When I first started writing WW2 sagas, I was told by an
agent that publishers were only interested in stories set in large cities.
Having grown up in the Norfolk countryside I was initially at a loss, because I
didn't have the personal experience or family history of city living to fall
back on, but I did have determination and the ability to do research well
thanks to my science career. So, I started my quest to find the story of women
whose wartime service in a city had been overlooked by the more famous roles
and found the answer with the ambulance crews of the London Auxiliary Ambulance
Service.
The East End Angels series was born and now after four books is
complete.
With the East End Angels' story finished, I
suggested to my publisher that I write a new WW2 series based on an idea that
I'd had for several years, only this one was set on my home turf in the Norfolk
countryside - and to my delight they said yes because they wanted something
different from the sagas which were set in cities!
Working on this new series is
giving me a chance to explore women's life in the countryside during wartime,
which was different in many ways to that lived by the women in cities, and as
always, I like to look for the stories that have been forgotten and overlooked.
In the first book of the series, A Mother's Heart, the main character,
Marianne, is an evacuee, but not one that you might immediately imagine, she’s an
expectant mother, and it's through her that I want to tell the story of the
women who left the cities to have their babies in the peace of the countryside.
The arrival of expectant mothers
in rural villages caused quite a stir, and it's been great fun to show how the
locals reacted to these women and how groups like the W.I. worked hard to make
them welcome and incorporate them into village life, whilst doing their best to
harvest fruit to make jam, knitting socks for the troops and keeping the home
fires burning.
I’m so much looking forward to
sharing all the new characters with readers and hope they enjoy meeting them
and getting to know them, as well as they did Winnie, Frankie and Bella in the East
End Angels. There is a connection between the two series as Thea, one of
the main characters in A Mother’s Heart, is an old friend of Station
Officer Steele, who, with the girls, will be seen again in the second book of
the series which I’m writing now.
Blurb of “A Mother’s Heart”
Pregnant Marianne Archer is evacuated from London
to the beautiful Norfolk countryside - but the villagers are expecting to house
children!
Thea wants to welcome more people to Rookery House
- the rambling five-bedroom farmhouse is too big for just herself, especially
in wartime. But when Marianne arrives, Thea quickly realises that she has her
own secrets.
The ladies of Rookery House are fighting their own
battles on the Home Front, but the community will be drawn together to protect
their own.
“A Mother’s Heart” is
now available to pre-order at Amazon https://www.amazon.co.uk/Mothers-Heart-Norfolk-Rosie-Hendry-ebook/dp/B07YD6TW8Z/ref=sr_1_12?qid=1572375108&refinements=p_27%3ARosie+Hendry&s=books&sr=1-12
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About Rosie:
Rosie
Hendry lives by the sea in Norfolk with her husband and two children, chickens
and a snake.
Listening
to her father’s tales of life during the Second World War sparked
her interest in this period and she’s especially intrigued by how women’s’
lives changed during the war years. She loves researching further, searching
out gems of real-life events which inspire her writing.
Website www.rosiehendry.com
Twitter @hendry_rosie
Facebook Rosie Hendry
Books
Thanks for having me come visit, Rachel.
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