I love exploring different historical times through the eyes of great characters! Jana Richards, author of I’ll Be Seeing You, brings to life the voices of people living during WWII and opens the door for us to feel every emotion through their experiences. In her guest post Richards explains how her exploration into those times helped her learn more about her own father and how those discovers inspired her writing.
By: Jana Richards
I’LL BE SEEING YOU (release date: March 1) is a time-travel romance, set partially during World War Two. Frank is a WW2 veteran who, in his old age, is visited by apprentice angel Gabriel who proposes to take him back in time, to the days shortly before D-Day in 1944, to give him a second chance at love.
This is the third story I’ve written set around the events of the Second World War. I’ve always had an interest in stories about World War Two, and in particular, anything relating to the D-Day invasion on June 6, 1944. My father was WW2 veteran and participated in D-Day. In 1942 he signed up with the Regina Rifles. The nickname for members of the Regina Rifles was the Farmer Johns, because so many of them were farmers named John. My dad fit right in since his first name was John, and he was indeed a farmer.
He spent almost two years training, first in Canada, and then in Scotland, before being shipped to the south of England in anticipation of the invasion. On June 6, Canadian troops, including my dad, landed on Juno Beach in Normandy. By June 9, he was captured and spent the rest of the war as a POW.
I’d known since childhood that he’d been a POW, but I didn’t realize until a few years ago when we requested my father’s army records that his family didn’t know for months whether he was alive or dead. His army records included copies of telegraphs sent to his father. The first one arrived June 23, 1944, informing my grandfather that his son was missing in action, with a promise to provide more information as it became available. The next telegraph didn’t arrive until November 10, 1944. This one stated that the army had learned through “indirect channels” that Dad was a prisoner of war. The third, and last, telegraph arrived May 2, 1945 to tell my grandparents that Dad was “now safe in United Kingdom twenty-ninth April 1945”.
I find those three telegraphs so poignant. I can’t imagine what those months were like for his family, not knowing if he’d return. If my child, or brother, was missing I know I’d be devastated. And yet my grandmother never spoke of it when I was growing up.
I can’t imagine what the experience was like for my father either. He didn’t talk much about his experiences during the war either, at least not to me. I wish I’d asked him more questions. I’m left to imagine.
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When Jana Richards read her first romance novel, she immediately knew two things: she had to commit the stories running through her head to paper, and they had to end with a happily ever after. She also knew she’d found what she was meant to do. Since then she’s never met a romance genre she didn’t like. She writes contemporary romance, romantic suspense, and historical romance set in World War Two, in lengths ranging from short story to full length novel. Just for fun, she throws in generous helpings of humor, and the occasional dash of the paranormal.
When not writing up a storm or dealing with dust bunnies, Jana can be found pursuing hobbies such as golf (which she plays very badly) or reading (which she does much better).
Jana lives in Western Canada with her husband Warren and a senior calico cat named Layla. You can reach her through her website at http://www.janarichards.com
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More about Jana Richard’s Time Travel Second Chance Romance books:
Themes: Time travel, angels and Heaven, second chance at love
Keywords: time travel romance, historical fiction, WW2 time travel, WW2 love story, angel paranormal romance, second chance at love romance
ISBN: EBook 978-1-0696239-2-8 Print 978-1-0696239-3-5
Print Length: 336 pages
Heat Level: PG
Release Date: March 1, 2026
Cover Artist: 100 Covers
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