Sergeant Savannah Hulin, daughter of Mike Whicker, reads her father’s book while stationed in Bagdad, Iraq.

A military intelligence analyst, Savannah served in Iraq for three years.

Marine captain Nute Bonner, sent this photo and an email from Iraq.

Invitation to Valhalla is popular among American troops serving in Iraq.


Erika 001 copy[2]

Carolyn Roth, a talented artist, created the above watercolor from a scene in Invitation to Valhalla. In chapter 17, Erika is strolling Paris is a yellow summer dress when she is given a flower by a young boy.

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ValhallaPosterSm

Another talented artist, Jacob Elijah Walker, created this image for a poster sponsored by the Evansville Public Libraries when Invitation to Valhalla was the 2004 One Book One Community choice for southwest Indiana.

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Erika-Bridge

Looming ahead on the Ohio River is the bridge from Indiana to Kentucky that Erika Lehmann plunge from in Invitation to Valhalla. The photo was taken by the author from the deck of LST 325, the last fully operational WW II LST in the world.

LST 325 is docked in Evansville, Indiana, and available for tours. (photo taken in 2007)


Cafe-e

Erika’s Evansville apartment over this cafe. The cafe is still open for business.

Photo taken by Cookie Barrow.

Cafe-c

Side of Cafe with second floor apartment. (photo by Cookie Barrow)

Erika-door-e

Photo by Cookie Barrow

Bathtub-a

The apartment has been abandoned for many years. This is the bathtub Erika was in when Axel Ryker broke in on her.

Photo by Cookie Barrow

crane-a

Part of the WW II Evansville Shipyard was here.

Photo by Cookie Barrow

Dogtown-2

Dogtown Tavern, located in the river bottoms west of Evansville, Indiana, is still open today.