I’m often asked where I get my ideas from, as I expect do
most authors. Mine can be something I’ve come across in my research; the
munitions factory explosion in The Foyles Bookshop Girls At War was exactly
that. It could also be an event or something I’m interested in that’s happening
now; it might even be a conversation I’ve had that has sparked something. The
idea then has to permeate with my setting. The West End Girls is based in 1914
London.
In 1914 most women didn’t have a voice, that’s what the
suffragettes were fighting for when the Great War started. The country was also
under threat of a general strike but when war was declared it all stopped so
the country could pull together. It was only after the war had finished it was
recognised that women had played a large role in keeping the country going.
In The West End Girls the main character, Annie, had a dream
she had held close since she was a child, but her father had other ideas for
her future. She was soon to learn there was a cost to having ideas of living
the life she wanted, and not doing what her family expected of her. When she
felt it was out of her reach her best friend, Rose, stood side by side with
her, encouraging her to move forward. Annie was fearful but couldn’t ignore
what was eating away at her so they left their village and got on a train to
London but she soon discovered nothing comes for free.
Thank you, Rachel, for
allowing me to be a guest on your wonderful Saga Saturday blog.
1914.
Growing
up on a farm in the country, Annie Cradwell has always dreamt
of singing on stage. So when she hears her friend Joyce has a room to spare in
London, she sets off with best friend Rose for an adventure beyond anything
they could have imagined.
In
London, Annie and Rose stumble into jobs at the Lyceum Theatre. Being a dresser
to capricious star Kitty Smythe wasn't exactly what Annie had in mind. But then
the musical director, Matthew Harris, offers her singing lessons. And Annie
starts to wonder – could this be her chance? Or is it all too good to be
true?
With
the threat of war in the air, everything is uncertain. Is there a place for
hopes and dreams when so much is at stake?
Annie,
Rose and Joyce are three girls with very different dreams – but the same great
friendship.
Amazon: The
West End Girls
Author 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 is very proud of The Foyles Bookshop Girls saga
trilogy, which her late husband encouraged her to write. She, and her extended
family, live in and around Dartford, Kent and her home is always busy with
children, grandchildren, grand dogs and cats visiting.
Amazon: Author
Page
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