Tag Archives: new book

Cats and Books – what a combination!

How is it possible that our lovely summer has already slipped into Autumn? And this time it was even more of a shock because the glorious weather had just turned a whole lot cooler. Luckily, for me, my Grecian writing retreat was just around the corner.

And what a (re)treat! Our small writing group was unfortunately one down (Suzanne Goldring couldn’t make it), but Carol McGrath, owner of a property in the sun-drenched, stunning coastline of the Mani, was a great hostess to Gail Aldwin and me in spite of having recently undergone a major operation. The four of us have annually (when possible) come together to write in The Greek House, sight-see, eat delicious food and share wine, shop (difficult to resist the colourful clothes at bargain prices), and relax in the blissful warmth of a summer evening.

This time we went to an unusual concert in the mountains, given by three vibrant young women who played different instruments and sang in 28 languages. Their voices in perfect harmony were magical. With all this going on, you’d think we’d have no time left to write. Wrong! We managed several hours every day, and at four o’clock we’d meet for tea and homemade scones (by me!) and read out our chapters and critique them. It works like a dream. I wrote 11,000 words – a record in 7 days for me. No matter that I deleted at least a thousand when I was home. That’s all part of the writing process.

In August, I gave a talk at the University Women’s Club where I’ve been a member for over thirty years. The subject was some of the iconic buildings I’ve used for my settings in my novels. It was the first time I’ve ever used a projector and screen and although I’d practised under the instructions of author Alison Morton (also a member), who kindly put the slide show together, I was still nervous on the night.

Of course, technology sometimes acts up (not my fault, of course!) but gave the audience a few laughs – never a bad thing at a talk. I was surprised so few of the women (there were only two men in the audience) had been to Bletchley Park and Churchill’s Cabinet War Rooms, so I’m hoping my books on those subjects will inspire them to pay a visit.

One of the slides I showed was Longleat, near Bath. It’s been on the television several times lately but mostly commentating on the grounds and the history of the world-famous safari. However, during the war the safari didn’t exist. The Marquis of Bath was requested by the War Ministry to take in a private school called The Royal School for Daughters of the Officers of the Army. I read a memoir of one of the girls who attended there during the war. A spoilt and rebellious child, she was eventually expelled.

The Marquis also gave permission for the Americans to build an American military hospital in the grounds. Perfect! I now had an American doctor who would be the hero, working and living in a conglomeration of hurriedly built huts, and my heroine would be in the grand house as the librarian.

Throw the rebellious teen (they didn’t use the term ‘teenager’ in the war) into the mix and I had the fragments of a story which became The Wartime Librarian’s Secret, published last July. You can see how it appeals to cats as well as readers!

The penultimate building I showed was the club itself. I told them this is the setting I’ve chosen for my latest book, out next June. It’s called Wartime Secrets at the Mayfair Club: The Ladies’ Mayfair Club survived the Blitz – but can it survive betrayal?

Just days ago I wrote THE END on a very rough draft, but at least the story is down so I’m able to enjoy all the editing it needs before submission. This time I’m tiptoeing into spy-land and have discovered another piece of history – namely the British Union of Fascists – that I never realised was quite so widespread and so treacherous, and that if Oswald Mosley and his tens of thousands of supporters had been successful, they could have completely changed the outcome of the war.

* * *

If anyone is near Lewes, East Sussex on Saturday, 15th November, do come to a talk I’m giving in the library located at Styles Field, Friar’s Walk, 1.30 – 3pm and signing copies of The Wartime Librarian’s Secret. I would love to see you so please introduce yourself if you do. There will be a similar slide show to the one in the UWC and you’ll have the chance to see the last slide which is actually a video made especially for me showing the ultimate iconic building – where I write!
Until next time, happy reading.

Molly Green

New Cat, New Editor and New Book

I feel awful not having written anything on this blog since the beginning of the year. It’s been a very worrying time, owing to my sister, Carole, being dangerously ill whilst waiting for a heart operation. She’s finally had the surgery and is now back in her own home after five whole months away. I’m so relieved and happy to report that she is doing remarkably well and has recovered her independence.

However, I have some catching up to do in my writing, not only on the current work in progress, but here on my blog, so I do hope you are still around and reading this one. As the title suggests, life has to carry on whatever the difficulties.

Photo of Betsy the cat

Betsy

In January, the local rescue centre rang to see if I would be interested in a mature cat who came in over Christmas and needed a loving home. Of course, I said yes, as I missed my little Bella terribly. Already left with only one eye and lopped ears from tumours when she lived with her previous owner, Bella was diagnosed with cancer of the tongue. Going to sleep permanently was a release for her. Now, Betsy, a tabby, has come to live with me. She has the same gentle nature as Bella, but what a different character. She acts like she’s two instead of ten, always jumping and rushing and demanding. But by the sound of her purr when she’s on my lap, she loves being with me and I love having her.

In May, my editor rang to say she was leaving Avon HarperCollins and going alone as a freelance editor. I’ve had many different editors in the past decade. They’ve all been extremely professional as well as warm and friendly but it’s always a bit concerning to have to begin with a new editor as they play an important part in an author’s career. I shouldn’t have worried. I’ve met Billy, my new editor, on Zoom who comes across in the usual Avon style with enthusiasm and efficiency, so I’m hoping this will prove a good relationship for both of us.

