Lovers James and Keiko marry quickly before James goes to World War II and Keiko to an internment camp. Sixty years later their daughter Kazuko, born in the camps, uncovers a secret that could overwhelm the family. Discover the very definition of human love and self-sacrifice in this saga of war, mystery, and romance.
EXCERPT:
From the author: What follows is the actual Prologue to my book. During the various editing phases of “How Much Do You Love Me?” there were discussions as to whether this Prologue was necessary. Strictly speaking, it is not. However, the editor’s eventual decision was to leave it in, that it set up one of the primary characters and gave a taste to the reader of what was to come.
Japanese Internment Camp at Tule Lake, California
Saturday, July 25, 1942
Her name that summer was Keiko Armstrong, but it hadn’t been for long. Some five months earlier, back in Bellevue, Washington, her name had been Keiko Tanaka. Keiko figured that she was probably the only Nikkei at the Tule Lake War Location Center with an Anglo surname.
Keiko’s family had arrived at Tule Lake in northern California one week earlier. They missed their home in Bellevue, where paranoia and mistrust had taken hold following the bombing of Pearl Harbor the previous December. Anyone who looked Japanese was suspected of being an enemy agent of the Japanese emperor, Hirohito. Executive Order 9066, signed by President Roosevelt, had devastated their lives. On February 19, 1942, this legislation dictated that all Japanese who lived along the coast in the western states, 120,000 strong, be shipped away from the Pacific where everyone feared the Japanese military would invade. Even Nisei, those second-generation Japanese Americans born in the United States—and thus legal citizens—could not escape the Juggernaut.
Keiko and her Japanese family had traveled to Tule Lake by way of Pinedale to the south, near Fresno, California, because the camp at Tule Lake was not yet finished when they departed Bellevue on May 20. For the most part, Japanese families from Bellevue had traveled together. They had arrived first at what were called Assembly Centers. Pinedale was one of fifteen such temporary locations.
The journeys to Pinedale and then Tule Lake had been especially unpleasant. They had traveled by train and only at night because other trains had priority during daytime. The hot days found their cars motionless on sidetracks. To make matters worse, the trains were old and smoky, dropping soot everywhere. The first part of their journey—925 miles from Bellevue to Pinedale—had taken four long days and nights.
Keiko and her family arrived at Tule Lake to discover a huge facility, designed to house internees in row after row of barracks. Cheaply built, each barrack consisted of four apartments. Keiko, her parents, two sisters, and brother had to make do with only one of these, a space measuring sixteen by twenty feet. A single bare bulb provided light, and a coal stove represented their source of heat.
Keiko hated the place, particularly the dark nights. Wind and dust made its way through cracks in the walls and floors. When she awoke that first morning after their two-month journey from Bellevue, she found her bedding black with dust. Their family, and everyone else in the compound, spent days scrounging for anything to stuff cracks in the floors and walls.
Because no one knew how long the war would last or what the government had planned for them in the interim, everyone was scared. Keiko missed her old life and especially her husband who had gone off to war. Worst of all, she worried for her baby who would arrive by January.
About the author:
Paul Mark Tag graduated with multiple degrees in meteorology from Pennsylvania State University and worked for the Naval Research Laboratory as a research scientist for over thirty years before retiring to write fiction. For years prior to retirement, and the following year exclusively, he honed his skills writing short stories. These have been published in StoryBytes, Potpourri, Green’s Magazine, and The Storyteller, as well as The Errant Ricochet: Max Raeburn’s Legacy.In 2005, he self-published his first thriller, Category 5,which took advantage of his knowledge of meteorology and weather modification, followed by Prophecy and White Thaw: The Helheim Conspiracy. With his historical novel How Much Do You Love Me? he has switched genres. He lives with his wife, Becky, in Monterey, California.
My review: How Much Do You Love Me? by Paul Mark Tag
5 STARS
Might want tissues handy. I really cared for these characters. I shed lots of tears from joy to mourning, and felt terrible that our Country did that to our citizens. It was a emotional time, and dangerous time of WW2. Lots of drama.
The plot is about one family Tanaka. It follows what happens to them after Pearl Harbor. It was unheard of a mixed raced marriage. Because of Keiko and James marriage things go a little easier on the Tanaka at least to the property and things left behind.
The story jumps from present to back in the past a lot. As Kazuko Armstrong tries to find out what happened to her family. They did not talk a lot about the war. It draws you into wanting to know more about them.
It is not a easy story to read when you realize that stories like this was happening to a lot of real people.
Akemi Tanaka she has 4 children not a citizen
Isamu Tanaka He is a truck farmer not a citizen Father
Keiko marries James Armstrong. She is a twin to Misaki
Misaki twin the twins are super close to each other.
Masao only son
Shizuka the baby of the family
Harrison Armstrong Father to James, Benjamin, and Wally He is a lawyer.
Barbara Armstrong Mother
James Armstrong in love with Keiko. Joins the Navy
I liked knowing about the past so we don't make the same mistake again hopefully. It is a powerful tale of love of family.
I was given this ebook to read so I could give a honest review of it and be part of it's blog tour.
How Much Do You Love Me?” blog tour schedule:
August 10: Katie’s Clean Book Collection • Jorie Loves a Story
August 11: I Love to Read and Review Books • A Book a Day • emmyMOM
August 12: Tressa’s Wishful Endings • LDS and Lovin’ It
August 13: Cristina Dymock
August 14: Lisa is a Bookworm
August 15: Deal Sharing Aunt
August 16: Jinky is Reading
August 17: Literary R&R
August 18: Mel’s Shelves
August 19: Read For Your Future
August 20: Readalot
August 21: Brooklyn Berry Designs • Getting Your Read On
August 22: Hardcover Feedback
August 23: The Stubby Pencil
August 24: Every Free Chance Book Reviews
August 25: My Book Addiction and More
August 26:
August 27: A Casual Reader’s Blog
August 28: Alice Soon
August 29: Why Not? Because I Said So! • LDS Women’s Book Review
August 30: Inklings and Notions
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