The Hardwick Love Story - e-book

I just love the story of Bess of Hardwick!  She was such an indominable woman who spent her life building outstanding homes.  I particularly like the way her initials are carved in solid stone on the top most part of Hardwick Hall for all to see - 'Elizabeth, Countess of Shrewsbury'.  Don't you just love her!!

Decades ago I read David Durant's excellent book about her and really enjoyed.  I still remember that they spent a fortune on pins so that following her death in 1607, they could drape the Hall with miles of black crepe!

This was the first time I had come across the really tragic story of Bess' grand daughter Arbella.  Orphaned by the time she was five, Bess became her devoted guardian giving her an extensive education.  However, as Arbella grew it became increasingly obvious that they had different dreams.  The young girl wanted to develop her considerable intellectural abilities, probably marry and have children.

Bess wanted her to be Queen of England.

I have turned this tragic story into an e-book, called 'The Hardwick Love Story' which is available by clicking here

'Face at the Window' - the e-book

It was the briefest of mentions on the TV many years ago, but the image of figures walking out of the forest remained with me. They were Jews and for years they had hidden deep in the forest, and had somehow survived despite the terrible winters and the lack of facilities we take for granted.
I had vaguely looked on the Internet for more information, but it wasn't until a few years ago when I was visiting Sedbergh, the Book Town in northern England, that I came across a great pyramid of newly arrived paperbacks.  As soon as I read the cover description I knew this was the book for me!
"The true story of the Bielski brothers who built a secret town in the heart of the forest to save their people from the Nazis'.
The book contains quite a lot of photographs, so I felt quite familiar with this amazing impressive, swarthy family.

Not too surprisingly I was hugely disappointed in the subsequent film.  Daniel Craig was no Tuvia!

I wanted to retell this story, but in a way that was suitable for a young reader - preferrably a boy aged between 9 and 12, who thinks reading's boring!
I felt particularly strongly about this after reading that Tuvia, this fantastic leader of men, had ended up living in America, but had died almost penniless, with few people knowing of his truly remarkable achievement.

More than 1200 people Jewish people lived because of this truly remarkable man, and the story needs to be remembered

My book is available by clicking here

 

'Oil Under Sherwood Forest' - the e-book

For years I have been fascinated by the story of the discovery of oil under Sherwood Forest, here in the heart of Nottinghamshire.

This is my previous blog.

I've now converted the amazing story into an e-book, but by necessity it has fewer illustrations. 

You can find it by clicking here

Coming Home - the e-book

Fortunately fairly rarely newspaper headlines tell  that a child has been abducted by an estranged parent, usually the father. They are then taken to some foreign land, and it appear very difficult to get them back.  (Amazon is full of such stories.)

This was certainly the theme, several decades ago of Deborah Moggach's excellent book 'Stolen' and the subsequent TV series of 1990, in which I remember Art Malik the most!

I wanted to write a book about the situation from the view point of the abducted child.  What must it be like to suddenly loose not only your other parent, but your friends, school, way of life and in fact everything that you are familiar with.  It must be a nightmare.

In this story 10 year old Tom is taken by his drunken father to a remote part of Poland, in order that he can work their smallholding.  From the very first night the child is determined to run away, and somehow or other, get back home.

However, he has no money, no foreign language skills, no friends and in fact little ide in what direction to go!

I think if this was real life, rather than a story aimed at  9-12 year old boys who think reading's boring, evil people would soon find the child, but I definitely didn't want to go down that path.

So this is a story about courage, determination and the goodness of strangers.   It can be purchased by clicking here

My other blog is Nottinghamshire Notes

The Boy & The Monkey - the e-book

As a youngster  I just loved the books by Nevile Shute - he was just such a wonderful storyteller.  It was the novel 'A Town Like Alice' where I first came across the amazing story of European women who had been captured during the Second World War, and because the Japanese didn't know what to do with them, simply marched them, often for years.

Then in the early 1980's I became addicted to the TV series 'Tenko' which told the story of women who had lived in Singapore, often with very comfortable lifestyles, until the colony was suddenly over run by the Japanese during the Second World War.  They marched, and eventually settled in a rough POW camp, suffering awful deprevation.  (Recently I saw a repeat of one of these programmes, and was amazed at how harrowing it was!)

I then read 'Women Beyond the Wire' by Lavinia Warner and John Sandilands, and it is from their extensive research for this book that they went on to create Tenko.  It certainly makes for fascinating reading.

By now I was determined to write a novel aimed at boys aged 9 - 12 who think reading's boring, but set in this strange environment.  I wanted to see the women's imprisonment through the eyes of a child, who spends his formative early years as a Prisoner of War.

In my story the last guard has just died, and the women decide to just try and sit out the war.  As 10-year old Lawrence is the oldest boy in the group he is the one assigned to learn to fish with the help of the locals.  The health of the entire group depends of his skill.

Having lost his mother and baby brother when they are evacuated from Singapore, Lawrence has difficulties forming close relationships, but increasingly he decides what he really wants is a pet monkey.  After all you might be able to train the monkey to fetch and carry, just like a dog.  And who knows what adventures might befall the pair!

Little does he realise that his somewhat foolhardy actions put the entire group at risk.

To read this novel just click
here

Secrets - the e-book

I've decided to change the title of my novel for 9-12 year boys who think reading's boring!  It was going to be 'The Secret' as it deals with the French Resistance, and refers to the diary the boy keeps in the bottom of his wardrobe.  However, on uploading it I found that there is a whole industry related to this idea on how to manifest abundance.

It's now just called 'Secrets' which I think describes the situation better anyway.

It's available from Smashwords by clicking here

The Secret - the e-book

I have always been fascinated by stories of the Resistance Movement that formed in France during the Second World War.  However, when I came to write a novel, aimed at boys who think reading's boring, I realised that I actually knew very little about it!  Was there rationing during the war in France?  What happened to all the French men after Germany invaded, and what were the Papers that had to be constantly shown?

Consequently I read everything I could find, just to form a background to this novel.  A book I particularly enjoyed was 'And There was Light' by Jacques Lusseyran.  Blinded as a child, he lived life to the full, and, although only a school boy when war broke out,  he organised the printing of a secret, informative newspaper.  This was distribued throughout Paris, and beyond.  One of his many tasks was interviewing prospective helpers, as it was felt his blindness gave him intuition.  The one person he didn't personally chose was the one who betrayed the group, and they were all sent to concentration camps.

Another book, that  I'd read decades ago, but which was still vividly in my mind, was this inpiring tale by the remarkable Dutch woman Corrie ten Boom.  When the war broke out she and her sister, and their clock-repairing father, never hesitated for a moment, in their commitment to help Jews.  The Resistance Group came and built a false wall in their attic, and the Jews hid in this special little place.  Tragically this family were also betrayed, but the Germans never found this false wall.  

Another book that was invalubale was a slim one by Terry Crowdy, although the reprisals they describe were just beyond belief   Another essential was The Forger by Cioma Schonhaus.

One thing that had always struck me was the fact that whilst it would be possible to hide someone briefly until they were moved along, there must have been a very good chance of getting landed with an airman who was very seriously wounded - after all they'd literally fallen out of the sky!  If their plane had been hit, there was a good chance they would be injured too, and then how would you hide them?  They could hardly go into a grubby barn, and if nursed in the main house by inexperience people, their groans could hardly be concealed. It must have been a nightmare scenario.

My novel is now available from Kindle  

it is called 'The Secret'.