Snark & Sensibility

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DR. REBECCA PRICE JANNEY

TO

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THE STORY BEHIND THE STORY

When I was growing up in suburban America, the Korean War wasn’t on my radar screen. Instead, World War II veterans, television shows and movies, toys and games garnered the attention. Most of my friends’ fathers had served in one of the U.S. armed forces, and in my immediate family, there were five servicemen, two Rosie the Riveters, and a WAVE. At the time, there didn’t seem to be anything particularly special about them because the fact of their service was commonplace. Nor did they talk about their war-related experiences. The entertainment culture seemed to do the talking for them.

Then came the divisive Vietnam War with relentless and shocking headlines about its death toll, misery, and uncertain objectives. Protesting college students and hippies dominated their share of airtime as well. I had no frame of reference for the Korean War, not until I read succinct summaries in high school history books, as if they had to mention the struggle but didn’t have much to say about it. Of course, scholars and pundits debated whether this was a war or a police action.

My perspective started to change when I studied under Dr. Samuel Hugh Moffett at Princeton Theological Seminary. One of my favorite professors, he had been a missionary in Korea and had made tremendous personal sacrifices there and later in China. His father, Samuel Austin Moffett, had laid the groundwork for the Presbyterian Church in Korea in 1890. My professor’s stories and insights captivated me, and I also had the happy occasion to befriend several Korean students.

During my last year at the seminary, my newlywed husband and I had to take arduous, mandatory exams. We spent most of our time in preparation, but every night we’d take a half-hour break and watch reruns of a TV show called M*A*S*H. I became fascinated with the characters who portrayed surgeons, nurses, and support personnel at a Mobile Army Surgical Hospital during the Korean War. Sometimes I’d talk about the show with my Korean friends, who would share how difficult the war had been for their families; many were still separated from relatives in North Korea.

Years later, the Korean connections continued. My husband discovered that one of his father’s brothers had served in the war as a Military Policeman, and then we found out his mother’s brother also had served in Korea. My own family revealed that two of my oldest cousins were Korean War veterans. Why didn’t we know sooner? They seemed to have been caught in the limbo between America’s triumphant victory in World War II and the commotion of Vietnam.     

Because of M*A*S*H, my beloved Dr. Moffett and his wife, and my Korean friends, I began feeling connected to the Land of the Morning Calm. That bond intensified when my husband and I bought our first home. Shortly after we moved there, I often smelled what I thought was Chinese food. Then we met our next-door neighbors and realized where the spicy scent was coming from—they were Koreans, and a vent adjoined our kitchens. The husband was studying for the ministry at the seminary where my husband worked and where, a few years after I earned my doctorate, I began teaching American history to Koreans.

I missed them when we moved away two years later. Over the next decade, my life went in a different direction as I wrote several historical novels about the American Revolutionary War period and a patriot ancestor who was a colonel in General Washington’s Army.

Quite out of the blue, one night in early September 2023, I had a compelling dream about a MASH nurse and a wounded North Korean soldier. Their story quickly unfolded in my imagination, and before I knew it, I had a new book to write. This was quite unusual since I was already scheduled to do a novel set in 1830s America.

Additionally, I always thoroughly research my historical novels and create an extensive outline before I begin writing, but not this time. My past Korean connections all started coming back to me, my characters came almost fully developed, and I felt as if God had handed me this twenty-seventh book as a special gift. Any time I lacked information or needed to talk to someone about the war or specific Korean cultural references, there he or she was. The entire creative process was bathed with inspiration.

I may not have grown up knowing about the Korean War or being aware of relatives who’d served, but over the years I’ve developed a deep appreciation for everyone who helped save South Korea from communist aggression. At the end of East of the Sun, there is an honor roll of names that people submitted to me to keep the memories of their loved ones’ sacrifices in defense of liberty alive and not to be forgotten. I know I never will forget them.

