Blue Skies, Troubled Waters: An American Twin’s WWII Odyssey in Minahasa, Indonesia received a 4+ star review, making it an IndieReader Approved title.
Following find an interview with author Brian Kimmel.
What is the name of the book and when was it published?
Blue Skies, Troubled Waters: An American Twin’s WWII Odyssey in Minahasa, Indonesia (Publishing date: April 29, 2025)
What’s the book’s first line?
It was early in the morning when a loud pounding on the door awakened us.
What’s the book about? Give us the “pitch”.
Courage battles despair in this timely tale about twin girls who are deported from New Jersey to Indonesia because of their father’s undocumented status. Japan soon lands and the family is incarcerated as civilian prisoners of war.
What inspired you to write the book? A particular person? An event?
This is my maternal grandmother’s story. Our family, including my mom and her siblings and parents, were the first to migrate to the Seattle area from Indonesia in the early 1960s. I researched for the book and re-edited my grandmother’s original English translation of her story in order to capture some of the essence of her story for modern day readers. The book includes newly released government maps and images that I uncovered and submitted to the United States’ Library of Congress Maps Division because they were not yet in their collections.
What’s the main reason someone should really read this book?
It’s a timely tale of deportation, immigration and violent conflicts. Not unlike what is happening today, but a survivor’s story from years ago. It is the first of its kind about an Indonesian’s migration from and to the United States pre-WWII.
What do you do for work when you’re not writing?
When I am not writing, I am a mental health counselor, supervisor and educator for the Brian Kimmel Guidance Center.
What’s the best and the hardest part of being an indie?
The time spent writing and promoting a book fed by my passion for the work, but with little to no compensation for my time yet.
What’s a great piece of advice that you can share with fellow indie authors?
It’s worth it if it brings you closer to the ones you love.
Is there something in particular that motivates you (fame? fortune?)
Continuing the legacy of the people who came before me.
Which writer, living or dead, do you most admire?
Pramoedya Ananta Toer
Which book do you wish you could have written?
Nathaniel’s Nutmeg by Giles Milton