Editorial Content for December '41: A World War II Thriller

“Yesterday, December 7, 1941 --- a date which will live in infamy --- the Unites States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan.”

The morning of December 8th, Americans are glued to their radios as President Franklin D. Roosevelt delivers the shocking news. In the confusion that ensues, plans are made. Some are thrown together, but for one man, a well-laid plan is set in motion after a long wait. German agent Martin Browning has been training for this day, much of it taking place up on one of the canyons in the hills around Los Angeles. Now he prepares to leave for the last time. He has until Christmas Eve to fulfill his mission.

"William Martin simply knows how to write. And he knows how to write a smash-up story with atmospheric touches so authentic you’ll forget you’re in the 21st century.... DECEMBER ’41 is packed with history, thrills, chills and clever plot twists."

Meanwhile, a young story reader named Kevin Cusack puts down Everybody Comes to Rick’s, a play he believes might become a mega hit, and listens to the news. He decides that this will be the last recommendation he makes. His Hollywood dreams aren’t working out. He wants to go home for Christmas, so when his friend Sally offers to hitch him a ride with her on the Super Chief, he jumps at the chance. He doesn’t just want to go home; he also wants Sally.

Aspiring starlet Vivian Hopewell has come to a similar conclusion about Hollywood. The movie business can chew you up and spit you out like a mouth full of tobacco. She’s tired and disillusioned. But before she can formulate an escape, she finds herself in over her head with a distasteful associate who decides that under no circumstances is she backing out of a gig he had set up for her. In a stroke of luck --- good or bad is yet to be determined --- Martin sweeps in and saves Vivian. Of course, she’s relieved and thankful, but she’s no stranger to the quid pro quo workings of Hollywood. So what’s his angle?

Martin suggests that Vivian pose as his wife --- in name only --- on the Super Chief as it carries them across the nation, in fine style, to Washington, D.C. After a little thought, she says yes. It seems like an easy way to ditch Hollywood and get home for Christmas. But Martin may not be the best bet for her. The man has more names --- not to mention IDs and stories --- than a guy who claims to be a seed rep should be carrying. And what she doesn’t know is that he’s leaving a trail of bodies in his wake. With all of that behind him, what’s in front of him?

Naturally, with war freshly broken out, everyone is on high alert, including a porter on the train named Stanley, who pays attention to detail. So who will play the biggest part in the Christmas Eve endgame? FDR stubbornly refuses to forgo lighting the Christmas tree, and he has a surprise visitor: Winston Churchill. For enemies of the US --- and Great Britain --- that’s a bonus. Who can stop this catastrophic train wreck from happening?

Author William Martin simply knows how to write. And he knows how to write a smash-up story with atmospheric touches so authentic you’ll forget you’re in the 21st century. The subject matter here is deadly serious, but the characters who make cameo appearances --- big names from show biz in the 1940s --- liven up the novel and make you feel like a Hollywood insider. DECEMBER ’41 is packed with history, thrills, chills and clever plot twists. So sit down, stretch out, open the book and fall inside this wonderful adventure.