MORE ABOUT EAST OF THE SUN 

Shelby Kichline has a clear path to her future. After nursing school graduation, she'll work at the Easton, Pennsylvania hospital where she and generations of her family were born. Then a United States Army nurse issues a call to serve in the Korean conflict. Patriotism runs deep in Shelby's veins. Kichlines have served their country all the way back to the American Revolution, and she realizes this is her war. She knows a MASH assignment won't be a day at the beach, but she can't anticipate the complications that will arise from becoming entangled in the life of a gravely wounded North Korean officer.

Dr. Parker Tate is a rising young physician with a growing practice in Hopewell, New Jersey, but his Korean family is suffering from the war's ravages. When an alarming letter arrives from his father, Parker decides to return, not knowing his obedience to God's call will put him in a compromising fight for survival.

What neither Shelby Kichline nor Parker Tate can see is the hand of God at work across continents and generations. The world refers to "falling in love," but for those who are in Christ Jesus, deep calls to deep.

East of the Sun is the first novel in The Heirs of Freedom Series. Sequels to Rebecca Price Janney's multi-award-winning Easton Series, these novels tell the stories of Colonel Peter Kichline's descendants as they strive to advance the liberties he helped to secure in the American Revolution.

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ABOUT REBECCA PRIC JANNEY

At fifteen, Rebecca Price Janney faced-off with the local newspaper editor, who nearly laughed her out of his office when she asked for a job. Until she displayed her ace—a portfolio of celebrity interviews she'd written for a bigger publication. Soon, she was covering the Philadelphia Phillies. She's now a historian and award-winning author of twenty-six published books, including her beloved Easton Series. She lives with her family in Pennsylvania's Lehigh Valley where her ancestors settled nearly 300 years ago. 

Shelby Kichline has a clear path to her future. After nursing school graduation, she'll work at the Easton, Pennsylvania hospital where she and generations of her family were born. Then a United States Army nurse issues a call to serve in the Korean conflict. Patriotism runs deep in Shelby's veins. Kichlines have served their country all the way back to the American Revolution, and she realizes this is her war. She knows a MASH assignment won't be a day at the beach, but she can't anticipate the complications that will arise from becoming entangled in the life of a gravely wounded North Korean officer.

            Dr. Parker Tate is a rising young physician with a growing practice in Hopewell, New Jersey, but his Korean family is suffering from war's ravages. When an alarming letter arrives from his father, Parker decides to return, not knowing his obedience to God's call will put him in his own compromising fight for survival.

            What neither Shelby Kichline nor Parker Tate can see is the hand of God at work across continents, and generations. The world refers to "falling in love," but for those who are in Christ Jesus, deep calls to deep.

            East of the Sun is the first novel in The Heirs of Freedom Series. Sequels to Rebecca Price Janney's multi-award-winning Easton Series, these novels tell the stories of Colonel Peter Kichline's descendants as they strive to advance the liberties he helped to secure in the American Revolution.

ABOUT REBECCA PRICE JANNEY 

At fifteen, Rebecca Price Janney faced-off with the local newspaper editor, who nearly laughed her out of his office when she asked for a job. Until she displayed her ace—a portfolio of celebrity interviews she'd written for a bigger publication. Soon she was covering the Philadelphia Phillies. She's now a historian and award-winning author of twenty-six published books, including her beloved Easton Series. She lives with her family in Pennsylvania's Lehigh Valley where her ancestors settled nearly 300 years ago. 

MY REVIEW *****  

I generally don’t rate five stars except for very exceptional works of fiction. This novel captivated me from the beginning. Of course, it was a romance, and I expected the hero and heroine would find a way to get together. But this was more than a romance. This novel branches across racism and the ravages of war. Parker Tate considers himself an American, though his naturalization has been delayed. He has a medical practice that he turns over to a brother so he can go to Korea to check on his ailing mother and missing grandfather. When a MASH unit is short a physician who has been captured, Parker fills in. Even more so, he goes on a dangerous mission to rescue a surgeon, a defector, and his grandfather. Romans 8:28 comes into play, proving God’s strange ways work together for good, though while in the tangles of the paths, we wonder if good can come of all the duress. 

I recommend this book.