Tricia Goyer Blog Tour for A Valley of Betrayal

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It's my pleasure to be a part of the blog tour for Tricia Goyer's new novel A Valley of Betrayal, Book #1 in the Chronicles of the Spanish Civil War series.

Tricia is an accomplished writer who was named "Writer of the Year" in 2003 by Mount Hermon Christian Writer's Conference. Her previous historical fiction series took place during World War II and included From Dust and Ashes, Night Song, Dawn of a Thousand Nights, and Arms of Deliverance. She is married to John, and they have three great kids whom she homeschools: Cory, Leslie, and Nathan. They make their home in Northwest Montana with their dog, Lilly.

Cool Stuff to Read & Do:

• Read the 1st chapter of A Valley of Betrayal here.
• Read an interview I did with Tricia a couple months ago here.
• Read Cara Putnam's review of A Valley of Betrayal at her blog: The Law, Books and Life.
• Read Cheryl Russell's review of A Valley of Betrayal at Infuze.
• Sign up for On Trakk, the e-newsletter of TitleTrakk.com, and be entered in a drawing to win a FREE copy of A Valley of Betrayal. Be sure to mention this blog when you do.
  
• Listen to a podcast of Tricia talking about her books here.
• Buy A Valley of Betrayal here.

So, Tricia, what inspired you to write A Valley of Betrayal?

A few years ago when I was researching for my fourth World War II novel, Arms of Deliverance, I came across a unique autobiography. One B-17 crewmember I read about claimed to make it out of German-occupied Belgium after a plane crash due, in part, to his skills he picked up as a veteran of The Spanish Civil War. Reading that bit of information, I had to scratch my head. First of all, I had never heard of the war. And second, what was an American doing fighting in Spain in the late 1930s? Before I knew it, I uncovered a fascinating time in history—one that I soon discovered many people know little about. This is what I learned:

Nazi tanks rolled across the hillsides and German bombers roared overhead, dropping bombs on helpless citizens. Italian troops fought alongside the Germans, and their opponents attempted to stand strong—Americans, British, Irishmen, and others—in unison with other volunteers from many countries. And their battleground? The beautiful Spanish countryside.

From July 17, 1936-April 1, 1939, well before America was involved in World War II, another battle was fought on the hillsides of Spain. On one side were the Spanish Republicans, joined by the Soviet Union and The International Brigade—men and women from all over the world who have volunteered to fight Fascism. Opposing them, Franco and his Fascist military leaders, supported with troops, machinery, and weapons from Hitler and Mussolini. The Spanish Civil War, considered the “training ground” for the war to come, boasted of thousands of American volunteers who joined to fight on the Republican side, half of which never returned home.

Unlike World War II, there is no clear line between white and black, good and evil. Both sides committed atrocities. Both sides had deep convictions they felt worth fighting and dying for.

Loyalists—also know as the Republicans were aided by the Soviet Union, the Communist movement, and the International Brigades. If not for the weapons and volunteers from these sources their fight would have ended in weeks rather than years. While many men fought side by side, their political views included that of liberal democracy, communism and socialism. The Catholic Basque Country also sided with the Republic, mainly because it sought independence from the central government and was promised this by Republican leaders in Madrid.

Nationalists—or Francoists were aided mainly by Germany and Italy. The Nationalist opposed an independent Basque state. Their main supporters were those who believed in a monarchist state and fascist interests. The Nationalist wished for Spain to continue on as it had for years, with rich landowners, the military, and the church running the country. Most of the Roman Catholic clergy supported the Nationalists, except those in the Basque region.

During the Spanish Civil war, terror tactics against civilians were common. And while history books discuss the estimated one million people who lost their lives during the conflict, we must not forget that each of those who fought, who died, had their own tales. From visitors to Spain who found themselves caught in the conflict, to the communist supporters, Basque priests, and Nazi airmen . . . each saw this war in a different light. These are the stories behind A Valley of Betrayal.