In the UK it would be easy to show the shift in social classes-they’re more rigidly defined there than they are here-but I definitely wanted to show the huge shift in social classes that the war brought on, and Philadelphia was a strong place to do it. But the more I learned about Philadelphia’s social dynamic, the more convinced I was that it was perfect. I’ve only been there once, and loved it, but it certainly wasn’t the obvious choice. I’m honestly not sure why Philly popped into my head. What motivated you to give Ruby this particular socioeconomic background? Protagonist Ruby Wagner is the daughter of a prominent couple in Philadelphia society. Sadly, I didn’t get to play with a switchboard, but my own mother worked as an operator for a time and she was *very* helpful.
He is a remarkable man, and it was an honor to meet him. There were only 28 of the original 270 women still alive, but they still wanted their due. I got to interview the lawyer, Mark Hough, who won the case for these women in 1979 to be given their benefits as full veterans of the war. What was your favorite part of the research for this book? Were you able to interact with the switchboards and connections with which the women would have worked? And then once I started researching about who they were and what they accomplished, I was hooked. He pretty much said “this is what you do, go forth and write!” When I finished Daughters of the Night Sky it was just the most logical leap from all the stories in my idea file. I was actually sent an article by a writer friend who served as a captain in the signal corps.
This is the first I’ve heard of the women of the U.S. Girls on the Line is out tomorrow (November 6th), and I asked Aimie for thoughts on her new book and her life as a historical novelist. Army Signal Corps who operated phone switchboards on the front lines.
Ahead of the 100th anniversary of the armistice that ended WWI, author Aimie Runyan introduces us to her Girls on the Line – the women of the U.S.
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