Editing has been my main activity in the past few weeks, putting final touches to the manuscript of THE GIRL BACK HOME, which is due to be e-published by MuseItUp in April. This novel has been several years in the making, and subject to considerable feedback and alteration (my grateful thanks to all the patient reviewers and editors concerned) so I’m delighted it’s finally made it. A paperback version will be available at the same time and to celebrate the issue of this dear-to-my-heart story, a print copy is offered in a Goodreads Giveaway which runs from March 2nd to April 14th.
I was asked why this story? I think it was my mother’s reminiscing when she came to stay near us in the north of England shortly before her death 9 years ago. We drove to Morecambe to try and spot the hotel which had housed her Civil Service Department from 1939-1945. She was just turning 18 when war broke out, in her first job and she’d never lived away from her parents before. It was a case of “what if?” Suppose there had been Jewish blood in the family, would her parents have done their utmost to send her to the colonies along with many others seeking refuge there. That was the personal connection.
My research then took off, into child evacuation in war, the kindertransports and the use of the colonies as a safe haven in Victorian times (not just for convict transportation!). Can a child ever be kept safe from the world and growing up? How did the people left at home feel towards those who took refuge abroad for the duration of the war? And what of the psychological effect on those who fought and survived, while many of their colleagues, friends or family perished? I don’t give any answers but this story explores some of the questions.
I was asked why this story? I think it was my mother’s reminiscing when she came to stay near us in the north of England shortly before her death 9 years ago. We drove to Morecambe to try and spot the hotel which had housed her Civil Service Department from 1939-1945. She was just turning 18 when war broke out, in her first job and she’d never lived away from her parents before. It was a case of “what if?” Suppose there had been Jewish blood in the family, would her parents have done their utmost to send her to the colonies along with many others seeking refuge there. That was the personal connection.
My research then took off, into child evacuation in war, the kindertransports and the use of the colonies as a safe haven in Victorian times (not just for convict transportation!). Can a child ever be kept safe from the world and growing up? How did the people left at home feel towards those who took refuge abroad for the duration of the war? And what of the psychological effect on those who fought and survived, while many of their colleagues, friends or family perished? I don’t give any answers but this story explores some of the questions.
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