Charlotte Betts

The Great War was on a scale that hadn’t been seen in living memory. It tore families apart, forcing the men into the great mincer of the war machine and spitting some of them out at the other end. Nearly a whole generation of men was lost and those that did return home would never be quite the same again.

Many of us have been told stories of family members who served in WWI and the difficulties and privations they faced. Many of these ordinary men rose to the challenges of war to became heroes. Both my grandfathers may be counted amongst them.

An insight into my grandfather’s military service with a Searchlight Unit in WWI.

Researching your historical novel is fascinating but it’s all too easy to get lost in your chosen historical period so that you never actually begin to write the story. This doesn’t matter if your hobby is finding out about history but, if you’re working to a publisher’s deadline, you will have to discipline yourself to know when to stop.

I’m thrilled to reveal that I’ve signed a contract for three new books set in Italy with Little Brown Book Group for their Piatkus imprint.