The Wartime Librarian’s Secret PB coverMany people tell me that their summer holiday is the only time they manage to read, so I’d like to mention my new book, out on 17th July, called The Wartime Librarian’s Secret. This time, I’ve modelled the setting on the famous country house, Longleat, near Bath. I think some of its fame comes from the highly regarded safari park – in fact, I read in a recent travel article in the Telegraph about the best leisure parks in the country and Longleat won hands down as the overall winner. However, during the war the safari park didn’t exist. What did exist was a temporary military hospital in the grounds and therein lay a perfect foil to my heroine’s new place of work in the mansion itself. I won’t say anything further, but I hope this snippet has whetted your interest.

If you’ve only been to the Safari Park at Longleat, I urge you to walk round the stunning house, and even better if you can join a guided tour with one of the knowledgeable staff, where you’ll learn some fascinating historical details, some of which I’ve incorporated in this latest novel.

Happy reading throughout what I hope will prove a wonderful summer.

Molly

Changes on the horizon…

Photo of white cat called DougieWell, we’ve made it through grey January and already in foggy February. But as I write this and look out of my cabin window, I can see a part cloudy, part blue sky through which a weak sun is shining. But it’s enough to cheer me up, especially when we only have a few weeks before nature bursts into life. I’m hoping at the same time that Dougie, my rescued cat, will also burst into life. He’s been comatose practically all winter, sleeping 22 ¾ hours out of 24. I’m beginning to wonder if he’s part hedgehog.

This month, I will be completing on a property I’m in the process of buying in Ringmer, a village just outside Lewes – the town where my sister moved only months ago and loves. Although I won’t be moving until summer, I’m getting quite excited about beginning a new chapter in my life. I come from Norfolk originally but have lived in various parts of the Tunbridge Wells area for the last 40 years, after working in different countries abroad, so this is going to be a real change. But when I told Dougie we’re going to move he put his paw over his ear as if to say, ‘I like it here, thank you very much, Mummy.’

Beginning a new chapter leads me to update you on my new Bletchley Park series called The Bletchley Park Girls.I’m thoroughly enjoying writing them but my goodness, what a lot to learn. I’ve visited Bletchley Park four times during the last 20 years – once being last year and I’m due to go again at the end of this month. There are several questions I need answering, so I’m hoping I’ll get to talk to one of the historians who will hopefully be on hand. I need to take notes of the particular section of codebreaking work carried out in the Huts pertaining to my stories, and refresh my memory of the general layout of the Huts and buildings and lake to the Mansion. Then there are the books on the subject. You should see them all spread out on my cabin worktop and sofa, with some lurking on a bookshelf, not to mention a couple more that I’m rereading in the sitting room indoors. There are more than 20 on the go!

Summer Secrets at Bletchley Park comes out on 28th April, and I am chuntering towards the ending of a very rough first draft of A Winter Wedding at Bletchley Park, due to be published in November. And between now and then I should be well into the first draft of a third book, title yet to be agreed.

I’d better get cracking to meet those deadlines! See you next month

Molly Green

Looking forward to a happier 2022 and new books!

Well, it’s the start of a brand-new year. The vaccines are successfully battling Covid, including the new Omicron variant, thank goodness. I’m a ‘glass half full’ woman and feel sure that a little further into the year we’ll be able to live a much closer-to-normal life. How I’ve missed meeting friends at the cinema and theatre. Casual nights out we took for granted. I can’t wait to attend all of them again, but without the dreaded mask.

Nothing was more depressing on New Year’s Day than to see a thousand people at the magical New Year’s Concert in Vienna’s Musikverein hall all having to wear face masks to be admitted. The musicians of the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra only removed their masks they’d worn at every rehearsal for the big day itself. This is all a sensible precaution, but may the day soon come when we can see people’s faces and more importantly, their expressions.

The nights are drawing out! Pulling the curtains at four-thirty, you might think this sounds premature, but every day from now on we get an extra two minutes of daylight. By mid-February this rockets to a heady three minutes! And they add up. That’s already 24 minutes as I write this. And by the time my next book comes out in April we should at a rough guess be enjoying around four extra hours of daylight, speeded up by putting the clocks forward an hour at the end of March.

Talking about the next book, I have an exciting announcement to make for a brand-new series called: The Bletchley Park Girls. The first title is Summer Secrets at Bletchley Park, to be published by Avon HarperCollins on 28th April this year and the second title: A Winter Wedding at Bletchley Park follows in November, in good time for Christmas.

The two heroines couldn’t come from more differing backgrounds and each has her own problems. But the one thing they have in common is that they are determined to do their bit for  the war effort. At the start of the war in 1939, Dale Treadwell in Summer Secrets is a junior reporter on a London newspaper and Rosie Frost in Winter Wedding works in a factory in Norwich, Norfolk. Neither girl, along with practically every member of the public, has any knowledge of the secret goings-on in a certain mansion in Buckinghamshire – that is, until fate takes their hand and leads them to Bletchley Park.

I hope you’ll join these two valiant heroines as they struggle to crack the German and Italian codes as well as juggling family relationships and friends – not to mention secrets, betrayals and romantic suitors.

A Happy New Year to you all and see you next month!