Current WIP - Yesterday Was Long Ago (Vietnam War) > Likes and Comments
message 1:
by
Phoebe
(new)
Mar 12, 2026 06:19PM
My current WIP (which I refer to as YWLA for short, lol) is set in the Vietnam War, from March 1967-March 1968. It follows Marine sergeant Steven Parker and his squad, mostly patrols and short missions out in the jungle west of Da Nang, but they end up taking part in the fighting for Hue city in early 1968. I'm currently about halfway through the timeframe (I'm in September 1967) but not quite halfway through the chapters, because I'm guessing Hue will probably take several.
reply
|
flag
Ooooo :o honestly I read lots of romance, but I loveee a good nonromance book every once in awhile and this sounds perfect 🤩
I've found I love writing military fiction, lol. 😆 Soldiers are absolutely hilarious sometimes, and I can get my brother's help!There ARE some letters going back and forth between Parker and a girl back home; they're not at a romantic stage, but they've been friends since they were little kids. 😁
awww thats so cute 🥹 I love hearing all the names you pick, they sound so aesthetic I guess 😅
awww tysm! 🥰 I have a lot of fun coming up with them . . . sometimes I research popular names from the year they were born, but sometimes I just find one I like and run with it, haha.
lolll I honestly love all those old names, like I don't know why no one uses them anymore 🥺
Ikr?! I love the old names too!!
Phoebe, your wip sounds so interesting!! I haven't read many books set during the Vietnam War, if any, so I'm really looking forward to yours!!
Aw, thank you! 🥰 I've seen a few, but none of them were Christian, so I gave those a pass. 😅
we need more historical Christian war books imo... they're very rare 😞
I knowwwwww 😭 There are plenty of WWII romances out there (Sarah Sundin hmm?) but not much for boys or us girlies who aren't in the mood for kissy stuff 😛G.A. Henty books are pretty good, but I wouldn't call them Christian, though the characters are morally upright. They only go through about the turn of the century though, so books on more modern conflicts are pretty rare. 🥲
for realll 😭 maybe you'll become more famous as you publish more books and be a renowned christian author 🤭 and I could say i've been you're friend before you were famous 😎
awww 🥰 I'm getting there slowly haha! Some of the local homeschoolers are big fans. 💕 My boss offered to include my WWII book in every copy of the next game we're coming out with, so I'm VERY excited about that! 😃😃
Whaaat that’s awesome! Do you make board games?
Yeah, my dad, brother, and I all work for Compass Games. My dad and brother come up with new games; I'm a graphic designer for them. Pretty much all their games are detailed historical strategy games, like "Risk on steroids" and beyond, haha 😂The games we've been working on is a series of man-to-man combat in WWII (though we're soon going to expand to Vietnam). Each marker represents a single soldier, so they're very small-scale battles. I LOVE it because every battle tells a story; with just a little imagination it's easy to put yourself in the characters' shoes.
That sounds so coool 😮 I’m not much of a board game person, but there have been times where I really enjoyed them! I’ve never tried a strategy game tho 😮
They're delightfully challenging lol. I've grown up around them my whole life because my dad used to play them when he was a teenager.
Would y'all be interested if I made some short YT videos (like I've seen Emily and Cassie doing) with likes the vibes/aesthetics of the book and/or characters? It would mostly be using the pictures I already put in their aesthetic collages, lol, but it could still be fun.
Ok I made a short with the book vibes! It was a lot of work so idk that I'll do any more 😅https://youtube.com/shorts/7Ik2NZlOQD...
Last night my brother was reading what I'd written (he's my military advisor, lol, and invaluable for brainstorming 🫶), and after a minute he just said, "Rory is funny." Just very deadpan like that, and it cracked me up. 🤣🤣 Rory IS funny though, even when he isn't trying to be. 🤭
LOLLL 😂😂 Rory is definitely one of my favorites!
YESSSS one of mine too 😂😂😂 It just makes me so happy to write about him 🤭
One of my favorite characters I write in my book is Ace Barrington, he’s very sarcastic and had a British accent 😂
Lol yes that guy . . . rah-ther on the amusing side, dahling 🤭😆🤣
If I post some snippets, what kind would y'all like to see?
Phoebe wrote: "Lol yes that guy . . . rah-ther on the amusing side, dahling 🤭😆🤣"HAHAHH
ummm idkk maybe some funny moments, but also some moments where the characters talk about their faith or smth!
ooh yeah I've definitely got plenty of both!
Gang, please yell at me to write. I've been so dead and distracted lately I need motivation 😭
GO WRITE OR I’LL KIDNAP PETEY, RORY AND REG
AHHH YES MA'AM 😱🫡 you WOULD have fun with them, tho 😏
Kidnapped by Cassie: A Short Story~~~~~~~~~~
"HEY, TUNA!" Rory hollered from the deep end of the pool. "Is lunch gonna be ready soon?"
Reg lifted his sunglasses, sitting up a little on his inflatable unicorn floatie. "'Tuna'?" he questioned, raising an eyebrow.
"Yeah, 'cause of her nickname. Y'know: casserole, tuna . . ."
Reg made a face. At that moment, the screen door opened, and Cassie and Petey came out with sandwiches and cold drinks. With a whoop, Rory swam across the pool and climbed out, shaking himself like a wet dog. Reg followed and wrapped himself in a striped beach towel.
Cassie handed out ham and turkey sandwiches, and they all sprawled out on lounge chairs by the poolside. Rory noisily sipped his cup of sweet tea that had a green paper umbrella in it.
"This is the life," he announced to no one in particular. "Swimming in a real pool instead of some dirty lil' river, and no Commies hidin' behind every bush."
"Yeah," Reg agreed. "All we need is some music now."
"Oh, I got that." Petey pulled his portable radio out from under his chair and tuned it to one of the stations. "California Dreamin'" came through loud and clear.
After eating chocolate cake for dessert, the four played some badminton before getting back in the pool. Petey did a cannonball off the diving board that sent up a shower of water, and Rory followed with a clean dive.
A rhythmic thump-thump-thump sound cut over the melody of "Hot Fun in the Summertime", and a shadow fell over the pool. Looking up, they saw a Huey hovering in the air above them. Someone on a rope harness swung out of the side door and was slowly lowered to the ground.
As soon as her feet touched the grass, the small figure extricated herself from the harness and marched over to the pool. Phoebs put her hands on her hips, shaking her head at the party in the water.
"How am I supposed to get anything done with you guys if you're off having fun instead of doing your job?" she scolded the Marines. Petey opened him mouth to protest, but Phoebs turned to Cassie. "And you!" She shook her finger reprovingly. "Kidnapping my Marines so that I can't write about them. That's not helpful, you know."
Cassie and Petey looked a little sheepish; Rory and Reg did not. A sly grin crept across Phoebs' face despite her efforts to hold it back. "Well, I said I'd come join you on vacation, so here I am!"
BRO THATS THE BEST THING IVE EVER READ 😭😭
oh and I hereby dub you tuna 🙂↕️ (or rather Rory did)
how has it been nearly a month since I posted anything here 😭
Gasp PHOEBEGO WRITE 💃💃
GO BLESS THE WORLD WITH YOUR WORDS ✨✨
GO GO GO 🕺🕺
Motivation go 🫧🫧
awwww girlie 🥹🥹 YES MA'AM I'LL DO MY BEST 🫡
and I think I know how to transition to the next scene so YAYYYY
Ok y'all I'm planning to reveal the cover next month! In the meantime here's a teaser (yes I am posting this at 0026 in the morning, don't judge ok 🫠)