Two Tamaqua natives, now living thousands of miles apart, have published the final book in their historical fiction trilogy.

Ann Frommer, currently of New Jersey, and Victor Merkel, now living in Arizona, co-authored the “TailGunner” series after they connected by chance. The two had attended the same one-room schoolhouse in Tamaqua.

Despite living 2,000 miles apart, the two collaborated through email and phone to write three novels, published in 2013, 2016 and this last December. Each played to their unique backgrounds and strengths as authors, weaving timelines and storylines and bringing the characters to life.

The latest, “TailGunner-Pip: Legacy of War,” completes a two-decade journey through World War II history and romance. It focuses on the life of Pip, a young adult living in 1960s England. He was the love child of American tail gunner Buck Remke and Ilona Laszlo, a Hungarian refuge living in west London.

Pip’s journey brings him to northeast Pennsylvania, where he meets his father’s family. The two Tamaqua authors used this opportunity to write in many familiar landmarks and scenarios, including the lung disease that many local miners faced.

The two TailGunner authors may have grown up near each other, but didn’t connect until recently. Several years ago, Frommer’s cousin told her about a book she was reading by Merkel. Frommer was surprised to hear that her former classmate had written a book.

“I just remembered this little kid, even though he wasn’t that much younger than I was,” she said. “I was curious enough to order the book, and I read it two and a half times. The half time, I started taking notes.”

After gathering many questions about Merkel’s book “Misery Mountain,” she searched and found his phone number. The two talked for more than an hour. Near the end of the conversation, she asked him what he planned to do next. He responded that his oldest brother, Buck, had been a tail gunner in World War II, and he hoped to do a historical fiction novel mirroring Buck’s experience.

While Frommer wasn’t very knowledgeable about World War II or tail gunners, she began doing research and having ideas for the book. She shared these ideas with Merkel, who eventually invited her to play a role in the book’s writing. Frommer was living in Budapest at the time and agreed to create a love interest for the book’s main character and to send a writing sample.

“Since we were in Hungary, I made her Hungarian. I called her Ilona after two strong women that my husband knew in Hungary. I decided to make it more challenging — I made her part-Jewish in World War II. I wrote this up and sent it to him,” said Frommer.

Merkel soon responded with a contract for the first “TailGunner” book.

Frommer spent her time in Hungary tracing Ilona’s footsteps, taking the streetcar to different locations and asking questions at the local Holocaust museum.

“I just got into the character so much, and just ground out the chapters,” she said.

Before the newly published “TailGunner Pip,” there was the initial book “TailGunner: War Defines Us.” In this book, Buck meets Ilona in London. The two fall in love until they are pulled apart by war. Ilona vows to wait for him, but soon discovers that she is pregnant.

The second TailGunner book, “TailGunner R3: Revenge. Redemption. Resolution,” follows Buck’s internal struggles after the war. The book also introduces us to Pip and Ilona’s brother, Istvan, a Hungarian soldier who was caught in Hitler’s war machine and now finds his homeland under Russian occupation.

While Frommer included much of her Hungarian travels in the book, she also explored some very personal ties during her research. Her Hungarian husband lived through the Cold War and uprising and his family fled the country when he was a teenager.

“He didn’t want to go into detail because it was traumatic. They gave up everything,” she said. “In my second book, that one chapter talks about his family leaving. They just got the call in the morning, and with the clothes on their back they had to go on the train. After that they were met by a farmer and eventually dropped off right on the border.”

While her husband swore he would never return, the couple did return to Hungry after the Iron Curtain was lifted in 1991.

“We saw his old apartment, with the bullet holes in it,” she said, noting that his family had a nice life before fleeing. “I was able to get him to talk about it.”

Today, her family enjoys visiting the modernized city and immersing themselves in the area’s food and culture. Frommer was so taken by the culture that she included Hungarian recipes in her 2015 cookbook — each with a healthier take on traditional dishes.

While Frommer had always wanted to be a writer, she chose what she considered the more practical career of nursing after leaving Tamaqua. She studied art while working as a nurse at NYU, and eventually began a career in medical administration. Throughout her medical career, she nurtured her creative side through photography before becoming involved in the TailGunner series.

“TailGunner-Pip” and the rest of the TailGunner series are available on Amazon.