Writing historical fiction involves a different set of guidelines than other forms of writing. Fiction writers create stories and characters built in the author’s imagination. But historical fiction requires blending fact with fiction. There are real people, places, and events that must be woven into the fictional narrative.
This is the case for author and historian Melissa Amateis. As the author of two non-fiction books, she already had a strong understanding of the facts. But when it came to writing her debut novel, she started with what she knew and built her fictional world around it.
Melissa’s non-fiction work focuses on the Homefront during World War II, specifically her home state of Nebraska. In writing her debut novel – The Stranger From Berlin – creating a fictional town in Nebraska provided her with a familiar world in which to tell her story.
Creating The Stranger From Berlin
THE STRANGER FROM BERLIN is set in the small fictional town of Meadow Hills, Nebraska. The story centers on Jenni Fields, a spirited young woman working at a local museum, and Max Koenig, a professor and German immigrant hired by the museum to translate a diary. But when anti-German sentiment rears its head in the self-proclaimed patriotic town, Jenni and Max must decide where their loyalties lie. As the town falls under the spell of wartime fear and rhetoric, Jenni and Max work to clear Max’s name while protecting their own secrets.
Melissa graciously offered me her time to answer some questions about the book and her writing process. She gives insight into how she transitioned from writing non-fiction to historical fiction. She provides tips for other authors looking to create realistic fiction that centers around historical events and people.
Tell us a little about yourself (Where you’re from, education, family, etc.)
Thanks so much for asking me about my novel, Melanie! I was born and raised on a farm near Bridgeport, a small town in the Panhandle of Nebraska. I’m the middle child sandwiched between two brothers which meant I often found ways to entertain myself since they were heavily involved in sports. That usually meant I read a lot of books. I went to Chadron State College in northwest Nebraska and graduated with a BA in history and a minor in English in 1997. I got married in 1999, and my daughter was born in 2000. I decided to go back to school when she was two, and we moved to Lincoln so I could attend the University of Nebraska. I graduated with my MA in history in 2004. Fast forward to today: I’m divorced, happier than I’ve ever been with my boyfriend, my daughter is 21, and I’m 46 years old and starting my PhD in history at UNL!
How did you become interested in history, and specifically World War II studies?
My love of history came through reading historical fiction. I’ve been a huge, voracious reader since childhood, and once I started reading historical fiction in middle school, there was no looking back. I became fascinated with European history, especially the Georgian period in England, and the French Revolution and the Napoleonic Era. It wasn’t until high school when I watched the 1990 movie, Memphis Belle, that I started becoming interested in World War II. But it hadn’t become an obsession yet. That came later, when I went to graduate school, and decided to focus on World War II for my MA. I love everything about the 1940s: the style, the language, and the movies, but studying the war opened up my world in a new way. I’d long believed the myths about this war – that we were all united on the American Homefront, that every American soldier was morally courageous and didn’t commit any atrocities – but the truth is far more complex. The deeper I dig into this war, the more I discover. I’ll never stop being fascinated with it.
After publishing two non-fiction books about Nebraska during the War, what prompted you to dive into writing historical fiction?
I’ve actually been writing historical fiction since I was 12 years old with the steady goal of being published one day. The fact that it took me until I was 46 to reach that goal shouldn’t dissuade anyone: I worked full-time, went back to school, raised a family, traveled, and did lots of living – but I kept writing whenever I could. The time was simply right in terms of this book finally finding a home with Simon & Schuster UK.
Without giving away any spoilers, please give a brief summary of The Stranger From Berlin.
I’ll just post the back cover copy!
Nebraska, 1943: Jenni Fields’s husband Danny was killed in action two months ago. Now pregnant with another man’s child, Jenni is determined to keep her secret from the small community of Meadow Hills.
Max Koenig fled Germany in 1938, escaping the Nazis and leaving behind a dark secret of his own. Employed to translate a historic German-language diary, Max moves to Meadow Hills, but the overly patriotic community isn’t happy to have a German in their midst.
When the diary goes missing, the whole town thinks Max is the thief. And when local businesses and landmarks start being vandalized with German graffiti, the residents naturally point the finger his way.
Jenni is the only one who believes Max is innocent. Clearly, the diary holds information someone in the town would rather keep quiet. What happened in Meadow Hills all those years ago? And will Jenni be able to prove Max’s innocence before it’s too late?
Where did the idea for the story and characters come from?
I was intrigued when I learned about Nebraska authors Bess Streeter Aldrich and Mignon Eberhardt, and how both women made their living writing short stories and novels in the “Golden Age” of fiction writing for magazines from the 1920s through the 1950s or so. I decided to write a novel about a Nebraska mystery author living in a small town whose home is turned into a museum and becomes a main attraction. That novel had a secondary character in it, Jenni Fields, whose story was so compelling to me that I wanted to see what happened to her. I’ve also always been intrigued with the concept of “otherness” and “xenophobia” – i.e. the fear of the other. I grew up in a small town, and whenever someone new would show up, we usually regarded them with suspicion and a bit of fear. I wanted to expand on that idea and instead, have a German émigré land in a small, insular Nebraska town. How would the people react to this foreigner? Then I decided to make things even more interesting, and have the town be predominantly German, settled by German immigrants in the 1870s. After the wave of anti-German sentiment hit America during World War I, many Germans took their culture “underground.” Twenty-five years later, during another world war, how would they react to a German showing up and reminding them of all they’d lost?
