Guest Blogger - Julie Hartley

Please give a very warm welcome to Julie Hartley. Julie's fantastic new book, Her Secret Soldier has just been released. Here's Julie to tell us more about it and how she came to write it. I’ve always been fascinated by the idea of forbidden love – love so strong that while common sense tells you to walk away, your heart compels you to do otherwise. Her Secret Soldier takes place in England in 1940. The life of the main character, Rose, is forever changed when she discovers a German spy in the ancient woodland behind her home. She should report him to the Home Guard, but under Britain’s new Treachery Act, this could lead to his execution. Walter is injured and helpless, and he swears he was forced into his mission. Rose shouldn’t believe him, but she’s lonely, trapped in a miserable life… …and she’s falling in love. Rose decides to trust her intuition, and she hides Walter in an abandoned cottage. Then she learns of his rendezvous with Otto, a German spy whose loyalty to Hitler is not in doubt. Otto will stop at nothing to advance Hitler’s cause, and he recruits Walter to help with an act of sabotage that could result in hundreds of deaths. Rose wonders if Walter could have been lying to her all along – and she must choose between loyalty to her country, or the life of the man she loves. The inspiration for Her Secret Soldier was Operation Lena, one of the most disastrous of Hitler’s campaigns. In September 1940, dozens of German spies were sent into Britain by parachute and rowing boat. They knew nothing of the country, and some didn’t even speak fluent English! History tells us that within days, all the spies were captured, but I wondered… how can we be so sure? Her Secret Soldier is a tale of forbidden love, treachery and espionage. It was released by Bookouture on 12th September for Kindle, as a paperback and as an audio book. Get your copy HERE

Julie Hartley is a creative writing teacher, retreat host, and the author of three previous books including The Finding Place , a novel for young readers. She is the co-founder of Centauri Arts, which offers creative workshops, and writing retreats in Mexico and Costa Rica. Julie was born in Lincolnshire but now lives in Toronto, Canada, with her husband and daughter. Her Secret Soldier, released by Bookouture, is now available on Amazon. Follow her author page on Facebook: @juliehartleywriter

Murder in the Countryside is out!

Phew, Murder in the Countryside is out and sporting jaunty litle bestseller flags all over the place. Thank you all so much for the wonderful reviews, messages and emails I've received. It is very much appreciated. You've probably also noticed that Murder in New York, the Christmas book that I wrote in our all too brief spell of hot weather is also up for preorder. I'm looking forward to meeting some of you at Ivybridge next week and Dartmouth is just over a fortnight. I've just started writing Murder at Highcliffe Hall which will be the next Miss Underhay adventure! I'm also close to finishing the first draft of the second in the new Secret Detectives Agency book. I am so excited for 2025 when I can share all of these with you. I know you'll love Jane, Arthur and Marmaduke the cat as much as I do. If you haven't yet got your copy of Murder in the Countryside remember you can read it on KU, listen on audio or stroke it lovingly as a paperback HERE