I started out working as a reporter writing articles for a travel magazine based in Beverly Hills and then as a columnist for a computer magazine where I wrote about technology ‘Sweet Savage Byte’, as well as writing for academia, radio commercials and PR copy for a local AM/FM station. I’ve also had three plays produced in Malibu and I worked for a time writing scripts for children’s and daytime TV before publishing nonfiction books about Japan, and then later fiction.
Jann: You have an amazing writing career. How did it get started?
Jina: I’ve always written, having grown up with my Irish grandma who inspired me to write – a fine woman who was never without a story on her lips or a rosary in her hands… blue or white or green beads fastened together by her nimble fingers into a holy circle. I’d sit at her feet, holding my crayons in my left hand and coloring in my ballerina book or playing with my paper dolls, all the while making up stories of my own.
My first writing job was an article about the uniqueness of European bathrooms called ‘A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Loo’. After college, I was torn between working part time as an illustrator for Frederick’s of Hollywood or working as a reporter for a travel magazine. I needed to pay the rent, so I wrote articles under different names and never looked back.
Jann: Why romance, time travel and World War 2?
Jina: Romance makes the world go round no matter what century you’re in… time travel because I spent a lot of my childhood in museums. The voices of the past speak to me through stiff ivory-colored crinolines and worn satin slippers. I’ve always wondered what it was like to walk in those slippers when they were new. World War 2 because I love the clothes, the sophistication, the Victory Red lipstick… the drama and power of the women who helped win the war. They were feminine and daring and strong… and fell in love with brave pilots. Who doesn’t love a guy in a sheepskin leather jacket and aviator sunglasses?
Jann: Historical romance readers look for accuracy from the author. What are your favorite sources for research and how much time did you spend on research. Do you research before, while you write a first draft or after?
Jina: Re: doing research, I love the joy of finding old books or films produced during the time I’m writing about; e.g., there is an enormous amount of material from the 1930s and 1940s, both first person accounts published during the war as well as films. Newsreels, but also home movies shot by participants on both sides. I have a wonderful ‘coffee table’ book that’s filled with scenes of Paris during the Occupation, as well as detailed timelines both in print and on the Internet that help me in setting up scenes so I can drop my characters into the historical moment, then turn them loose and see what they do. They always surprise me!
I research during all phases of the writing process… from creating the characters to researching the weather on a certain day to the phases of the moon (I have RAF landings in France that depend on moonlight). I never hesitate to check a date or place at any time, right through the proofreading.
Jann: Your new historical, The Orphans of Berlin, is described as Heartbreaking and based on a true story. How did you find the story this book is based on?
Jina: It’s based on the Kindertransport, the children’s transport. It’s well documented in films and books… I was fascinated by a documentary featuring an American couple who orchestrated a Kindertransport at a time when the US limited immigration, making it impossible for German Jews escaping death at the hands of the Nazis to come to America. I discovered that Jewish children from Germany and Austria and other European countries were sent to England and also to France by their desperate parents. Since I write about Occupied France, the story took off from here.
I also write about a personal journey in The Orphans of Berlin related to my American heroine (all is revealed in the acknowledgements).
Jann: What major conflicts do your leading characters in The Orphans of Berlin, Kate Alexander and the Landau sisters, have to work through?
Jina: Kay Alexander is a debutante albeit a reluctant one. It’s a life chosen for her by her society mother, but Kay is determined to be her own person in spite of her mother’s domineering ways. Kay has to work through the delicate balance of finding her independence, yet never giving up hope her mother will see her as an individual. She loves her mom and is proud of her heritage, and wants to use her fortune to help others.
Rachel is twelve when we meet her, a time in the Jewish religion when a girl becomes an adult. We follow Rachel through the trials and tribulations every girl faces growing up: her maturing body, feelings for boys, seeking independence from her parents whom she adores, and yearning to be her own person. What makes all this so difficult is that Rachel faces the trials of impending womanhood in a time when the Nazis set about destroying her world of tradition and ancient culture… and also taking on the duty to keep her younger sisters safe in a dangerous time.
Jann: I understand there is a handsome British pilot. What can you tell us about this character?
Jina: Max Hamilton-Jones is a daring pilot from a tough, English upbringing in Blackpool in Northern England. He grew up around airplanes and joined an air circus when he was a teenager. He has a fierce sense of protecting the innocent and uses his flying skills to fight in Spain before WW2… he’s an avant-garde artist who captures human foibles with his amazing sketches featuring slices of life. He loves beautiful woman and sees into the soul of his models with his pen… he’s sexy, witty, and protective of Kay and Rachel and her two sisters. I love that.
Jann: Are you working on something now that you can share with us?
