Wednesday, 14 October 2015
A Kestrel Rising by S A Laybourn
Release Date: 15th September 2015
Publisher: Totally Bound Publishing
Publisher: Totally Bound Publishing
Genres: Historical Fiction
Research – So much
good stuff!
SA Laybourn
One of the things I enjoyed most when writing A Kestrel Rising was doing the research.
There is so much information available about World War Two that it was hard not
to stick every interesting bit I found into the story. I had to discipline
myself for sanity’s sake otherwise I would’ve lost myself in the research. What
I ended up doing:
1.
I looked at the ‘big picture’ first. I made a
list of important dates, e.g the day Britain entered the war, the dates of the
Battle of Britain, etc. This gave me the basic framework for the story.
2.
Searched for the most suitable RAF squadrons.
Firstly, I wanted squadrons based at airfields that I’m familiar with because
I’m most comfortable setting stories in places that I’ve at least visited. Then
I had to find out what squadrons stayed for a long period at those airfields.
It wasn’t uncommon for squadrons to be moved around the country every few
months. That would’ve made it even more difficult for lovers to meet up.
3.
Once I’d decided on ‘my’ squadrons, I looked at
their roles and the significant events they were involved in. That information
gave me the solid framework I needed for the storyline. I knew where to put my
characters and what would happen to them.
4.
The small things. It’s not just about the big,
significant events, but also about the little every day details. For instance,
what songs would people have danced to. For that, I found a web site that
listed the top forty songs for a given year. To immerse myself, I happened to
discover a digital radio station that plays songs from that era and I listened
to it while I wrote. Another invaluable resource was the BBC Archive, The Peoples’ War. This
is a collection of personal stories, told by everyone from military personnel
to farmers and housewives.
5.
My dad:
If I needed to know if there was a bus service from A to B, he was able
to find out. I needed to know what damage a Spitfire and pilot could sustain
and still make it back to a safe airfield. Dad has a friend who restores war
planes for a living so he was able to ask what would work. Plus, he read every
chapter as I wrote it and soon let me know if there were any mistakes.
6.
See the planes, touch the planes: When I wrote
the first draft, I was living in Arizona. The city I worked for had a small
airport and, during the winter months held fly-ins once a month. So, along with
a very tasty pancake breakfast, I was able to see a Mustang in flight and get
close enough to touch it—that was magical.
I did get a little
carried away when I wrote the first draft especially with material from one web
site devoted to the 4th
Fighter Group . My beta reader commented that some bits of the book
reminded her of men sitting around and talking about car engines. That first
draft weighed in at 120,000 words and I ended up shaving quite a bit off! I hope that I’ve managed to hit the right
balance and create a story that readers will enjoy.
War puts courage and love to the test.
It’s 1939, a lone Spitfire roars over
her family home, and Ilona Lowe, entranced by its grace and power, finally
knows her place in the fight against Hitler. She joins the Women’s
Auxiliary Air Force, is stationed at RAF Catterick and embarks on an all-too-brief
love affair with a Bleinheim bomber pilot who is killed during the Battle of
Britain.
Heartbroken, but determined to carry on,
Ilona returns to active duty where she encounters Francis Robson. He’s
arrogant—some would even say reckless—and another pilot. Yet he’s worth the
risk.
Their love isn’t easy. Francis harbors
jealousy about her former lover while Ilona’s posting at an RAF bomber base
feeds her nightmares about Francis’ safety. She can see the escalation of
stakes as his missions grow ever more dangerous, the enemy more desperate.
Ilona must put her courage to the test because she knows that loving Francis
means letting him let him fight on, regardless of the terrible price they both
may pay.
General Release Date: 13th October 2015
Excerpt from A Kestrel Rising:
“ACW Lowe, the two-one-nine crews need taking out to their planes. I
take it you can drive a bus?”
“Yes, Corporal Harris, sir.” Ilona
saluted the depot corporal, hoping that the bus would be easy to drive,
although she believed her driving instructor at RAF Penrhos when he’d told her
that she would be able to drive anything.
“Excellent, Lowe. Off you go, then. The
men will be waiting outside the briefing room.”
“Yes, sir,” she gathered up her
gloves and fastened her jacket. One of the advantages of being a driver, she’d
learned, was that it was acceptable for girls to wear flight overalls and the
warm, sheepskin lined jackets that the aircrew wore. Catterick in January was not
a hospitable place when the east wind roared off the North Sea and over the
moors.
Ilona hurried toward the garage,
found the bus—an elderly Bedford—and managed to start the engine at the first
attempt. She backed it out of the shed and headed for the briefing room. It had
taken her a few days to find her way around the huge airfield. She still could
not get used to the bustle and scarcely contained chaos of the place.
After one wrong turn, Ilona pulled
up in front of the briefing room. A small crowd of aircrew waited at the front
of the building. She opened the door and stared straight ahead while they piled
on, chattering among themselves. A few breathy wolf whistles broke through the
murmured conversations and a distinctly Scottish person observed, “This wee
driver is far bonnier than old hatchet face.”
Ilona’s cheeks burned and she dared
a glance in the rear view mirror, wondering who the culprit was. She put the
bus in gear and headed toward the runway. Conversation behind her was quiet and
if they were still commenting on their new driver, Ilona did not hear them. She
stopped by the first plane and opened the door to let the three-man crew file
out. They thanked her cheerfully and headed toward their plane. She worked her
way along the row, swarming with ground crew, until only two crews remained.
The final two aircraft were quite close to each other and she halted between
them and waited for her last passengers to file off. They gathered their gear
and walked along the narrow gangway. One by one, they clambered down the steps
saying thank you and goodbye as they went.
“Bye now, lassie.” The last man
departed, turning back to smile at her. The cold wind lifted his fair hair.
“See you later, God willing.”
Blushing, she smiled back. “Goodbye,
sir.” She had found her culprit.
Buy link for A
Kestrel Rising: https://www.totallybound.com/book/a-kestrel-rising
About SA Laybourn:
S A Laybourn lives in Wiltshire and loves it. She's partial
to gin and tonic, loves to cook and watches cookery programmes when she's not
working, writing or reading. She writes m/m erotic romance as S A Meade.
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