Today, I happily welcome Ms Hill, of whom is a debut war drama novelist, who has focused on Contemporary story-lines ahead of ‘While I Was Waiting’. This particular release whet a thirst of interest for me to read and thereby inspired this interview as I was unable to read the novel for the blog tour. Whenever this happens, I happily enquiry if an interview can be put together with the author and/or offer to let them feature a guest topic essay.

I was quite smitten with the idea for an interview, as I have a particular penchant for *war dramas* as you will be encouraged to see on my Story Vault by Genre! I have a sensitive heart when it comes to true crime & based on actual events war stories, and sensing this about myself, I have re-directed both my interests into two genres of whom I find effectively connect me with the heart & soul of their stories whilst giving me something to chew on at the same time. I am referencing my zest for Mystery & Suspense and Historical Fiction: War Dramas!

I am a reader who finds herself charmingly uplifted by the sensitivity writers are etching inside their war dramas and the compassionate way in which they are uplifting a very difficult time in our historical past (as we all share a timeline of History, even if we are on opposite sides of the ‘Pond’) to reflect both the dedication of the men and women who served whilst offering an insight into the life on the homefront that may or may not have been highlighted previously.

There is a strong sense of community and humanity, yielding to the dreams and desires of everyday citizens who suddenly found themselves consumed by war. These are stories that uplift our strengths and sometimes shine a light on our weaknesses, but mostly, the reason I champion reading war dramas as much as I do on Jorie Loves A Story is simply a re-direction to celebrate the authors who know how to write a convicting story-line and insert such wicked layers of depth straight out of our own Histories.

The second best way to understand our past and to understand the men & women who lived before us is to soak inside Historical Fiction as a way to cut to the quick on an emotional and psychological level of understanding verse picking up a non-fiction where you might get the bones of fact and data, but might not make an emotional connection to the era and the life of the persons your reading about. I personally love the extra layering stitched inside war dramas, and it was a pleasure to host an author who gave me back such a wonderful conversation!

I look forward to hearing your thoughts and now, here’s our conversation:

Tired of her life in London, freelance illustrator Rachel buys the beautiful but dilapidated Clematis Cottage and sets about creating the home of her dreams. But tucked away behind the water tank in the attic and left to gather dust for decades, is an old biscuit tin containing letters, postcards and a diary. So much more than old scraps of paper, these are precious memories that tell the story of Henrietta Trenchard-Lewis, a love lost in the Great War and the girl who was left behind.

Published By: Harper Impulse (@HarperImpulse)

an imprint of HarperCollinsUK

Formats Available: Paperback and Ebook

You mostly have written Contemporary Rom pieces dealing with modern life and situations which are anchoured to today’s audience. What inspired you to draft a completely new timeline of historical enquiry rooted in the unknown past and impacted by the Great War?

Hill responds: I love reading and writing rom-coms but always felt I had something else to offer too. A fascination with The Great War came down to me from my father. Like many families, mine had someone killed in World War 1. My great-grandfather died in 1915. I’m old enough to remember his elderly daughters talking about his death, so it doesn’t really seem so very long ago in history to me. I’m enthralled by the years from the 1860s until after the war. So much changed, so much technology came into use. It was a golden age for many but one which ended in an industrial war on an unprecedented scale. I always find it hard to look at photographs of happy young people pictured in the early twentieth century. They had no concept of what was to come. How could they? (And on a very shallow note, the clothes were gorgeous!) Read More