Diana R. Chambers: Be Flexible, Embrace Change

After studying Asian Art History at university, Diana R. Chambers worked at a Paris translation agency and later began an importing business in South Asia. She is an experienced scriptwriter, and her research has taken her all over the world. Diana lives with her fellow-traveler husband in northern California and Aix-en-Provence, France. Learn more at DianaRChambers.com, and follow her on X (Twitter), Facebook, and Instagram.

Diana R. Chambers

In this interview, Diana discusses the research that went into the writing of her new historical fiction book, The Secret War of Julia Child, her hope for readers, and more.

Name: Diana R. Chambers
Literary agent: Pamela Malpas, Jennifer Lyons Literary Agency
Book title: The Secret War of Julia Child
Publisher: Sourcebooks Landmark
Release date: October 22, 2024
Genre/category: Historical fiction
Previous titles: The Star of India; Stinger; The Company She Keeps
Elevator pitch: The Secret War of Julia Child is inspired by the famed chef’s secret intelligence service in the China-Burma-India Theater of World War II, where she finds purpose, adventure, a new taste for food—and love with womanizing mapmaker Paul Child. This is Julia Child’s origin story.

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What prompted you to write this book?

About 10 years ago I learned that Julia McWilliams Child had served on the front lines of WWII Asia with the OSS—Office of Strategic Services, America’s first intelligence agency. This image sparked me. I already had deep roots in the region, from India to Southeast Asia, and China. My last novel had been set in end-of-the-Raj India with an espionage subplot. I was eager to re-enter that world.

But I needed to learn who was this 30-year-old California woman who would go on to become an American icon, and how did she find herself on the far shores of the Pacific, engaged in the life-and-death struggle of her times? And how did this little-known period in her life help shape her? In my novel-to-be—The Secret War of Julia Child—I would journey into the past with Julia and share her formative years.

How long did it take to go from idea to publication? And did the idea change during the process?

The novel took 10 years to percolate, write, and rewrite—over and over. I went from third to first person, then back to third. My research (always the best part) included uncovering exciting out-of-print books and travel to all my locations. During this time, I learned Julia Child was much more than her media persona. The more I got to know her, the more I admired her life force, her determination to find her own creative voice.

But Julia was in desperate need of purpose at the start of the war. Heartbroken from a failed romance, she’d been struggling to find a creative career in New York when her beloved mother fell ill, then faded away. Julia had lost her anchor and for the next few years drifted.

Then came Pearl Harbor. Suddenly she’s in Washington. An avid reader of spy fiction, she maneuvers her way into the fledgling OSS and is soon running the secret files. Her WWI hero boss, General Wild Bill Donovan, comes to respect her. She learns to walk through the doors of opportunity.

She is promoted to liaison with Admiral Lord Mountbatten’s South East Asia Command, first in India, then Ceylon. A later posting takes her to the perilous front lines of southern China. By the conflict’s end, she has been forged in the fire. Her life is transformed. Later she would declare, “The war made me.”

There were so many vibrant characters, so much potential “story!” I considered it as a series, maybe with Julia in each of the very different countries in which she served. Later that series became one big novel, The Secret War of Julia Child.

Were there any surprises or learning moments in the publishing process for this title?

There were so many times during the “path to publication” when I thought I had finished the manuscript. Sometimes, licking my wounds, I put it away for a while. But every time I returned to Julia and her story, I fell in love again. I loved this project. So, I kept rewriting, revising. Eventually, Pamela Malpas of Jennifer Lyons Literary saw the novel I saw. Soon afterward, Shana Drehs of Sourcebooks Landmark acquired it. Then, during six very hot summer weeks in Aix-en-Provence, I revised it again, deeply, from first to third person. When Shana gently suggested the possibility, I knew immediately she was right! While stepping back from Julia, you might say, I gained a new perspective on her, which somehow helped me elevate the writing. I think I did another revision in the fall and even through three copyedits. (Sourcebooks is very thorough!)

Were there any surprises in the writing process for this book?

I knew Julia was in charge of the secret OSS files in Washington DC. But I was surprised to learn that three-quarters of one million of those documents remained classified into the 21st century! True to her oath of secrecy, Julia stayed mum about her service until her death in 2004—two days before her 92nd birthday.

With so many facts locked away for so many decades, the fascinating story of the rival spy services in the Asian theater remained largely inaccessible to scholars and researchers. So, I had to ferret out what was known—and then fill in the gaps. Beginning with her two fabulous biographies, I read widely about the period—military, cultural, political history, biography and memoir, especially her own. (Tellingly, Julia’s memories were thin about this era.) I read fiction, of course—anything that might shed light on her experience. However limited, this riveting source material gave me a solid foundation with which to flesh out the empty spaces. Between the documented facts and my knowledge of Julia’s character, great spirit, and drive, I felt I was expressing her truth.

Seeing the wealth of information on WWII in Europe and the Pacific, I was surprised by how comparatively little existed on this critical theater. No wonder it’s known as the Forgotten War of Asia! And, despite my lifelong connection here, I realized how little I knew. My research led me into studies on empire and colonialism. I learned how much the Asians contributed to the final victory over fascism. They suffered and sacrificed greatly. They, too, yearned for freedom. I wanted to tell their story, too.

What do you hope readers will get out of your book?

Julia was so much more than a ditzy, eccentric television cook. She was a born performer—also writing and producing theatrical extravaganzas in her family’s Pasadena attic. The French Chef was her character. From girlhood, she was a leader, imaginative, and fun; people wanted to be around her. While hesitant to be seen as ambitious—bad enough being so tall!—she believed she was meant to achieve something in life. But what? Like many of us, Julia struggled through her 20s with many losses along the way. Yet she was determined to find her own creative path—and a man she could walk it with. Despite her father’s pressure, friends marrying around her, she rejected an important society marriage, even at 30, on the brink of “spinsterhood.” I admire her courage and appetite for life, the risks she took in rejecting a woman’s traditional path, her stubborn will to fulfill herself.

If you could share one piece of advice with other writers, what would it be?

Be flexible, embrace change. Take your time. And don’t give up.

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