John, Ruby and Beatty discussed how they wanted to spend the day, and they decided to head for Radford Common with a picnic, and let John Junior toddle and play with a new kite sent from his grandparents in Canada.
A large bonfire stood proud on the common, and families gathered to share their stories. Ruby recalled the night the common gave her shelter, and of how she’d watched the city burn in the distance. John stood beside her with his arms around her shoulders.
The war had given her losses, gains and heartache, but today Ruby accepted the challenges of the future, and at last could envisage them settling into their new home, a new build planned for a plot of land on the outskirts of the city. A long discussion about space and the size of the house to be built on Eagle Street had made Ruby rethink her dream and accept real life. So long as she had her loved ones around her, it didn’t matter where they lived, providing it was still in the city. Bricks and mortar crumbled, but love in the Lester/ Shadwell-Clayton household stood firm.
THE END
If you enjoyed reading about Ruby and Tommy, you can find more books by Glynis Peters right here. Or in the US? Click here.
You will also love The Last Letter From Juliet by Melanie Hudson, a moving and powerful novel of friendship, love and resilience inspired by the brave women of WWII. Click here for the UK and here for the US.
And why not try The Secret Messenger by Mandy Robotham, a fascinating tale of the courage of everyday women in German-occupied 1940s Venice. Click here for the UK and here for the US.
Acknowledgements
To Charlotte Ledger, the incredible team at One More Chapter / HarperCollins (home and abroad), a huge thank you for putting up with my naïve questions, and for giving me another opportunity to write for the company. I cannot express how much this all means to me.
To my agent, Kate Nash. Thank you for standing beside me and urging me forward. From the day you handed me two chocolate hearts to seal the deal at the London Book Fair, I knew I’d made the right choice! Also, to Justin, thanks for the encouragement given when we met in London.
For Mum: This is me, Glynis Peters. The woman whom you rarely see when the edits are in, but still manages to nag you to do the right thing by your health from behind a closed door. Thanks for cheering me along. Love G x
To my dear friend and #1 fan, Kay Stamp.
This year you are fighting breast cancer. When I needed a female character who is feisty, determined, loving and courageous I thought of you. Ring the bell my lovely, ring the bell. X
To my children, their partners, and my grandchildren – you are amazing, incredible people, and I love you to the moon and back – and then some. X
To my close friends, you know who you are, and where you are in the world, thank you. Just when I needed you most …
To my readers, your support means everything to me. I am nothing without you, and I truly hope you enjoy Ruby’s story.
During my research process I read stories which touched my heart and humbled me. The strength and courage of the people during WWII must never be forgotten.
A Q&A with Glynis Peters
What was your inspiration for the book?
I was researching the London Blitz and came across the Coventry one. I’d never really taken in the story of Coventry and the devastation the city suffered during the war. The courage of the residents resonated with me to the point that I just had to write something. One of my character’s ‘spoke’ to me, and the rest became my last book, The Secret Orphan. I haven’t been able to stop reading about the place or the characters since!
Have you always wanted to be a writer?
I have. I loved writing essays, poetry and short stories at school, but I was born into an era of vocation or marry, so I chose nursing – and marriage …
Are any of the characters based on you or people you know? If so, which ones?
No. I never travel that path – you never know where it might lead! The characters are 100% fictitious.
How do you find time to write? And where do you write when you do?
I fit writing around caring for my elderly mother and with my husband now retired, we have a great work life balance which leaves me free to follow my career. My husband created a beautiful office for me within a spare bedroom. I also write in our static caravan. People watching for characteristics is part of the entertainment!
Do you have any advice for readers who want to follow in your footsteps and write their first novel?
Write it. Then find a way to develop it and ask two people from the writing / reading world to beta read for you. I value my editors, their suggestions often lead me down a far more exciting route, or I stick to my guns and maintain my voice, but either way, I value their input. Never give up on your dream. Mine came true when I was sixty-one and I didn’t expect a new career at that age. You never know who is watching you, so be yourself, avoid confrontation on social media, and build a platform with readers. Chatting and engaging with readers is a must, they help you grow.
What would you like readers to take away from your story?
A lasting memory of a character or scene. Just a little piece of the novel which gives them an emotional hit – be it a sad one or an uplifting one.
Who are your favourites authors and have they influenced your writing in any way?
I’ve always been a fan of Catherine Cookson and Barbara Erskine. They have different writing styles which I try, in some small way, to combine into my style by incorporating history, romance and family saga into each story.
