Gary W. Toyn

What happens when readers encounter history they were never taught—and can’t look away from? An exploration of memory, silence, and what painful history asks of us once we know it . Many important stories from World War II never made it into our textbooks. One account is of the Ponary Massacre in the Baltic country of Lithuania. Here, over 100,000 people— 72,000 of them Jews—were murdered in what has come to be known as the Holocaust by Bullets. But what makes the Baltic Holo

Lithuania’s Holocaust and shifting blame echo in today's Gaza. Discover how victimhood fuels violence and why history’s lessons matter.

Summary : Reading historical fiction can be challenging because it compels us to confront our cognitive biases and embrace the messiness of history. Good historical fiction not only helps us discover untold stories, but also break free from oversimplifications, unveil new perspectives, and cultivate empathy. As I finish the initial draft of my next novel, I keep shaking my head because of the messiness of WWII history. In many ways, I find this messiness delicious. In other

Do you recognize modern propaganda? Here are examples both past and present.

I’m fortunate to have been brought up in Utah's Ogden Valley. Growing up in Ogden Valley, I never fully appreciated what I had. The Valley, those small rural communities of Huntsville, Eden, and Liberty, Utah, shaped me in ways I didn't understand until I left. My teachers, my coaches, the Trappist monks down the road, the dairy farmers and bus drivers. Lifelong friendships forged in a K-9 school of barely 300 kids. And yet, as a boy with an oversized ego and a serious cas

One of the hardest things about writing a novel is enduring the review process. It starts six months prior to the release day when the...

We met a few times before she came to this book signing back in 2007. George E. Wahlen, Kim, Gary Toyn, circa 2007. Kim went out of her...