There is a lot of renewed interest in World War I era since the remake of The Great Gatsby and the HBO series Boardwalk Empire. Much of the action in Stepping Out of Time occurs in 1918 and involves fictional characters based on a real family named Cool. These photos are of the real Cool family and their friends from that time period and include my grandparents and great grandparents. One of the faces belongs to Edward Cool, whose name I borrowed for the main character. His wife was Grace Robinson Cool, and her photo as a small girl is on the cover of the book. Her daughter Loretta, also in the story, died at an early age from eating poison berries.
Rick Townley dot com 