If you could run away to a paradise island, what or who would you take with you and why?
Ah, I’d take my husband. We’ve been together forty-four years and he’s taller than me, great at DIY and cooking. I’d have someone to talk to, to make me a home and catch my fish! I’d also make sure he had my Kindle in his pocket!
Keep reading for an extract from Glynis’s international bestseller, The Secret Orphan …
CHAPTER 1
14th November 1940: Coventry, England.
Boom.
Boom.
The ground vibrated with each explosion. Unfamiliar sounds surrounded Rose Sherbourne as her body received blow after blow from displaced items of furniture. She jumped when shattering glass hit falling bricks, and everything around her crashed under their weight. Boom.
Another explosion, followed by the sound of metal hitting metal, echoed out around Rose’s ears and her breath came thick and fast. Through the opening of what was once the front room, a sudden blast of hot air blew both her and her mother off their feet. Rose’s body fell against something hard and a searing pain shot through her back. For a few seconds she could not see, and she blinked, only to feel fine dust fall on her cheeks and into her eyes yet again. She wiped it away with the back of her hand and prepared herself to scrabble upright.
Boom.
A wall fell around her and, unable to move both with fear and because something was pinning down her right leg, Rose took a moment to catch her breath. Above her an intense whistling sound screamed from the sky, followed by an eerie whooshing sound. A continuous whistle followed. Rose held her breath. The sound meant only one thing; another bomb would explode within seconds and all she could do was pray it was away from her home.
Boom.
The rest of the wall fell, and she watched helplessly as brick after brick fell to the floor and her mother’s body bounced as it was forced into the air for a second time. Rose tried to move but she felt a crushing sensation, a gripping tightness across her chest. She tried to struggle free from the bricks pinning her to the ground. Her chest hurt each time she tried to cough free the dust she’d inhaled when she hit the floor.
A piercing sound screeched above and once again the planes dropped their unwelcome packages.
Thud.
Thud.
One by one.
Two by two.
Rose counted them down.
One by one.
Two by two.
<
br /> She could hear return fire and engines drifting off into the distance.
The sky fell silent.
The enemy were heading back to wherever they’d come from and a stunned Rose blinked away the dust, trying to make sense of what had happened. Indescribable noises came from above and she raised her eyes skyward and saw a large bright moon taunting her with its white light. There was no roof.
Bombed. The bombs had hit her home.
Rose’s ears tingled inside and with each noise she felt a strange vibration along her jawline. With focus upon her face she sensed heat. Her cheeks burned as if it was a hot summer’s day.
There’d been a thick frost all day, but it did nothing to suppress the heat from the raging flames nearby. With relief, Rose noted they were not close enough to burn her, but they were fierce enough to make her skin tingle and sweat.
She set her mind to where she lay and which room she was in when the bombs had hit. She needed to work out an escape route before she suffocated. Fear raged through her tiny body, and a sense of loneliness overwhelmed her. She lay back with exhaustion and as she focused upon the light of the moon, questions raced around her mind.
Why hadn’t Mummy taken her to the shelter when they heard the siren sound out its warning?
Why, instead of running to safety like they usually did, did Mummy hum Rose’s favourite piano piece – Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata – and twirl around as if showing off a new dress? She’d acted excited – strange.
With a sob, Rose remembered how her mother had screamed at her to keep playing, and how her voice had growled it out with such a fierce urgency it had frightened Rose. When Rose pleaded for them to go to the shelter her mother cuffed her around the ears.
Rose’s body started to tremble until she thought her limbs would never stop no matter how hard she tried to control them. She tried to shut out the screams she could hear around her. High pitched wails of wounded neighbours. The endless shouts and pleas from the street, the screams of other children calling for their parents. Not everyone had made it to the shelters, or if they had, the shelters had failed to protect them. Either way, Rose drew no comfort from knowing she was not alone with her struggle.
She tried to turn her head away from her mother’s contorted face. Rose knew she was dead. A tear trickled down the side of Rose’s face. She was alone.
About the Author
Glynis Peters lives in the seaside town of Dovercourt. In 2014, she was shortlisted for the Festival of Romance New Talent Award.
When Glynis is not writing, she enjoys making greetings cards, Cross Stitch, fishing and looking after her gorgeous grandchildren.
Her debut novel, The Secret Orphan, was an international bestseller.
@_GlynisPeters_
www.facebook.com/glynispetersauthor/
glynispetersauthor
Also by Glynis Peters
The Secret Orphan
About the Publisher
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The Orphan Thief Page 25