Christmastime 1946

Lillian looked at the spread of drawings for her upcoming meeting at Haden with Mrs. Huntington. Women in the workforce. She pulled out the three strongest – a medical researcher in a lab, an architect’s assistant at a drafting table, and a newspaper reporter conducting an interview – and felt a thrill of accomplishment.

If it all came through, this assignment would be the high point of her career as an artist, the culmination of long years of honing her craft. The theme was perfect for her, and she felt up to the task.

She was grateful that Mrs. Huntington had encouraged her to visit several offices and job sites over the past two years. The non-traditional jobs that women had filled during the war had, for the most part, been reclaimed by returning soldiers.

But these working women images and the novels about them would make solid book covers and would be sure to sell. Mrs. Huntington understood that women would be interested in reading about such characters – capable women full of determination, who took pride in their work.