My first ever-historical novel was a Victorian Saga, but agents
told me there was no market for that era, unless you were an established
author. I loved the story and had no desire to change the period. However, The
Foyles Bookshop Girls novel was born from that disappointment. Alice is part of
the same family but a generation on.
The setting of the Foyles Bookshop for my novels came about
because of my love of books. I wanted one of my main characters to work in or
own a bookshop, and then the whole thing evolved from there. I am proud that I
turned a negative situation into a positive one and that Aria, Head of Zeus,
picked it up.
The shocking thing I did discover about myself was that I
knew an awful lot about World War Two but very little about the First World
War, so the research began. I bought and read umpteen books on World War One; I
visited the Imperial War Museum and libraries for information that had been put
on microfiche. What gave me the biggest urge to tell the women’s story and the
war work they did was listening to women talking on the BBC Podcasts about
working in the munitions factory and seeing images of the explosion in Silvertown.
The women were so matter of fact about it and the deaths that occurred due to
that work. That’s why in The Foyles Bookshop Girls At War, Molly had to go and
work there.
A similar thing happened with my latest novel, Christmas At
The Foyles Bookshop. I have been to Covent Garden in London so many times and
yet I didn’t know about the military hospital that was run solely by women. To
me this was an incredible feat for that time so it had to be included in my
novel.
I hope my books, albeit they’re fictional, are paying
homage, in a very small way, to the women at that time and what they went through.
BLURB:
With the war raging on, can there be peace, love and joy this
Christmas?
London, 1917. After her parents died in a tragic accident,
Victoria did everything she could to keep her siblings safe and off the
streets. Working at the Foyles Bookshop with her best friends is a dream come
true – but now the war has put everything she holds dear in danger.
With her brother fighting on the frontline, Victoria wants to do
her part. Little does she know that volunteering to spend time with injured
soldiers at Endell Street Military Hospital will reward her in ways she could
never have imagined. There are family secrets to uncover, along with love, once
lost but never forgotten.
This Christmas, all the Foyles girls want is their loved ones
back safe and sound...
The final heartwarming novel in the Foyles Girls trilogy, Christmas
at the Foyles Bookshop is perfect for fans of Daisy Styles and Rosie
Hendry.
Amazon UK: Buy Link
BIO:
Elaine
Roberts had a dream to write for a living. She completed her first novel
in her twenties and received her first very nice rejection. Life then got in
the way again until she picked it up again in 2010. She joined a creative
writing class, The Write Place, in 2012 and shortly afterwards had her first
short story published. Elaine and her extended family live in and around
Dartford, Kent and her home is always busy with children, grandchildren, grand
dogs and cats visiting.
Website: https://www.elaineroberts.co.uk/
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