My Favourite Season by Vicki Beeby

As promised, Vicki Beeby joins us this week to talk about her favourite season. Christmas For The Bomber Girls, book 3 in Vicki’s Bomber Command Girls Series was published by Canelo Saga on 10 October 2024 and I’m including my review of this great book at the end of the post. Over to Vicki …

Thank you so much, Morton, for inviting me back on your blog to chat about my favourite season. I should start by saying that I don’t really have a favourite. Or, rather, my favourite is the season I happen to be in. In spring I love to see the flowers, blossom and leaves appearing; I enjoy the warmth and long days of summer and, as someone who grew up in the Chilterns, I firmly believe that there is no more beautiful sight than a beech wood in autumn. But even though I love a good moan about the cold and dark, I can’t deny that I love the winter too.

There’s so much to enjoy about winter: frost patterns on the windows; the smell of woodsmoke; going for walks on crisp sunny days. And the bonus for someone as fair skinned as me is that I don’t have to smother myself in sunblock! But the best part is those long winter evenings when it’s too dark to go out so I can curl up with a good book and not feel guilty about staying in.

But the thing I most enjoy about winter is Christmas and the whole festive season. There’s something about the scent of a real Christmas tree and seeing colourful fairy lights on a dark night that feels truly magical, and it’s a feeling I always try to capture in my books. These days, of course, having a book out at this time of year is an extra thrill, and I have a new book that was published last month – Christmas for the Bomber Girls.

Of course, as my books are set during WWII, I can also go to town on the contrast between the hope of Christmas and the dark times my characters are enduring. I have to confess to really putting my characters through the mill in this one! Pearl is especially suffering as her husband has gone missing in action, and so she throws herself into preparations for the RAF Fenthorpe Christmas dance to keep herself occupied while she waits for news. She has her friends to support her and also her grandmother, Deedee, who is afraid that coming to Fenthorpe will reveal secrets that she would rather stay hidden.

What’s the only thing better than writing Christmas books? Reading them! I love stocking my kindle with Christmas books and then reading them through January to keep the festive feeling alive for a few extra weeks.

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.

Website: vickibeeby.co.uk

Facebook page: facebook.com/VickiBeebyAuthor

About Christmas for the Bomber Girls

With the men missing in action, can the Bomber Girls find a way to bring them home?

Pearl, Thea and Jenny fling themselves into making Fenthorpe as festive as it can be, looking forward to the Christmas dance. Disaster strikes when Pearl’s husband, Greg, crashes behind enemy lines and is reported missing.

Pearl and Thea’s grandmother, Deedee, immediately travels to Lincoln to support her granddaughter. But Deedee has a surprising – and troublesome – connection to Fenthorpe. Can the girls uncover her secrets to help their grandmother find new romance?

And can Greg evade capture and survive in enemy-occupied Holland to make it home for Christmas?

It’s never too late to fall in love in this heartwarming Second World War saga, perfect for fans of Soraya Lane, Kate Thompson and Lizzie Page.

Purchase links:

Apple Books and Amazon: mybook.to/CFTBG

Kobo: kobo.com/gb/en/ebook/christmas-for-the-bomber-girls

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Morton’s Review of Christmas For The Bomber Girls

It was a joy to be back with the familiar Bomber Girl series characters.

There were several strands to this story, which mainly centred around Deedee, the grandmother of Pearl and Thea. I enjoyed the revelations of Deedee’s past which inevitably impacted the present and the ongoing stories of Pearl, Thea and Jenny.

The background tension associated with Pearl’s husband, Greg going missing on a flight over Europe and its impact on Pearl and her relationships with those around her, made me think about how many people, including in my own family, must have struggled day to day with similar lack of information and confusion in WW2.

I was fascinated by the inventiveness required in the war to provide festive cheer with limited resources.

Vicki Beeby has once again skilfully produced a novel which is easy to read, full of interest and evoked many emotions in response to the story. I am looking forward to the next book in this series already.

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Other Books by Vicki Beeby (All highly recommended by Morton!)