Real-life Amado Granell plays a big part in A Betrayal of Heroes alongside our fictional Jack Telford – and readers have been asking for more about him. Well, here’s the full story… In Alicante lives a man called Miguel Ángel Pérez Oca. He’s 77 now. A famous science teacher, writer and illustrator of books on astronomy and other subjects. Author … [Read more...] about Amado Granell Mesado, the Spanish Republican who helped liberate Paris
Stanbrook
Five Things You (Maybe) Didn’t Know About the Spanish Heroes of the Second World War
My tenth novel, A Betrayal of Heroes, published in July. It picks up the story of Spanish Republicans who fought against Europe’s Nazis all through the Second World War. The Spanish Civil War - yes, it's a passion Yes, guilty! I write historical fiction. But all my stories solidly rooted in fact. My aim has always been to take special periods of … [Read more...] about Five Things You (Maybe) Didn’t Know About the Spanish Heroes of the Second World War
How I was able to build and research a WW2 background
The third Jack Telford novel, A Betrayal of Heroes, is published in July 2021. And here's how I tried to build and research his travels and his trials. From Casablanca to Brazzaville, from the beaches of Normandy to the Liberation of Paris. I had three things on my mind - three things which inspired the story. First, at the end of the last Jack … [Read more...] about How I was able to build and research a WW2 background
Spanish Civil War – Five Things You (Maybe) Didn’t Know
Brief background to the Spanish Civil War Spain had voted to become a Republic in 1931 and its royal family went into exile. But, outside its major cities, life in rural Spain was still feudal. Entirely controlled by the army, the catholic church and a handful of phenomenally wealthy landlords. Then, in February 1936, a left-wing Popular Front … [Read more...] about Spanish Civil War – Five Things You (Maybe) Didn’t Know