Hello Everyone!!!
I hope you haven't forgotten me. Yes, I was MIA all summer. I’d been in my bat cave writing almost every day. I don't know about other authors, but I find writing to be very physically demanding in addition to being mentally taxing. To make sure I can get this book out in the fall, I had to stick to my writing schedule. (Don’t worry, I did make it outside regularly to enjoy the sun and see friends and family. I even went to the theatre and watched Barbie!)
The good news is, I finished! Why I Fight is set for release this November. I will announce the official release date later this month. The book will be available for preorder in October.
Why I Fight will be the third book in the Nisei War Series. This is a story about Katsuo, the older brother of Tom Sakai from the first book in this series, Last Night with Tokyo Rose. If you have read Tokyo Rose, you would have met Katsuo already. He was also the soldier who became a pen pal and one of the suitors of Vicky Kondo from Book 2, The Girl with a Star-Spangled Heart. In Why I Fight, we find Katsuo at the beginning of his deployment with the all-Japanese American infantry unit, the 442nd Regiment, in Southern Italy in the summer of 1944.
A little historical background. After Pearl Harbor, the US government and military adopted a policy to classify all Japanese Americans as 4-C, enemy aliens ineligible for military service. In January 1943, the decision was reversed for the U.S. Army, though not for the Navy and the Army Air Corps. A large contingent of Hawaiian Nisei eagerly enlisted to prove their worth and loyalty. The responses on the mainland, where Japanese-Americans from the West Coast were incarcerated in internment camps, were needless to say much less enthusiastic.
Against this backdrop, we will find out how Katsuo, who was born and raised in Seattle, ended up with the 442nd in Italy. Some of you might recall he was already an enlisted soldier before Pearl Harbor. We will follow him and the 442nd Regiment (a/k/a Go For Broke) as they fight their way through Italy, France, and finally, Hitler's homeland into the heart of Germany, and watch how they become the most decorated regiment in U.S. military history for its size and length of service.
The last time I wrote a story with a military plot was Rose of Anzio. The main character in that series, Anthoy Ardley, was an infantry officer. This time, in Why I Fight, Katsuo is a sergeant with the 522nd Field Artillery Unit. We will see the war from the perspective of the gunners who handled the 105mm Howitzers. The 552nd was also part of the troops that liberated Dachau.
Why I Fight is a quite different from the WWII fiction currently trending among readers. Industry experts tell us authors to always write what the readers are buying. I don't know if this book will have the same appeal as the books about civilian resistance that are very popular with WWII fiction readers right now. However, when I set out to write the Nisei War Series, I wanted each book in the series to showcase a different facet of the Japanese-American WWII experience, minus the internment, which had been done many times before. I couldn't see leaving out a story about the 442nd. What the men in that regiment did had such an impact on how Japanese Americans (and Asian Americans) were perceived in the country, and they remain a source of pride for Japanese Americans today.
Those of you who have followed me for a long time know that I like bringing something different to the WWII fiction genre. I am unable to find any fiction books about the 442nd on sale on the market except for the YA novel Four-Four-Two. Why I Fight will be very different from that book, as it is written for an adult audience. It will explore much deeper the soldiers’ wartime conflicts and challenges. I am glad I can bring the story of these brave men to readers, so they wouldn’t be forgotten. I hope you will give it a chance, and find it a good read.
In the coming weeks, I will be sharing with you more highlights about the 442nd Regiment, and other interesting WWII/1940s topics I came across while researching for this book. I've been away for too long this summer. I'm very excited now to be in touch with you again. My manuscript is out of my hands with the editorial team, and I'm looking forward to connecting with you all again to talk about all things WWII.
Until next time,
Alexa Kang
More on the 442nd Regiment
This article from the National Archive is a good overview about the 442nd.
This article from History.com recounts the most well-known achievement of the 442nd.
How a Japanese American Regiment Rescued WWII’s ‘Lost Battalion’
442nd Newsreel
Watching WWII era newsreels always make me feel like I'm time-traveling to the past. I can almost feel I was present and living history. Here's a short 13 minutes newsreel about the 442nd Regiment to take you back in time with me.
Eternal Flame Has a New Cover!
I am SOOOO excited about this. Eternal Flame, my WWII-1980s time-travel love story spun of from the Rose of Anzio Series, has gotten a much-needed facelift. What do you think?
I am sad though to retire the old illustrated cover. The original cover was a work of art. But illustrated cover doesn’t work anymore in our digital age unless the books are anime or special niches of fantasies and science fiction. But I am thrilled to bring Ed and Julia on to the screens (computer screens anyway) with this new rendition. Christmas and the holidays will be here before we know it. Perhaps this may be a good gift for someone you know?