For My Next
WW2 Historical Romance!
I’ve never actually done a title reveal before. Why? Not sure, except that generally I start talking about my stories as I’m writing them, and I rarely have a final title at that stage, and if I do…well then, I just talk about them, LOL.
In the case of this book, my second full-length WW2 romance coming from Tyndale, I had pitched it with the title The Face of Deception and just kept talking about it with that title as I began writing it and was sharing some fun stuff as I wrote the first draft.
But my editor emailed a few weeks ago to start the official title selection discussion, and she pointed out what I’d been thinking too: that we don’t want another Deception in a title so soon after An Honorable Deception. (Why did I even pitch it with that title, when I knew that Imposters would have that word in it?? No idea, LOL.)
And so, the conversation began about what would work for this story.
We knew we wanted to keep a similar rhythm and setup to both The Collector of Burned Books and the Christmas novella coming this fall, The Christmas Book Flood.
We knew we wanted to hint at Zelie’s role as head of France’s largest intelligence network during the war.
We toyed with an idea like A Woman of Intelligence, but that’s already in use for a book, and other variations, like A Lady of Intelligence, are too similar.
So my editor decided to play with the idea of a “spymaster,” which is what Zelie, based on the real-life Marie-Madeleine Fourcade, most assuredly was.
Spy Master, though, is masculine. And it’s a big deal that this is a traditionally masculine role, being filled by a woman. HUGE part of the plot (and of Marie-Madeleine’s struggles and victories throughout the war). Spy Mistress…could give the wrong impression, LOL, and make readers think I’m writing about a spy’s, ahem, special lady. Which I’m not.
But editor Elizabeth had a stroke of genius. She wrote to me, “What about ‘Spy Keeper‘?” and I went, “YYYYYEEEEEEESSSSSSSS!” I absolutely LOVE that phrase!
And so, we used that as our noun and then picked an ending to ground you in the setting. Are you ready?? Here it is!
(This is not a real cover, just an image I made to display the title…inspired by a similar one Tyndale has made for my Christmas novella, as a placeholder, LOL.)
Isn’t it a fun title?? The other funny thing was that I’d been spelling the town very inconsistently, LOL. Sometimes Marseilles (with an S on the end) and sometimes Marseille (no S). Historically, both have been used, and we had a bit of a back-and-forth as to which was “more correct” at that point in history…but eventually we decided to go with what’s standard today, which is no S.
I’d originally, before doing my research, ha ha, intended to set the book in Paris, like The Collector of Burned Books, but that just didn’t fit the actual history I’m delving into. Which means I got to learn about this beautiful port town, which was historically the most diverse French city. It worked perfectly for the setting of both my intelligence agency, Alliance (real thing, based first in Vichy, then, Pau, and then Marseille) and for the orchestra my hero conducts.
Now…wanna know more about the story? Here are just a few tidbits!
The Characters
Zelie & Marcel
Zelie Bellarose is a widow with two kids (aged 6 and 9), whose late husband was military. Through those contacts, she was the first recruit of another military officer who decided, even before the war began, that France needed an intelligence agency to counter the Nazis. Zelie, based on the real-life Fourcade, became the head of the whole group, called “la patronne” (the boss). Zelie is beautiful, charming, and cunning…but also insecure after a rocky marriage and being constantly underestimated by the men she worked with.
Marcel Laurent grew up in a solidly middle-class family, but his love and talent for music, especially piano, opened doors for him. He was an acclaimed concert pianist before the war…then a POW for a year after his regiment (under Zelie’s husband) was captured defending the Maginot Line. When a patron arranges for his release from the German camp, he has no idea why…until he meets Zelie and realizes he’s been hand-selected to be her intelligence network’s liaison to the arts. His job is now to recruit agents all throughout the arts sector, who can listen to conversations of their German patrons and pass along anything they learn. But at heart, he’s just a musician himself…a musician who knows the power music has on the soul.
The Shooting Star
I don’t often come up with lines of dialogue before I start actually writing, but as I was brainstorming this story to turn in my synopsis, this line popped into my head–and it became the guiding force as I developed the characters. Shooting stars appear several times in the book, and I am soooooo hoping one ends up on the final cover! (We’re still months away from cover design, so we’ll see, LOL.)
Love Note…
In the course of the story, Marcel starts leaving notes for Zelie, but in code. This one is her (and my, LOL) favorite. To his shooting star, with a Morse code message, signed with his callsign. ❤️❤️❤️
And that’s all I’m gonna share right now! 😉 But I hope you’re as excited as I am to have an official title for this one. Keep your eyes peeled for a cover reveal in a couple months, at which point it’ll be up for pre-order in my shop. But for now…let’s just be excited about my awesome editor’s brilliant title idea!
The Spy Keeper
of Marseille
A Thrilling Historical Romance set in France of 1941-42
Coming Summer 2026!
Roseanna M. White is a bestselling, Christy Award winning author who has long claimed that words are the air she breathes. When not writing fiction, she’s homeschooling her two kids, editing, designing book covers, and pretending her house will clean itself. Roseanna is the author of a slew of historical novels that span several continents and thousands of years. Spies and war and mayhem always seem to find their way into her books…to offset her real life, which is blessedly ordinary.