‘This season is going to be full of surprises…’
~ A Christmas Wish for the Shipyard Girls
A Christmas Wish for the Shipyard Girls is the ninth instalment of the Sunday Times bestselling series by Nancy Revell and was just published October 1st with Arrow.
These books were inspired by Nancy Revell’s own close family links to the Sunderland shipyards and her campaign to get the brave women who worked on the shipyards during WWII recognised for their history changing service.
It is a pleasure to be joining this rather Christmassy 🎄 tour today with a wonderful guest post from Nancy entitled ‘A Day In My Writing Life‘, so I do hope you enjoy.
[ About the Book ]
Sunderland, 1943:
As Christmas approaches in the shipyards, everyone is hoping for a little magic…
Helen would love to find the courage to tell the dashing Dr Parker of her true feelings for him. But how can she when he clearly has eyes for someone else?
More than a year has passed since Bel’s wedding to sweetheart Joe. She knows she has much to feel thankful for and yet there is still one burning desire which she cannot ignore.
And as Polly grows with child, she hopes against hope for a safe delivery – and that her husband Tommy can soon return from the front line to meet their new arrival.
There will be storms to weather, but guided by their strength and friendship there is still hope for each of the shipyard girls that their Christmas wishes will come true.
Guest Post
‘A Day In My Writing Life’
by Nancy Revell
One of the most common questions authors get is what their day job is actually like. In all honesty, a day in my writing life is honestly quite boring! Well, it certainly is for everyone else around me as I shut myself away in my office, immerse myself in the world of The Shipyard Girls, and write.
When I’m in the thick of a book, I aim to get around 2,000 words down a day. But the whole day won’t just be spent on that – time will also be spent proofreading what I wrote the previous day, as well as drafting out what’s going to happen next.
I can sometimes spend too much time researching and have to force myself to be disciplined to actually write. I’m always reminding myself that the subject I’m looking into will only form a very small part of the actual book, so as not to get too drawn into a particular subject, no matter how interesting it might be.
I try to start writing as early as I can. Like most people, I’m so much fresher and on the ball in the morning. At around one to two o’clock I usually hit what I call ‘brain drain’.
Like most of the population, my daily routine has changed a little during these Covid-times. Whereas previously I would have gone for a swim, since lockdown I’ve swapped swimming for walking. It not only wakes me up but gives me some much-needed fresh air. And as I live just a few minutes’ walk away from the beach and the North Sea, it is definitely fresh air that I get!
Even if I don’t feel like it, I try and force myself out that front door because I know it pays dividends – not just for my mental and physical well-being, but because I often get the best story ideas when I’m freed from my screen and my mind can wander.
I’ll then go back to my office and do another couple of hours, although this time is generally spent drafting out the next scene and looking further along the storyline. I do have a rough idea of plot when I start a book, but it’s not terribly detailed. I tend to go with the flow. This can, however, be a little nerve-wracking as I’m never entirely sure what’s going to happen next. Just life real life, I guess.
By then it’s usually time for dinner with hubby, a catch up on the news (as a former journalist I still need my daily fix of current affairs) and then I like to escape into a good film or box set. If anyone thinks the life of a novelist is glamourous, please, take it from me, it isn’t! I’m normally heading for bed at ten.
[ Bio ]
Nancy Revell is the pen name of writer and journalist Amanda Revell Walton, who has worked for the national press for the past 25 years, providing them with hard-hitting news stories and in-depth features. She has also worked for just about every woman’s magazine, writing amazing and inspirational true life stories.
Nancy Revell is spearheading a campaign to honour the real women of the Sunderland shipyards in her home town with a new public statue that will be displayed within the historic Sunderland Shipyards. Nancy has worked closely with the Sunderland City Council and the Sunderland Soroptimists, a worldwide volunteer service organization for women, and after putting out a call on her own social media channels, Nancy was approached by local artist Rosanne Robertson who has been commissioned to create the statue that will be unveiled later this year.
Sunderland boasted the largest shipyard in Europe during WWII, and produced a quarter of Britain’s merchant shipping at the time. When the men went away to war, the courageous Shipyard Girls took up the back breaking work building ships for the British Navy. Due to its size, the Sunderland Shipyards were a key target of Hitler’s Blitzkreig, making the work not only backbreaking but incredibly dangerous. Historians have estimated that without the courageous women working in Sunderlands’ shipyards during the war, WWII could very likely have been lost due to lack of ability to transport troops, provisions and ammunition.
Twitter ~ @arevellwalton
