The working title for Coquitlam author David E. Burnell's book was Shades of Blue.
But the name was changed by his New Westminster publisher, Vivalogue, as he said it reminded them too much of that other - and much naughtier - fictional piece, Fifty Shades of Grey.
It turned out the official title, A Nightingale Sang, was "actually more suitable in the end because it's all about the song," said Burnell, in reference to the tune his leading lady sings when she meets David Marshal.
The couple have their first encounter in a pub near Cambridge, in 1944. He is a flight lieutenant from Powell River, B.C.; she is a doctor's daughter due to be engaged to a wealthy pilot in Marshal's training squadron.
But while their romance is the driver of the narrative, Burnell also includes some real scenes from the Second World War in England.
He spent a lot of time on his historical research and even got Coquitlam resident Maureen V. Patz - aka Spitfire Mo, a Canadian representative of the Spitfire Society - to review his manuscript for accuracy.
Burnell never served himself. He was five when he and his widowed aunt and her baby were evacuated from their south London home during the Blitz. His mother was ordered to have her baby in Blackpool, where it was safe from flying bombs, and the two later joined Burnell and the family in Cardiff, Wales.
One of Burnell's earliest memories of the war was watching the planes fly over with his father, an army driver.
A Nightingale Sang follows Burnell's 18-story anthology, Dad's Christmas Stories. He has also released Coven of the Unholy and The Elevator.
His next book will return to a wartime theme. On Moonlight Shadow will tell the tale of a 1941 Canadian pilot downed in France.
The Second World War is a source of fascination for Burnell.
"I enjoy reading about it and I enjoy writing about it," he said. "I guess it's because I lived through it that it will always be with me."
A Nightingale Sang will be launched Saturday, Nov. 16 by The Arts Council of New Westminster. Emceed by travel writer Julian Worker, the book event takes place from 1 to 4 p.m. in the Gallery at Centennial Lodge, Queens Park (1st Street and 3rd Avenue) and will include a talk by Maureen Patz. The book is available at Reflections Books (1111D Austin Ave., Coquitlam), Renaissance Books (43 Sixth St., New Westminster) and amazon.ca.
BOOK NEWS
Also on Saturday, a Heritage Woods secondary student will unveil her new science-fiction novel. S.S. Segran will release Aegis Rising at 3 p.m. at the Old Mill Boathouse, in Port Moody. The novel centres on five teenage friends who crash-land during a storm in northern Canada and are transformed by elders in a nearby community.
Coquitlam's Laurie Crookell has been shortlisted as a finalist in the 2013 Surrey International Writers' Conference writing contest. She submitted two stories, Saving the Seahorses and Jennifer's Got Pizzazz for the competition.
