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Resisting the Enemy is a story about the French Resistance. Like so many others, I have an endless fascination for that period of history encompassing World War II and in particular the German occupation of France. For those of us who live in a world that is relatively safe and secure, we wonder what it would have been like to live in an age of catastrophe, when life was dangerous and uncertain.
What choices would we make if our country was occupied by the enemy? Would we simply keep our heads down and try to stay out of trouble? Would we actively collaborate with the conqueror? Or would we choose to live dangerously rather than submit to oppression? These are the sort of issues that I wanted to write about.
My style of writing has a strong narrative line that carries the reader along. My aim was not to create some great work of literary fiction. I wanted the book to be first and foremost an enjoyable read. A love story set in perilous times, with plenty of danger and excitement, where the relationships between the characters are just as important as the action taking place. But I also wanted it to be an intelligent read. To inform as well as entertain.
Although I was writing a work of fiction, I felt I had a duty to the reader to ensure that the historical background to the story was accurate. Resisting the Enemy required an enormous amount of research. I have to say I found this to be the really fun part of writing a novel. I sometimes feel I could spend my life doing research. You find yourself going down all sorts of different paths and byways, endlessly fascinated by what you’re discovering. And on the practical side it entailed numerous trips to Paris, Lyon and the south of France – all very arduous, as you can imagine!
I am currently engaged in writing my second novel. It has an entirely different setting to Resisting the Enemy, but does take up the story of one of its minor characters.
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