Ask the Author: Robert Matzen

“Ask me a question.” Robert Matzen

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Hello Mr. Matzen, I really enjoyed Dutch Girl, I just finished it. You really brought the experience of the Dutch to life for me and I learned a lot. What happened to the other hundreds of Death Candidates who were with Uncle Otto at the seminary/ holding facility? Did they all die as well?

Robert Matzen Thank you, Martha. You ask a great question! The backlash against the execution of "The Five" and then another execution in October 1942 was so extreme and such bad PR for the regime that the death hostages were simply kept at the two camps as a hedge against future Resistance activities. Some were released in 1943 and the remainder in 1944. By that time the tide had turned toward the Allies, and the Germans were much more mindful of the future consequences of their actions.

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Where did you get the idea for your most recent book?

Robert Matzen I was in the Netherlands researching for my Jimmy Stewart book, "Mission," and in Arnhem I learned that Audrey Hepburn had lived there during the war. I started digging around and realized there was a story here, and three years later, after a spine-tingling journey through history, a book resulted.

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How do you get inspired to write?

Robert Matzen Writing is the most mysterious thing in the world. After all these years I still don't know where it comes from. To answer the question, I get inspired by people of the past who need me to tell stories that are important to them. They seem to want me to convey: I was alive!

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What are you currently working on?

Robert Matzen Promotion for Dutch Girl. I'm without a book project at present. In other words, cranky.

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What’s your advice for aspiring writers?

Robert Matzen Avoid adjectives and adverbs. Keep it simple. The simpler you keep it, the more powerful your work will be. You will impress people by not trying to impress them.

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