Thursday 5 August 2021

Paperback Publication Day! (of a very special book)

Hooray, I’m thrilled to announce publication day for my debut historical saga WARTIME WITH THE CORNISH GIRLS in paperback

The ebook and audiobook have been out since April, but the book in its physical form is out in bookshops now, and also in Tesco and Morrison’s supermarkets for a short spell. 

 

Browse This Title On Amazon UK

 

WARTIME WITH THE CORNISH GIRLS was an idea that came to me back in 2019 and felt a bit mad at the time, frankly. I'd never written a saga before, and had never really read one either, except for a few classics back in my youth. But I bought a few current titles to see how the genre had moved on since then, dashed off an outline for myself, and started to write ... all in the hope I could make a creditable fist of the job and find someone to publish the result!

Thankfully, several publishers were interested, but in the end I chose Avon Books, a brilliant HarperCollins publisher I have long wanted to write for, and they offered me a two-book contract to kick off a potential series, which was music to my ears!

This first book in the series is set in Cornwall during World War II, and centers around a top-secret communications and military base in seaside Porthcurno, which is constantly under threat from German bombers trying to pinpoint its location along the coast. 

My three female characters – Violet, an Eastender looking after her orphaned nieces; Eva, a chorus girl injured in a bomb blast; and Hazel, a Cornish housewife desperate to stop her teenage son from joining up – all end up together in Porthcurno, forming a bond of friendship that must see them through the dark and dangerous times ahead. 

 

By the way, WARTIME WITH THE CORNISH GIRLS is written under my new saga name, Betty Walker, and should be on sale in all good bookshops, plus some branches of Tesco and Morrison's supermarkets.

Pre-order sales have been strong, with over 700 Amazon reviews posted so far, and Kitty Neale, Sunday Times bestseller, has praised the book, saying: ‘A fascinating story, beautifully written, with interesting characters I really liked. A most enjoyable read!’ 

The sequel is CHRISTMAS WITH THE CORNISH GIRLS.

So, have a peek at this first book on Amazon UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Wartime-Cornish-Girls-first-uplifting/dp/0008400288

Also, find me as Betty Walker on Twitter: https://twitter.com/CornishGirls and on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CornishGirlsSagas