Jina: I’m writing my fourth book about the Holocaust in Occupied France… this time I’m tackling the subject of rape during the war: how many cases were never reported and the stories of these Frenchwomen lay buried in the shadows.
I want to shine a light on one such story…
Jann: You’re a multi-published author, is there a character in one of your books whose personality most matches yours? If so, which book and character and why?
Jina: Aye, it’s Ava O’Reilly, my Irish heroine from Queenstown in The Runaway Girl, my story about the Titanic. Ava pokes her nose where she shouldn’t, is outspoken with her opinions, and is filled with colorful, witty phrases. Of course, Ava speaks her mind; me, I write it down in stories, but there’s a lot of Ava in me.
Jann: Where can we get your books?
Jina: Readers can find my books published by Boldwood Books at Amazon US, UK, CA, AU, and international Amazon sites, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Apple, and in the UK, in brick and mortar stores, The Works and Waterstones.
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/jina.bacarr/
Twitter https://twitter.com/JinaBacarr
Blog https://jinabacarr.wordpress.com/
TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@jinabacarrauthor
The Orphans of Berlin
Jann: What’s your all-time favorite book?
Jina: Time and Again by Jack Finney
I love exploring the science behind traveling through time, the whys and what ifs. Mr Finney made me believe in time travel. I love his wit, his passion for the lady he loves in his time travel novel, his historical accuracy and gripping detail that put you there.
A true gentleman and a scholar for any time.
[I wrote two novels about time travel: Her Lost Love – WW2 on the home front where a lonely woman goes home on a magic Christmas train to save her fiancé who died in the war; and Love Me Forever – a female re-enactor goes back to the Civil War dressed as a soldier and meets her double, a Confederate spy.]
Jina, its been great to have a peak into your writing world. You write amazing stories. Good luck on The Orphans of Berlin. Have a wonderful holiday season.
Some of Jina’s Books
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Jill Piscitello is a teacher with a passion for writing and an avid fan of multiple literary genres. Although she divides her reading hours among several books at a time, a lighthearted story offering an escape from the real world can always be found on her nightstand.
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Glynnis Campbell is a USA Today bestselling author of swashbuckling “medieval action-adventure romances,” mostly set in Scotland, with over two dozen books published in six languages.
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I started out working as a reporter writing articles for a travel magazine based in Beverly Hills and then as a columnist for a computer magazine where I wrote about technology ‘Sweet Savage Byte’, as well as writing for academia, radio commercials and PR copy for a local AM/FM station. I’ve also had three plays […]
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I started out working as a reporter writing articles for a travel magazine based in Beverly Hills and then as a columnist for a computer magazine where I wrote about technology ‘Sweet Savage Byte’, as well as writing for academia, radio commercials and PR copy for a local AM/FM station. I’ve also had three plays […]
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Barb loves reading, writing and animals, not necessarily in that order. She writes contemporary and paranormal stories of love, laughter and magic, and you’re going to know there’ll be a feature creature in there somewhere.
Nothing Found
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Thank you for having me, Jann, on your blog. You asked great questions and made me think… and reminisce. A pure joy to go back to the beginning…
Have a wonderful Holiday Season!
Great interview, Jina. The Orphans of Berlin in on the top of my to be read pile. I can hardly wait to read it.
Thank you, Marianne. This was a tough book to write since it takes place in Phila, Paris, Berlin 1934-1942. I hope you enjoy my story!
It was my pleasure. Will be sitting down to read The Orphans of Berlin during the holidays.
Thanks again for having me, Jann! Speaking of holidays, we have Christmas 1935 for Kay… and Hanukkah for Rachel that same year… major events in their lives happen during that holiday season before their paths cross in 1937.
Very nice interview, Jann. Jina’s stories sound amazing! Can’t wait to read her latest, The Orphans of Berlin.
Wow, what a wonderful comment, Barb! Thank you… I strive to make each story exciting with heroines who fight hard for love, family, and their passion, whatever it may be.
Very interesting article! Sounds like “Orphans of Berlin” will be on my list to read.
Thank you, Carol! I so hope you enjoy my Paris WW2 story! Questions, please ask me.
Such an interesting interview! THE ORPHANS OF BERLIN sounds like a great read!
Thank you for stopping by, Kathleen! You can check out a sample of The Orphans of Berlin on Amazon. Any questions, please ask!
Great interview Jina and Jann! You’ve had some interesting adventures Jina. WW2 has become one of my favorite eras to read about in the last few years. Going to check out all your WW2 era books.
Wow, thank you, Johna! I have 3 WW2 books with Boldwood Books — and a novella I published ‘A Soldier’s Italian Christmas’ that takes place on Christmas Eve in Italy on the way to Rome… a US Army captain, a nun, and little boys from an orphanage discover the miracle of Christmas… here’s a video excerpt.