The Inspiration For My Bomber Command Novels by Vicki Beeby

My guest this week is Vicki Beeby, author of some wonderful books set in World War Two, the latest being The Girls of Bomber Command which was published by Canelo on 9 November 2023. Vicki is going to tell readers about the inspiration behind her Bomber Command series and in particular her character Pearl …

It’s lovely to be back on your blog, Morton. Thank you for inviting me!

A question writers commonly get asked is where we get our ideas from, so I thought I would describe the thought processes that gradually turned into my first book about Bomber Command WAAFs.

I’ve long wanted to write a book based around a heroine who is a radio telephone operator in the WAAF, thanks to the film A Matter of Life and Death. The opening scene of the film features a bomber pilot whose plane is on fire, his crew being either dead or bailed out. Although he doesn’t have a working parachute, he’s decided to jump to escape the fire. Before he jumps he sends out a radio message which is answered by June, a USAAF radio telephone operator, and they talk, both thinking he’s about to die. It’s a heart-breaking scene, which has stayed with me for years.

When I was researching the WAAF for The Ops Room Girls, I read a memoir, Keeping Watch by Pip Beck, who recounts her years as a radio telephone operator in Bomber Command. The passages that described her role reminded me of June in A Matter of Life and Death, and so I made notes of a few story ideas to return to once I’d finished The Ops Room Girls. What I didn’t have at that time was the right character to drive the story forward, and as it turned out, I wrote five other books before starting my Bomber Command series, so you can see how long I have to mull over some ideas before turning them into books!

When I was coming to the end of my Wrens series, I starting to think about characters for a new series, and Pearl Cooper appeared fairly early on. As I jotted down some ideas it occurred to me that Pearl was a little older than my other heroines (28 at the start of The Girls of Bomber Command) and was over-protective of her younger sister as a result of losing both parents at a very young age.

Planning a story is all about asking a series of ‘what if’ questions, and the first question that occurred to me with Pearl was: ‘What if this over-protective character ends up on a Bomber Command station with a high casualty rate?’ That premise sparked loads of ideas, and I knew I had finally found the right character to be my Bomber Command R/T operator. Most of Pearl’s story arc stems from that question, and I have to admit I had fun torturing poor Pearl by putting her loved-ones through the wringer and forcing her to confront her shortcomings.

All this is a very long-winded way of saying that while I usually have lots of ideas simmering in the back of my mind, I need a character who’s right for a particular idea before I can flesh out a story. So as long as I can keep on thinking up characters that inspire me, I’m going to carry on writing their stories!

About Vicki Beeby

Vicki Beeby is a saga author who writes 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, an education consultant before she turned freelance to give herself more time to write.

She is published by Canelo and represented by Lina Langlee of The North Literary Agency. She was a finalist for the RNA Romantic Saga award in 2021 and won it in 2023.

Website: vickibeeby.co.uk

Facebook page: facebook.com/VickiBeebyAuthor

Instagram: @vickibeebyauthor

About The Girls of Bomber Command

With an enemy in their midst, can they still protect their fighters in the skies?

Pearl has given up on her dreams of being a journalist after being denied a promotion because of her gender. Joining the WAAF as a radio telephone operator for Bomber Command, Pearl’s new job at RAF Fenthorpe serves two purposes – providing an income for her grandmother, and keeping a close eye on her younger sister, Thea, an instrument repairer at another Lincolnshire bomber station.

Pearl befriends Met WAAF Jenny as well as Australian pilot Greg, who she guides home safely during an emergency. Pearl’s journalism background doesn’t go to waste, however – a series of thefts from pilots rekindles her investigative fire and she is soon caught up in the mystery.

But when all signs point to the perpetrator being her sister, she finds herself up against the clock to prove her sister’s innocence…

A captivating and heartwarming WWII saga for fans of Daisy Styles and Johanna Bell.

Purchase link: mybook.to/GOBC

Other books by Vicki Beeby:

Morton’s Review of The Girls of Bomber Command by Vicki Beeby publication date 9 November 2023 – Five Stars

Vicki Beeby has done it again!

I enjoyed her last two WW2 series about The Ops Room Girls and The Wrens, but I loved the first in this new series about The Girls of Bomber Command.

A poignant subject, Beeby comments in her notes that the RAF Bomber Command had one of the highest casualty rates of any Allied unit during the Second World War and yet the author manages to portray this sensitively in a very enthralling read.

I loved Pearl, who reminded me of myself as she tries to look after her younger sister and strives to find her own place in the world whilst staying true to her aspirations. Greg has to deal daily with the thought that he might not survive the next bombing mission and that colours how he lives his life.

The author’s notes on the research undertaken to inspire and also to make this story authentic were fascinating.

I can’t wait for the next book in the series.

Thank you for visiting Morton S. Gray’s blog. For those of you who haven’t yet read any of my books yet, the good news is that all of the six published titles are currently only 99p as eBooks or available free on Kindle Unlimited.

I also hope to have news of a new addition to The Secrets of Borteen Bay series shortly.