This week I’m pleased to welcome Luisa A. Jones to my blog as she shares with us an extract from and some background to her recently released novel Before the Mountain Falls, which was published by Storm Publishing on 19 March 2026.
Hi Morton, and thank you for inviting me to your blog today. It’s a pleasure to be here.
I’d like to share an extract from my new WW2 novel, Before the Mountain Falls, which was published by Storm Publishing on 19th March 2026.
Like your wonderful Borteen Bay series, my historical novels are all set around one fictional town.
Before the Mountain Falls begins in London in 1939, with Norma Sparrow, a pregnant young woman, being jilted on her wedding day. After finding out her fiancé has been arrested for murder, she takes up the chance to start afresh by pretending to be a “respectable” married woman and leaving London as an evacuee. She ends up billeted in Pontybrenin, my fictional Welsh town, with the Powell family.
Emrys Powell is a strict religious minister who is fighting his own battle against the war encroaching on his family’s mountain home. Although he and Norma clash, she finds friendship with Emrys’s wife Miriam and son Aneurin. Soon, however, Norma finds herself caught between the safety of her false identity and a love that demands the one thing she can’t risk giving: the truth.
In this extract from the book, Norma has joined the Powells on a walk up the mountain, and they’ve stopped for a picnic on the way to the family farm. As a city girl born and bred, she’s never experienced this kind of countryside walk before, and is surprised by the scenery that opens up before her.
***
Time slowed, her heart temporarily skittering to a halt as she opened her eyes wide to take it all in. It was extraordinary. Nothing she’d ever seen was so beautiful. Miles and miles of fields spread out below, lining the space between them and the more rugged peaks silhouetted on the distant horizon. Although the grass up here was coarse and pale, lower down in the valley were patches of vivid emerald, edged with darker lines of hedgerows. Here and there were knots of farm buildings, and to the south a larger cluster of houses and factory chimneys that must be Pontybrenin, with the high winding wheel of a coal mine peeping over them beyond. She felt like a giant, or a boy with a train set, gazing down on a world made tiny.
“Well, I never.” She blinked, realising the Powells were all looking at her.
A smug smile played at Aneurin’s mouth. Miriam looked pleased, as if Norma was a child who had said something clever. Even Emrys wasn’t scowling, for once. He nodded, as if acknowledging the effect the landscape was having on her, then pulled a packet of sandwiches from his knapsack. Lowering his chin and closing his eyes before unwrapping them, he murmured a brief prayer of thanksgiving.
“Heavenly Father, we thank you for this place, for its beauty and peacefulness. We thank you for each other and for this food. Bless it, and the hands that prepared it, and all of us as we eat. In Jesus’s name. Amen.”
Automatically, Norma joined the others in murmuring “Amen”. Had Emrys really meant it when he included her in his thanks? He didn’t even like her.
Her throat felt full, making it hard to swallow the mouthful of cheese sandwich she’d bitten into. Inexplicably, she found herself having to blink away tears. Stop taking on so, she told herself. He was a minister. He’d have included anyone in that prayer who’d happened to be with him. It was his job. He’d probably pray for blessings on Hitler himself if he was sitting with him on this slope looking at that view.
“I wish I was a painter or a photographer,” she said once she’d finally managed to swallow her sandwich. “It would be lovely to be able to capture that view and look at it any time I need reminding.” She shook her head, unable to express her sense of pure and overwhelming contentment. Her limbs felt pleasantly heavy now that she was sitting down. Her feet and lungs had stopped hurting, and thanks to the tea her mouth no longer felt parched.
Beside her, Aneurin nodded, his green eyes as dreamy as she guessed her own must be as they gazed out at the view.
***
The story of Moel Carnau, my fictional mountain in Before the Mountain Falls, was inspired by the real-life eviction of fifty-four families from the Welsh mountain of Mynydd Epynt in 1940. As part of my research, I visited Mynydd Epynt and went for a walk, relishing the far-reaching views as Norma does in the story. It was great to be able to look at my photographs and remember that day when I wrote this scene. I hope I’ve succeeded in capturing how beautiful the Welsh scenery is.
Photos above of Mynydd Epynt from my research trip.
About Luisa A. Jones
Luisa A. Jones is a Welsh author of captivating, emotional fiction exploring the “messy truths” of the human condition through characters readers root for from the first page. A graduate of Royal Holloway, University of London, with a background in Classical Studies, she draws inspiration from history to uncover the “hidden” stories of ordinary people.
Luisa is a member of the Romantic Novelists’ Association, the Society of Authors, and the Historical Writers’ Association. She was shortlisted for the RNA’s 2024 Elizabeth Goudge Trophy. Her historical romances have established her reputation for evocative period storytelling.
When she isn’t writing, Luisa and her husband love to explore Europe in “Gwynnie,” their 1974 Volkswagen camper van.
To keep in touch with Luisa you can use the following links:-
Website/Social Media Links:
https://www.facebook.com/Luisa-A-Jones-232663650757721/
https://www.instagram.com/luisa_a_jones_author/
About Before the Mountain Falls
She fled to survive. She lied to belong. The truth could shatter everything.
1939. Norma knows what the world does to women in her position. Pregnant, unmarried… abandoned. And when the man who promised to marry her is arrested for murder, she has only one option left: run.
A borrowed wedding ring. A fake name. A one-way ticket to Wales. Mrs Finch never existed before that train journey, but now she’s Norma’s only chance at survival.
The remote valley of Pontybrenin should be her hiding place. Instead, even as the world teeters on the brink of war, it becomes the first place Norma’s ever felt seen. Billeted with a stern church minister and his family, she finds friendship, family and a love that makes her want to stop running.
But every day she stays is another day someone might discover who she really is. And as she falls deeper into this life – and this love – Norma will have to choose between the truth that could destroy her and the lies that are slowly suffocating the person she’s becoming.
A deeply poignant tale of resilience, found family and second chances – heartwarming, captivating and impossible to forget. Perfect for fans of When the World Fell Silent and Anna Stuart.
What readers are saying about Luisa A. Jones:
‘My heart was torn out many times… achingly beautiful… gripped my attention every moment… gorgeous, haunting, tender and raw… A must read.’ Reader review, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
‘Absolutely stole my heart… so moving… beautifully written, deeply felt… I didn’t want it to end… an absolute must-read.’ Reader review, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
‘An emotional journey bound to touch the deepest and most sensitive parts of our hearts… an extraordinary story I will never forget. A must-read!’ Reader review, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
‘A heart-wrenching journey… deeply moved by the characters’ struggles. I was completely captivated… truly moving and thought-provoking… you won’t want to miss it.’ Reader review, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Buying Link: https://geni.us/729-cr-fbo-am
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