Why I Write by Author Vicki Beeby

This week I’m featuring a good friend and fellow Apricot Plotter, Vicki Beeby. Author of some great books set in World War 2, her latest A New Start for the Wrens is set in glorious Orkney! I’ve included my own review at the end of the post. Today, Vicki is going to tell us why she writes …

Many thanks for hosting me on your blog, Morton.

A few weeks ago, I was interviewed by BBC Shropshire Radio about the local writing group I attend. As I’m not particularly eloquent (translation: I’m completely tongue-tied in most social situations) I prepared answers in advance to any questions I thought I’d be asked. But one question took me aback: ‘Why do you write?’ 

I can’t remember what I said after much umming and erring, and no amount of money will persuade me to listen to a recording, but I’ve thought about it a fair bit since then. The simple answer is that I’ve felt an urge to write ever since I learnt to read. Reading is my consuming passion, and from the first time I lost myself in a story, I’ve wanted to create my own stories, characters and worlds. But that’s not the complete answer. 

Writing is an excellent way to get into the minds of different people. I often find myself confused about why people say and do the things they do. Creating stories and characters helps me work out what makes people tick and how it feels to be like them. In particular I find myself wondering if I’d been born in a different time, to different parents or to a different social background, what would my life have been like? Writing about people from different backgrounds and from different periods of history is a way of exploring those questions.

Another reason is that the more I learn about the remarkable things women did during the war, the more I want to tell their stories. Until recently, films and books about the British involvement in the war have focused mainly on men. Although women were just as involved, whether single-handedly running their homes and caring for family, in the workplace or in the forces, what they did has been largely ignored.   I hope that in some small way my books can help to restore the central place women held in the war.

Thank you, Vicki – we could be sisters! I feel exactly that same as you about writing. Mx

About Vicki Beeby

Vicki Beeby writes historical fiction about the friendships and loves of service women brought together by the Second World War.

Her first job was as a civil engineer on a sewage treatment project, so things could only improve from there. Since then, she has worked as a maths teacher and education consultant before turning freelance to give herself more time to write.

In her free time, when she can drag herself away from reading, she enjoys walking and travelling to far-off places by train. She lives in Shropshire in a house that doesn’t contain nearly enough bookshelves.

To keep in touch with Vicki, you can use the following links:-

Twitter: @VickiBeeby

Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/VickiBeebyAuthor

Website: vickibeeby.co.uk

About A New Start for the Wrens

Are these newly trained Wrens ready to protect Britain’s coastline?

Following a humiliating experience involving the man she thought she’d marry, Iris Tredwick signs up to the Wrens in order to escape and find ‘the right sort’ of man to please her mother. After a bumpy start, Iris manages to befriend outspoken Mary and dreamer Sally as they are sent to their first posting – in Orkney. 

There she meets mechanic Rob, whose flirtatious nature both charms and confounds straight-laced Iris. Much more appropriate for her is local doctor Stewart, if only she felt the same spark for him as she does for Rob…

As Iris, Mary and Sally work to interpret signals from incoming ships, they realise the enemy is somehow one step ahead of their manoeuvres, dropping sea mines under the cover of darkness. Could there be a spy on the island? And can the Wrens prevent disaster striking before it’s too late?

A thrilling and lively Second World War saga for fans of Kate Thompson and Daisy Styles.

To buy the book you can use the following links:

Amazon: mybook.to/NewStartWrens

Apple Books: https://books.apple.com/gb/book/a-new-start-for-the-wrens/id1592079460

Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/gb/en/ebook/a-new-start-for-the-wrens

Google Play: https://play.google.com/store/books/details?id=gO1UEAAAQBAJ

Hive: https://www.hive.co.uk/Product/Vicki-Beeby/A-New-Start-for-the-Wrens–A-compelling-and-heartwarming-WW2-saga/26679752

Morton’s Review for A New Start for the Wrens

Loved This Book – More Please

5 Stars +

Loved this book! I binge read it as I wanted to know what would happen. The three main female characters Iris, Mary and Sally are all so easy to relate to and care about, as is Rob. Love the glimpses of Orkney and the poignant history. Cottoned on to the baddie early on and kept shouting warnings at my Kindle lol. Loved Vicki Beeby’s Ops Room Girls series and was worried this might not be as good but it is! Can’t wait for the next instalment in this series.

Thank you for visiting my blog – Morton S. Gray – Author. I hope you enjoyed this post. You can also find me on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

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The Girl on the Beach published by Choc Lit is available as a paperback and from all eBook platforms –Amazon Kindle, Apple iBooks, Kobo, Barnes and Noble and Google Play.