Introduction

CAPTIVATING HISTORICAL FICTION

The fascinating saga of Palm Beach's Breakers Hotel includes its conversion to a World War II army hospital, where over a dozen babies were born. Passions and Fires will forever change the lives of three women, including a Russian-Jewish immigrant, whose heartrending journeys weave through the timeline of the resort.

It is February 1942, just months after the bombing of Pearl Harbor. Addie, the daughter of the assistant manager of the most beautiful resort in America, lives at The Breakers Hotel. Walking the beach, she and her friend, Natalie, are bemoaning their world becoming devoid of its young men, as they are called to serve. And then the girls witness an explosion. German submarines have begun torpedoing Allied merchant ships right off the Atlantic shore. Soon, the area becomes one of the most active military centers in the nation, with thousands of soldiers stationed right at their doorstep in Palm Beach County.

In February 1975, Manhattanite Beth Morgan is distraught over a broken engagement. Her society mother dismisses her problem and insists that Beth accompany her to Florida. When they join an historical hotel tour while waiting for their suite at The Breakers, Beth’s mother has a strange reaction to the handsome docent’s words, and Beth begins to wonder if that is why they have come. Could she have been one of the babies born at the Breakers Hotel? From the story of Addie’s alluring mother, Rebecca, a Russian Jewish immigrant in the 1920s, whose fiancé disappears when she follows him to America, to the tragedy of Natalie’s boyfriend in the war, it is a tale of love and loss, separations and reunions, guilt and absolution. It is a story of the American Dream and the power of passion.

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Excerpt

Two in the afternoon was the exact time of day Addie most loved to stroll along the ocean shore, seeking the little treasures that the vibrant waves of the high tide would magically churn out onto the sand before retreating for the next swell. But on this day, Addie was only hoping to find her intriguing new friend, Natalie Evington, who she knew would be having her Saturday run. And when she came into view, Addie darted toward her with a great intensity, fueled by anger and insult. ... view entire excerpt...

Discussion Questions

From the author:

1. How did Nate’s encounter with the injured man on the beach in 1942 give direction to the man he would become?

2. Contrast Rebecca’s two love interests, Jacob Schaevitz and Harrison Abelman. How did Rebecca display her strength as a survivor through the years?

3. One of my favorite techniques as an author is having my characters interact with actual persons in the historical timeline. Give examples of this happening in the novel.

4. Addie and Natalie first become friends in 1942. How does the older girl influence Addie and how do they each look to Addie’s mother, Rebecca, as a role model?

5. How does Rebecca ultimately help resolve the root of Kathryn Morgan’s physical issue, when Kathryn demands that her daughter, Beth, accompany her to The Breakers in 1975?

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