Dear Reader,
Thank you for choosing my book. I hope that I have been able to give you hours of enjoyment – and did not cost you too many tissues – as you read this final book in The Girls Who Went to War series.
I love to receive feedback from you, through the channels listed at the end of this letter, or, if you can, leave me a review on Amazon, Goodreads or Facebook and visit my website. Feedback and reviews are like hugging an author, as they help us to progress in our career, give us encouragement as we sit alone writing the next book, and are the biggest thank you in the world. And for me, they make me want to hug you back.
Researching my books takes me to many countries, which is a joy as I love to travel.
The Girls Who Went to War series took me to Poland and the South East of France.
In the UK I visited a working cotton mill in Uppermill and drove around Blackburn to find places that I wanted to feature – parks, churches and manor homes – including visiting Feniscowles, just outside Blackburn, where I found the perfect home for Mags’s family.
I also visited the wonderful Portpatrick in Scotland and found where I wanted Mags, Betsy and Susan’s retreat to be.
For Belgium and Singapore, I had to rely on the internet, although I would have loved to visit. But the internet is a great source of facts and inspiration – I always come across a story that inspires more books. For this series I was inspired by the story of Edith Cavell, a wonderful, brave soul who went to Belgium to nurse the injured and then helped them to escape. Sadly, Edith was executed by the Germans. May she and all brave souls rest in peace.
My research for The Brave Daughters also included reading Heroes Among Us by Jim Ryun and They Fought Alone by Maurice Buckmaster.
The Girls Who Went to War features four books, which follow the lives of three girls who met and formed a deep bond of friendship when they were sent by the Red Cross to Belgium in 1914. Each girl had volunteered to escape their lives at home and each has a story to tell.
The books are standalone reads so, if you missed the first three, don’t worry. You can still enjoy reading Flora’s story and learning about the beginning of the girls’ friendship – what happened when they were trapped behind enemy lines, and what Flora faced when she returned home – in the first of the series, The Forgotten Daughter.
The second book, The Abandoned Daughter, follows Ella’s story: how her search for her Polish roots left her stranded and heartbroken, and the courage she showed to fight back.
Mags’s story is described in The Wronged Daughter. Tricked into marriage by Flora’s hateful brother Harold, Mags’s life spirals downwards, until she is rescued by her dear friend Betsy with the help of Susan – the very woman Mags should hate. With them by her side, can she become strong again and take her rightful place in life?
All of my past titles, as well as future ones, are available to order online or from all good bookshops and your local library – also look out for them in your local supermarket. And you can enjoy them in audio format, too.
And finally, I love to interact with my readers, and do so on a daily basis on my Facebook page and website – would you like to join me? If so, go to www.facebook.com/HistoricalNovels or search on Facebook for ‘Books by Mary Wood and Maggie Mason’. Here you will be able to chat to me, enter my numerous competitions for giveaways of signed books and themed merchandise, and even have a chance to win a tea party with me and my lovely Roy.
On my website, www.authormarywood.com, you can receive all my news first-hand by subscribing to my regular newsletter, join in competitions and contact me via email on a one-to-one basis.
I am also available to book for events, meetings and library talks, and you can follow me on Twitter: @Authormary.
I look forward to hearing from you.
Much love to all,
Mary x