Fly Me to the Moon.

Hiya! Florence here! Sorry for the wait, but here’s the next little bit of our story, hope you enjoy!

“I would say come dance, D.A., but I really would rather you didn’t hurt yourself,” Lorraine laughed. 

“Or anyone else!” Lillian’s laughter rang out alongside Lorraine’s. Dorothy Alice only chuckled and shook her head at her sisters. She was perfectly content and comfortable watching her sisters float gracefully around the dance floor while sipping her soda. 

“You guys go dance. I’m good right here.” 

Lillian frowned. “Are you sure? I don’t wanna leave you here all by yourself, Dorothy Alice. We’re here to have fun together, as sisters.” A smile played around Lillian’s lips. “Maybe we could find-”

“Absolutely not, Lil. I am not making a fool of myself in front of some man I don’t know!”

“Oh, come on, D.A.!” Lillian stood and held out her hands in an attempt to pull her sister to her feet, but Dorothy Alice held firm.

“Lorraine, will you please tell Lil that I am not dancing with anyone?!” Lorraine’s gaze was fixed across the room as she effectively ignored both of her siblings.

“Lorraine, come on, aren’t you listening?” Dorothy Alice huffed in exasperation. “You’re both awful.”

“You love us!” Lillian laughed. Lorraine’s focus had finally turned back to her sisters as she caught Dorothy Alice’s attention. 

“Hey, D.A., I think you’ve got an admirer!” Across the room, where Lorraine had previously been looking, was a tall, lanky man, with dark, cropped hair. He couldn’t be more than 22 or 23, and had dark, piercing brown eyes. He’s handsome. The excited chatter of the twins faded into the background as the man turned and looked Dorothy Alice in the eye. He turned a brilliant shade of pink and immediately turned away, talking to another man next to him. Dorothy Alice couldn’t help but smile and turn a bit pink herself. 

“You think he’s cute, don’t you?” Lorraine’s question (posed more as a statement) shook Dorothy Alice out of her thoughts. 

“You do! He’s been sneaking looks at you since we walked in. You absolutely have to go talk to him.” Lillian nodded eagerly in agreement with her twin. 

“I saw him dancing earlier, and he was really good. Maybe he could show you how!” Dorothy Alice gave her a glare. 

“There is no way that I’m going over there. He was probably looking at one of you, or…” Dorothy Alice trailed off as she saw the goofy smiles that the twins had on their faces.

“What on earth is wrong with you-”

“Excuse me,” said a deep voice behind her. Dorothy Alice turned to find the man from across the bar standing in front of her, rubbing the back of his neck nervously. He really is handsome. 

Left to right (top row): Lillian (sister), Alice (mother), Lorraine (sister). 

Left to right (bottom row): Evelyn (Aunt), Dorothy Alice

Not pictured: John Kenneth (father:estranged)

Lillian and Lorraine Lawrence, born 1898, aged 26 as of 1922 when DA and Herb meet, are the oldest of the three Lawrence children. They are currently in college, in addition to being married, with children.

Lillian is married to Wesley Gallagher, and they have twin boys: Anthony and Michael. (Anthony is a minute and a half over and definitely holds this over Michael’s head when he’s old enough.) They’re 4 years old as of ‘22. Wesley is Irish, but his accent is hardly noticeable after living in the US for most of his life. He works in a newly acquired bakery, and makes the best pumpkin pies during Autumn. In the 1930s, he redesigns and turns it into a soup kitchen :)

Lorraine is married to Ryan Smith, and they have a daughter named Molly, who is 1 and a half as of ‘22. Ryan is a wealthy businessman working for Ford Model T Automobile. He’s a New Yorker and retains a Trans Atlantic accent. 

Aunt Evie and Alice were also twins. Alice was a stay-at-home-mother, and despite never marrying herself, Eve also took great pride in raising the three children, especially after Alice renounced her husband in 1919 after his affair while overseas in WW1.

Greetings and Salutations! I’m Bennie (they/them), and I’m co-writing with Florence, as well as the illustrator and character designer for Fly Me To The Moon! 

