In this Sunday Series, you’ll meet writers new and seasoned as they share what inspires them to put #PenToPaper. This week, welcome Julia Gimbel, who writes about the desire to write and, more importantly, the need.
For me, it has rarely been about wanting to write, it’s been about having to write. Let me explain.
Over thirty years ago, I left college a freshly minted journalist with spiral bound notebook in hand, ready to take on the questions of who, what, where, when, and why. Through most of my professional career, the writing assigned to me was institutional, a “stick to the facts, ma’am” kind of affair. I wrote fashion copy for a local magazine, employee manuals and customer newsletters for a retailer, and merchandising instructions for a manufacturer. While these writing experiences were not always the most creative, they were satisfying because in their simplicity, these missives fulfilled people’s needs.
Fast forward to five years ago when I discovered a 60-page handwritten WWII journal my late father tucked away in the back of a family scrapbook. As I transcribed the journal for my siblings, I found myself immersed in his memories and curious to learn more about that era in American history. The more I learned, the more I felt I had to write – it was almost as if Dad was compelling me to flesh out the skeleton of his journal by researching and then sharing what I unearthed with others.
This time there was an emotional connection that motivated me to continue writing, until over the course of several years I ended up with enough chapters for a book. In early March, Orange Hat Publishing released my book, Student, Sailor, Skipper, Survivor – How WWII Transformed the Lives of Ordinary Americans.
It turns out that I am not the only person of a certain age who is interested in WWII history. While writing the book, I constantly discovered interesting stories that didn’t tie into my manuscript but that I felt I still had to write about. They found a home on my author facebook page, @JuliaWritesWWII, which almost 13,000 people follow to see the tidbits of history I share.
I have to write to fuel my curiosity about the past and to share with others. The funniest part of it all? I’ve come full circle, recently enrolling in a Masters of World War II program where I now have to write term papers!
JULIA GIMBEL lives in Milwaukee, Wisconsin with her husband, Josh, and their two pugs, who snore peacefully at her feet as she writes. She is proud of her two adult children, Elijah and Lena, who are establishing themselves respectively at work and school. She has been published in Family Stories from the Attic (Hidden Timber Books, 2017), Creative Wisconsin Literary Journal (2017 & 2019), and Wisconsin People & Ideas (2019). Julia shares little-known WWII stories with thousands of followers on her facebook page, @JuliaWritesWWII. She is currently pursuing her Masters degree in World War II Studies.
GIVEAWAY: Enter HERE by Saturday, March 28th, for a chance to win
a copy of Student, Sailor, Skipper, Survivor, courtesy of Julia Gimbel!
You can purchase a copy through Orange Hat Publishing, Amazon,
Barnes and Noble, or BOOKSHOP.org.
This post is part of an interview series featuring the authors of Family Stories from the Attic, an anthology of essays, creative nonfiction, and poetry inspired by family letters, objects, and archives. Monday posts are featured on the 
Julia: “In a Sailor’s Footsteps” was extracted from a much larger piece I am working on and was re-written for submission for the Anthology. My goal is to publish a book that blends my father’s journal entries with researched explorations of the things he discusses, bringing the war to life seven decades later. The chapters cover a wide range of topics; from cigarettes, to the GI Bill, to feeding the troops, to V-mail and more. My original intention was to write for high school and college students, but many others will be interested by this topical approach to describing life during the World War II years.
Julia Gimbel (above left) writing last summer on the porch of a gingerbread cottage in Oak Bluffs – Martha’s Vineyard, MA, and one of 