
What was the hardest part of writing this book? Taking the time to get the details right.
What projects are you working on at the present? I’m currently at work on the sequel to The Big Inch novel.
If you could speak with any accent from anywhere in the world, what would you choose and why? British, upper crust, please.
What’s something interesting, fun, or funny that most people don’t know about you? I love to dance, but I’m not really that good at it. Actually, those who have seen me know this is true so it’s not that big of a secret.
If you could time travel, what time period would you first visit? I would want to be friends with Michelangelo.
What is your favorite quote? “I am a humble man with many things to be humble about.” –Winston Churchill
Kimberly Fish started writing professionally with the birth of her second child and the purchase of a home computer. Having found this dubious outlet, she then entered and won a Texas manuscript contest which fed her on-going fascination with story crafting. She has since published in magazines, newspapers, and online formats, She lives with her family in East Texas.
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One Winner wins a signed copy of The Big Inch
One Winner who purchases the book during the tour wins a bag of Johnny Cace’s Cheese Croutons
March 8 – 22, 2017
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CHECK OUT THE OTHER GREAT BLOGS ON THE TOUR:
| 3/8 | Review | Hall Ways Blog |
| 3/9 | Author Interview | Reading By Moonlight |
| 3/10 | Excerpt | Books and Broomsticks |
| 3/11 | Review | Kara The Redhead |
| 3/12 | Promo | Blogging for the Love of Authors and Their Books |
| 3/13 | Character Interview | CGB Blog Tours |
| 3/14 | Review | Syd Savvy |
| 3/15 | Guest Post | Chapter Break Book Blog |
| 3/16 | Author Interview | Forgotten Winds |
| 3/17 | Review | Books in the Garden |
| 3/18 | Playlist | My Book Fix Blog |
| 3/19 | Promo | Margie’s Must Reads |
| 3/20 | Review | StoreyBook Reviews |
| 3/21 | Author Interview | The Page Unbound |
| 3/22 | Review | Missus Gonzo |
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