Why did you decide to set the novel in the United States rather than in Europe or the Pacific battle fronts?
While I love reading historical fiction set in the European and Pacific theaters, I hold a special place in my heart for the American Homefront. There was just so much going on here during World War 2: factories being built, airfields and army bases being constructed, people up and moving to find better jobs, women going into the workforce, the FBI trying to catch saboteurs, housing shortages, romances and quick marriages. On and on it goes! The American perspective is often overlooked in fiction, undoubtedly because the European front has danger and intrigued associated with the German occupation. But I wanted to highlight the drama going on right on our front porch.
How much research did you do to ensure the historical elements were accurate?
So, so much research. As a historian, I not only wanted to get the details right, but I needed to get them right. It’s crucial to build the fictional world for your readers, to have them feel as though they’re living in that world. But historical fiction readers are a savvy bunch, and they’re quick to point out historical errors. That’s why I take great care to find even the most minute details. I’ll sometimes spend hours trying to figure out certain details. I had a bit of latitude in that my small town of Meadow Hills is fictional, but that didn’t mean I could slack off in other areas. My main character, Max, is a history professor at the University of Berlin, and I had to research what academia was like in the Third Reich in order to portray his character properly.
What is your writing process? (Plotting, drafting, editing, etc…).
I usually start off with an element of WW2 that I want to explore. Sometimes characters will come to me fully-formed, and other times I have to flesh them out. So I decide on a basic idea, then start fleshing it out. I try and have the whole novel plotted out and my characters fleshed out before I begin writing. But I always, always leave room for surprises. I don’t use any certain plotting technique, and I tend to formulate ideas while taking walks, or in the shower, or at any time, really. I use a notebook and pen to write down snippets, though I tend to plot using just a Word doc. Once I start drafting, I’ll write and edit as I go, so I suppose I go through multiple drafts. Sometimes I’ll finish the draft, then go back and layer in another aspect of the story I want to include to deepen characterization or some aspect of the plot. I always work in one document to keep everything in one place.
How did writing an historical fiction novel differ from the non-fiction history books you’ve written?
When I’m writing my nonfiction, I can’t make stuff up: I have to cite my sources! There is actually some relief in that because I have to stick to the facts. I’m making an argument or supporting a thesis with the evidence and telling a different kind of story. On the flip side, I get to play so much more in my fictional world.
Any tips for other fiction authors on weaving historical facts into a fictional world?
It’s not necessary to describe every last detail. In fact, that turns off the reader. Yes, we want to use a lot of our research in our books, but that can often detract from the story and slow the pacing. Make sure your fictional world reflects the time period you’re writing in: the politics, the gender roles, the language, the popular culture. I love using popular culture in my novels, but I try not to name drop TOO much as that can turn off the reader, too. But just like today, our characters were invested in their world, and as authors, it’s our job to show that.
Do you have any recommendations for other WWII related books readers might enjoy (fiction or non-fiction)?
WW2-fiction is HUGE right now, and there are a lot of wonderful authors out there working in this genre. I especially enjoy Kate Quinn’s books, The Rose Code, and The Huntress; Jane Thynne’s Clara Vine series (set in 1930s and WW2-era Germany), and Louise Fein’s Daughter of the Reich. For non-fiction, Richard J. Evans’ Third Reich trilogy is a must read. I also really enjoyed the narrative nonfiction book, Priscilla: The Hidden Life of an Englishwoman in Wartime France by Nicholas Shakespeare. Insidious Foes: The Axis Fifth Column and the American Home Front by Francis MacDonnell is also fantastic.
What can you tell us about your next project?
My current novel-in-progress is set in Lincoln, Nebraska, in 1942, a dark year for the United States as we were not only losing the war, but it was looking doubtful we’d win it at all. My novel is about an FBI agent hunting a homegrown Nazi spy – and the woman he recruits to go undercover to catch him.
Meet the Author
Melissa Amateis grew up in a small town in western Nebraska, but now resides in Lincoln. She currently works as an editorial assistant at the Center For Great Plains Studies. Her first two books, center on Nebraska’s role during World War II – Nebraska POW Camps: A History of World War II Prisoners in the Heartland (2014) and World War II Nebraska (2020). She recently began work on a doctoral degree in history at the University of Nebraska at Lincoln.
Her debut novel, The Stranger From Berlin was published in August 2021 by Simon& Shuster UK. Available now in eBook form from Amazon and Barnes & Noble.
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