Here is our first intro to the main two characters- Herbert Milton and Dorothy Alice Lawrence. <3

Here is a closer picture without all the information~

And here is the two lovebirds dancing as they court each other (traditionally drawn with pencil sketch and inked lineart)

Hiya everyone! I'm Florence (they/them), and I'm the writer 'round here. Bennie and I are SO excited to share these wonderful characters! Dear ol' Bennie will show you all soon what our gals and guys look like, but for now, here's a bit of writing I was so anxious to share! I hope it's good, and I hope you all enjoy! Now, without further ado, our dear Dorothy Alice and handsome Herbert!

 “Dorothy Alice, you’re coming with us, aren’t ya?” Lillian sat by the vanity, powder puffing around her as she did up her face. Her twin, Lorraine, was occupied as she attempted to shimmy into a silver dress, her hair swishing around her.

 “Lil, I dunno. You know I have two left feet. Plus, who’s gonna watch the babies? And I’ll never be ready in time. I thought I could stay home and sew with momma instead.” 

 “Dorothy Alice, we have husbands for a reason! Let them spend some time with their kids!” Lorraine and Lillian were on break from college, and they were visiting home from the holidays. “Come on, you never go out with us,” whined Lillian. 

 “Yeah, it’s Christmas! Ain’t ya gonna spend some time with your favourite sisters? You know we keep off the giggle water, so you don’t even have to worry about carting us home,” Lorraine chipped in.

 “And maybe, we can find a man who can handle your awful dancing.”

 Dorothy Alice laughed. “Well, I suppose I could go with you tonight. It is Christmas and all. Let me get ready.” 

 Lorraine and Lillian clapped excitedly, dragging their sister off into the bathroom to doll her up. 

 “Herbert, you’re *seriously* saying no right now? You never go out with us, come on!” James elbowed Herbert in the ribs, attempting (as he had been for an hour) to get Herbert to *just once* go out with the guys. 

 “Herbie, come on!” Ruth’s sweet voice rang through the room. “We’ll be good! Promise we’ll go to bed on time and-”

 “And I can read to all of us, just like you do,” chirped Sammy from his chair. Everyone else in the room- James, Marvin, and their ma- even chipped in, begging him to go. 

 “C’mon bud, we’ll meet some pretty dames, drink a bit, and then leave the joint. It’ll be fun!” Herbert crossed his arms and pushed up his glasses. 

“No. Dad isn’t even home yet. I’m not going.” His voice left no room for argument. 

Samuel wheeled his chair in front of his brother, his face solemn. “I’ve got ‘em for the night. They’ll be good.” 

 Marvin laughs. “Yeah, even though I’m the older one.” 

 Herbert raised an eyebrow. If they were already arguing over who’s going to be in charge, they would be chaos when he left. “Jem, I’m not going. I’ll see you all tomorrow.”

 Ruth spoke up again. “Herbie.” 

 His stern look melted away. “Ruth-”

 “Please go? I don't want us to be the reason you don't get to have fun or meet someone pretty.” 

Herbert sighed. “Ruth, I have plenty of fun sitting with you all, and reading. I don't need a pretty dame to-”

 “Please Herbie?” Ruth’s pout would melt even the sternest man. 

Hello! We are Bennie and Florence, the co-authors of Fly Me to the Moon, a novel that starts in 1922 and revolves around the lives of Herbert Milton and Dorothy Alice Lawrence and their families, through the throes of the Great Depression and the horrors of World War 2. It’s a story of love and hate, joy and sorrow, and it is something that we are both very excited to share!

Bennie is more art oriented, and they will be posting art of the characters with little summaries soon, as well as little updates or doodles whenever they are struck with inspiration <3

Florence is definitely better with words, and will be posting snippets and chapter splices as she deems appropriate! Be it sneak peeks or just a little drabble around the holidays/seasons, she hopes you enjoy. :)

Happy Holidays and welcome to our new project!

Much Love,

Bennie (Right) and Florence (Left)