Wednesday, April 6, 2022

Blog Tour and Giveaway: They Called Him Marvin, A History of Love, War and Family by Roger Stark

 



Join Us for This Tour:  March 28 to April 15
 
Book Details:

​Book Title:  They Called Him Marvin, A History of Love, War and Family by Roger Stark
Category:  Adult Fiction (18+), 333 pages
Genre: Historical Romance, WW2 history, True Love Story
PublisherSilver Star Publishing
Release Date: September 2021
Content Rating:  PG-13: No sex scenes, six mild profanities, depictions of war scenes.
 
Book Description:

They were just kids, barely not teenagers, madly in love, desperate to be a family, but a war and a B29 got in there way.

Three hundred ten days before Pearl Harbor, buck private Dean Sherman innocently went to church with a new friend in Salt Lake City. From that moment, the unsuspecting soldier travelled a remarkable, heroic path, falling in love, graduating from demanding training to become a B29 pilot, conceiving a son and entering the China, Burma and India theater of the WW2.

He chronicled his story with letters home to his bride Connie that he met on that fateful Sunday, blind to the fact that fifteen hundred seventy five days after their meeting, a Japanese swordsman would end his life.

His crew, a gaggle of Corporals that dubbed themselves the Corporalies, four officers and a tech Sargent, adventured their way across the globe. Flying the “Aluminum Trail” also called the Hump through the Himalayas, site of the most dangerous flying in the world. Landing in China to refuel and then fly on to to places like Manchuria, Rangoon or even the most southern parts of Japan to drop 500 pounders.

Each mission had it’s challenges, minus fifty degree weather in Mukden, or Japanese fighters firing away at them, a close encounter of the wrong kind, nearly missing a collision with another B29 while flying in clouds, seeing friends downed and lost because of “mechanicals,” the constant threat of running out of fuel and their greatest fear, engine fire.

Transferred to the Mariana Islands, he and his crew were shot down over Nagoya, Japan as part of Mission 174, captured and declared war criminals.

Connie’s letters reveal life for a brand new mother whose husband is declared MIA. The agony for both of them, he in a Japanese prison, declared a war criminal, and she just not knowing why his letters stopped coming.
 
Buy the Book:
Amazon ~ Barnes & Noble
Indiebound 
​add to goodreads
 
Meet the Author:

I am, by my own admission, a reluctant writer. But there are stories that demand to to be told. When we hear them, we must pick up our pen, lest we forget and the stories be lost. Six years ago, in a quiet conversation with my friend Marvin, I learned the tragic story of his father, a WW2 B-29 Airplane Commander, shot down over Nagoya, Japan just months before the end of the war. The telling of the story that evening by this half orphan was so moving and full of emotion, it compelled me to ask if I could write the story. The result being They Called Him Marvin.

My life has been profoundly touched in so many ways by being part of documenting this sacred story. I pray that we never forget, as a people, the depth of sacrifice that was made by ordinary people like Marvin and his father and mother on our behalf.

connect with the author: website ~ facebook ~ instagram goodread
 
Tour Schedule:

Mar 28 – Cover Lover Book Review – book review / giveaway
Mar 28 - Rockin' Book Reviews – book review / guest post / giveaway
Mar 29 – Working Mommy Journal – book review / giveaway
Mar 29 - The World As I See It – book review / giveaway
Mar 29 - Kam's Place – book spotlight
April 4 – mysweetenedlifebychix – book spotlight / giveaway
April 5 – Connie’s History Classroom – book review / giveaway
April 6 - Locks, Hooks and Books – book review / giveaway
April 7 – Literary Flits – book spotlight / giveaway
April 8 – Book Corner News and Reviews - book review / giveaway
April 11 – Jazzy Book Reviews – book spotlight / giveaway
April 12 - Reading Excursions – book review / giveaway
April 13 - fundinmental - book spotlight / giveaway
April 14 – Leels Loves Books – book review / giveaway
April 15 - My Reading Getaway – book review / giveaway
April 15 - Christine Marquez - book review 
 
Enter the Giveaway:
 

THEY CALLED HIM MARVIN Book Tour Giveaway

 



My Review: 

They Called Him Marvin is the first book I have had the pleasure of reading by Roger Stark. I have to admit that I am one that will judge a book by its cover, was intrigued with this one, and was excited to get my hands on it. I was far from being disappointed. The writing style is unique and refreshing. It did take me a chapter or two to get used to it. I could not put it down. This is one of those reads that toyed with my emotions and found myself needing to keep my tissues close by. It was interesting to read the letters between Dean and Connie. It was heartbreaking to read but gave a glimpse of what people went through those times in history. The author does not hold back in telling of the tragedies that were witnessed. I found the book tells about an important part for this generation and what they endured. Should never be forgotten. 

They Called Him Marvin will be getting a very well deserved a five plus stars. I highly recommend it for readers who enjoy reading historical fiction, specifically those surrounded the era of the World War II. I would love to read more like this from 
Roger Stark in the future. I am interesting to find out where else he would take his readers to next. 

I received a paperback copy of They Called Him Marvin from the publisher, but was not required to write a positive review. This review is one hundred percent my own honest opinion.

1 comment:

  1. I love stories with a series of letters, especially those base on a true story.

    ReplyDelete