Have you every wondered what it would be like to write a book?
Once you have your idea, then what? What kinds of research would it entail? Where do you go for information?
The following is Part 1 of a Three Part series that takes look behind the scenes of the writing of Flying with Felix by Andrew Bass. A story about a former San Saban, and a book that is now in the Rylander Memorial Library just waiting for you to read!
From the Author Andrew Bass, here is the story behind the story...
I remember making several trips to San Saba as a child back in the 1970s and 1980s. Enjoying a large yellow watermelon was simply the best, but a trip with my Aunt Pauline to the local five and dime was equally amazing! While enjoying a few days with our kinfolk there in San Saba, there was really no mention of Felix. I'd see his grave out at the Bend Cemetery, and I'd often wonder how he died. I always imagined that he was shot down in an epic dogfight. The thought of him dying in an accident never crossed my mind back then.
One day back in the fall of 2020, I was playing my favorite World War II Call of Duty video game when it felt as if Felix was speaking to me from heaven. After the experience/vision, I immediately wrote down 10 chapter titles, and I had a rough idea of the story that Felix wanted me to share with the world. Mind you, I'm not an avid reader, and I never envisioned that I would ever write a book.
As the end of 2020 approached, I reached out to Bill Beigel, a World War II historian. He had a great reputation for helping people find military records pertaining to their loved ones. Along the way, he helped me obtain the crash report for Felix's crash in India. He also helped me with obtaining his flight logs and casualty file, both of which were very helpful for the factual pieces to my story.
I was able to retrieve several pictures of Felix from my Uncle Mack Stephenson's ancestry page. One day, my Uncle Mack also sent me Felix's college suitcase in the mail. His dedication to uncovering our family’s history over many centuries helped to motivate me to find out more about Felix.
My mother, Mary Jane Bass, gave me a bag of pictures, featuring Felix at different points in his life. I also ended up with his San Saba High School diploma, a spur from his days at Texas A&M, and several letters that Felix had sent to his family while he was training for military duty. I found an original World War II patch that belonged to Felix in the bag, and that patch gave me a great deal of inspiration as I wrote the book while it was tethered to a lanyard around my neck.
Check back next week Part 2 of The Story Behind the Story.