Today’s the day! Launch Day for The Fascist Frame, book 5 in my Bone Guard archaeological adventure series! Those of you who’ve been following my work for a long time (Since Elisha Barber) will know I have a long-standing tradition of doing a footnotes post on a book’s launch date.
Usually, these posts will gather all of the posts I’ve made on various research topics that relate to the book I’m launching. Sadly, I haven’t been posting most of my research as blogs any more (though I do sometimes post about it on my Facebook feed, and I share tidbits in my newsletter, Tomb Reader–where you can also get 3 free short stories for signing up!)
So I don’t have links for All The Things, but I can give you a few glimpses of what you’ll find inside the pages of the latest Bone Guard Book!
Let’s start with the fact that today is National Submarine Day! The image above is a CB-class Italian “midget” submarine, perhaps the only one still in existence from World War II. At that time the Italians were world leaders in all things underwater, and these nifty little subs were one example. They also developed technologies for underwater breathing that enabled their frogmen to pull of some interesting missions.
Another key element in the book is Operation Gladio, a system of sleeper cells, if you will, sometimes called “Stay Behind Units” because many of them were formed around Nazis and Hitler Youth members who concealed themselves in local populations to guard against what was perceived as the real threat to European society: the rise of Communism. Gladio units were intended to rise and prevent leftist incursions, in particular, invasion by the Soviet Union, and they created weapons caches all over central Europe to access in case of need. Oh–and it was partially funded by the CIA. According to some sources, by selling drugs smuggled by the Mafia into predominantly Black areas of New York City.
Last but not least, are the impressive fortified shelters built to defend Berlin from Allied air-raids, the Flak Towers. These enormous concrete buildings were built in pairs, a command tower, with a radar array for tracking planes, and a bunker that could protect about 10,000 civilians, complete with a hospital, as well as providing a weapons platform to fight back. Remnants of these structures remain, including one in Austria now in use as a climbing wall. Check out this archival footage of a flyover of Berlin after the war, which shows the massive scale of the Flak Towers. (it comes on screen around 3:07)
All of which formed the backdrop for the adventures of Grant Casey and the Bone Guard as they try to locate the stolen Jewish Library of Rome in a hidden cache of treasures looted by the Nazis!
Thanks for reading!
E. C. Ambrose 