Coquitlam author David E. Burnell has a knack for writing juicy war stories.
And his latest offering — at 369 pages — doesn’t hold back, leading the reader on a thrilling journey to the middle of the Mediterranean Sea during the Siege of Malta in 1941.
Burnell, who released Jerry Brent’s War during Remembrance Day week this month, centres his narrative on Jeremy Brent, a 19-year-old pilot who joins the RAF Squadron 105 right out of school.
He is assigned to fly a Bristol Blenheim and attack the Axis ships supplying Rommel’s campaign in North Africa.
But with the bombing comes massive blows: Brent escapes with his life while his squadron all but disappears. And with the devastating losses comes survivor’s guilt.
“Nobody ever talks or writes about the mental suffering they went through,” Burnell said during an interview at his home last week.
Burnell used the internet to conduct most of the research for his fictional book; however, he and his wife also travelled to Malta to confirm the details.
There, they toured four museums dedicated to WWII and the 1940-’42 siege, and spoke with a curator who dubbed the Blenheims “flying coffins.”
In fact, the losses were so great for the RAF that sergeants were promoted to squadron leaders in a matter of weeks, he told the Burnells.
Like with past tales, Burnell also sought the help of Coquitlam resident Maureen V. Patz — aka Spitfire Mo, a Canadian representative of the Spitfire Society — to review his words. And her assistance led to write-ups in the fall 2017 edition of the Spitfire Society Journal, a British publication.
Jerry Brent’s War may complete Burnell’s trilogy — following A Nightingale Sang and In Moonlight’s Shadow — but he’s already preparing the manuscript for his next book, also a war novel about an RAF pilot. “It seems to be a genre that I like,” he said. “There’s so much material and it’s fun to make up stories around them.”
Printed by Vivalogue in New Westminster, Jerry Brent’s War took Burnell two years to pen and another year to edit.
For the latter process, he used fellow members of the New West Writers, friends and family, as well as a software editing program called Grammarly.
Now, Burnell is selling the finished product online via amazon.ca and his website (burnelldavide.wordpress.com); he’ll also be at Christmas craft fairs in the Tri-Cities.
jcleugh@tricitynews.com
