How Music Won the War in Jingle Boys by Herb Williams-Dalgart
Send us Fan Mail My guest today is Herb Williams-Dalgart, author of Jingle Boys listed in the Music category on Art In Fiction. View the video on YouTube: https://youtu.be/azuaBStafaI Herb's personal origin story behind the novel: named after his grandfather who died in WWII, a man he never knew, which sparked a lifelong fascination with the era. How the role of music in wartime, harmony versus the disharmony of war, became the central thematic engine of the novel. The surprising historical truth behind the jingle-as-secret-code premise, including Herb's research into declassified military records at the New York Public Library. Writing all the jingles and song lyrics himself and what he learned about the craft of songwriting in the process. His protagonist Walter Lipkin's anxiety neurosis (stress-triggered fainting) and why a hero whose greatest enemy is his own brain felt both authentic and timely, written as it was during COVID. The recurring theme across Herb's work: finding courage in unlikely places, and why that feels both personal and hopeful. His screenwriting background (UCLA certificate) and what it gives him as a novelist: cinematic pacing, three-act structure, and crisp, character-revealing dialogue. The fascinating true story of the Steinway Victory Vertical, the olive-drab piano the US government authorized for every theater of war, and how it found its way dramatically into the novel. Reading from Jingle Boys . Herb's take on plotting versus pantsing, and why he calls himself a "paraglider." His next project: Everything the Sea Brings , Book 1 of a trilogy set in Northern Ireland, told from the dual perspectives of a lighthouse keeper's wife and a German sailor who washes ashore with secrets. Read more about Herb Williams-Dalgart on his website: https://www.herbthewriter.com Are you enjoying The Art In Fiction Podcast? Consider giving us a small donation so we can continue bringing you interviews with your favorite arts-inspired novelists. Click this link to donate: https://ko-fi.com/artinfiction . Also, check out Art In Fiction at https://www.artinfiction.com and explore 2500+ novels inspired by the arts in 11 categories: Architecture, Dance, Decorative Arts, Film, Literature, Music, Textile Arts, Theater, Visual Arts, & Other. Want to learn more about Carol Cram, the host of The Art In Fiction Podcast? She's the author of several award-winning novels, including The Towers of Tuscany, A Woman of Note, The Muse of Fire, and The Choir. Find out more on her website . ...