Scottsdale, Arizona—Kenneth James Moore, author of the bestselling novel Pieces of Wood, was recently interviewed by Mark Bishop on Tucson Business RadioX. His first novel, following the non-fiction The Hunt for the Life of Riley, is based on actual Japanese World War II atrocities discovered while researching the first book. Mark Bishop, who "loves interviewing fascinating people from all professional walks of life," went straight to the point by asking what Moore wants the public to get from the book?
After explaining to Bishop that award winning Pieces of Wood is an international crime thriller and giving him a quick idea of the characters and plot lines, the talk turned to his primary motivation and his belief the pubic have been denied vital info about Japanese atrocities in World War II. He told Mark Bishop this: "Well, we have all grown up with the fanaticism of the Nazi era. But frankly the other side of the World War II equation, war in the Pacific against the Japanese, was far more brutal. I like to say the Nazi were fanatics, but the Imperial Japanese were barbarians…their level of barbarism, their level of cannibalism, was literally something out of the Dark Ages; it was of epic proportions. The Imperial Japanese referred to women, which they targeted, as 'Pieces of Wood,' just something to be used and disposed of." The phrase "Pieces of Wood" was found in captured Japanese war documents.
The interview then turned to how and why Moore came to know of the Japanese conduct which forms the central premise of the new book. Moore made a childhood promise to his mother he intended to keep. The promise was to find her younger brother, Lt. Billy Weber, who was declared Missing in Action when the B-29 he was piloting, The Life of Riley, disappeared in March 1945 flying over the Mariana Archipelago in the western North Pacific. Moore kept searching, even after a four-year break to recover from a major car crash, through research and trips to islands like Saipan and Tinian. One day, hacking through the jungle, he discovered crematoriums constructed from refractory brick, used by the Japanese to burn their captives—both women and children—alive. All the revelations of genocide based on Japanese cultural beliefs are chronicled in Pieces of Wood.
Moore wanted to shed light on something seldom discussed in the West and overshadowed by the European Holocaust. Japanese actions were monstrous beyond belief and portions of it were covered up for political reasons.
Listen to Kenneth James Moore Interviewed by Mark Bishop
"When one is seeking answers regarding World War II in the Pacific, it is virtually impossible to avoid uncovering Imperial Japanese atrocities," says Moore. "I was looking for data regarding my uncle's plane. I initially had no intention of writing a novel focused on violence against women. Though that subject has haunted me the vast majority of my adult life, it wasn't until happening upon the 'crematoriums' that the need to write such a work imploded across every measure of my being."
In this, the age of women, Pieces of Wood kicks open the international door behind which the abuse of women has lingered for far too long. It is a book both timely and necessary, opening our eyes to the cyclical nature of violence and how revealing lost pieces of history can keep us from repeating the mistakes of the past.
"A world-class story from a world-class author and adventurer."—Lt. General Frank Sackton, former WWII Pacific Troop Commander and Professor of Public Administration at Arizona State University, 5-stars
"Pieces of Wood is a superb novel and a call to action—one of the year's most imposing new works."—Grady Harp, Top 50 Amazon Hall of Fame Reviewer, 5-stars
Pieces of Wood Book Trailer
About the Author:
Kenneth James Moore was born in 1949 in Tacoma, Washington. He graduated from Arizona State University and continued his education as a graduate student at Georgetown University. Political science and international relations were his calling.
Mentored by a former professor who was a Cold War counter-intelligence officer, Ken spent a year long stint as a volunteer alongside Admiral Bobby Inman, the Director of the National Security Agency during its reconstruction phase. Ken and his wife Patricia moved to Southern California, where Ken worked at Beverly Hills Securities as a commercial loan officer. He quickly moved to the investment banking side of the house and was able to retire at 45.
In 1994, Ken was the victim of a horrific automobile accident. Rehabilitation consumed every moment of the next four years as he relearned how to talk, walk, and swallow solid foods.
Ken was haunted by a promise he had made to his mother at age eight, pledging to unravel the mystery behind the disappearance of her youngest brother during WWII, Lt. Billy Weber, a B-29 Bomber pilot. His journey to the Pacific theater lead him to write the books The Hunt for the Life of Riley and Pieces of Wood. Learn more about Ken at kennethjamesmoore.com. Watch the book trailer here: https://bit.ly/BookTrailerPiecesOfWood
Pieces of Wood is available on Amazon at https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08L1J1GZR/ in Kindle and Paperback by MFG Books, October 2020, 418 pages, ASIN : B08L1J1GZR.
Media Contact: For a review copy of Pieces of Wood or to arrange an interview with Kenneth James Moore, contact Scott Lorenz of Westwind Communications Book Marketing at scottlorenz@westwindcos.com or by phone at 734-667-2090. Follow Lorenz on Twitter @abookpublicist