British by birth and spending my childhood in Wales and England, the idea for the story as told in Harbinger of Secrets came to me a few years ago. I knew I wanted to write a novel with a female lead character, wartime London as the backdrop, and an engaging plot that hopefully would begin to fill the intimidating blank computer screen staring back at me. Apart from these revelations, I had no other details. In retrospect, it wasn’t the best way to begin a work of fiction, though I wouldn’t realize that for some time and after seeing many drafts ending their short lifespan as they were tossed in the trash.
I originally began the book with two main characters, but they were soon demoted to lower ranks because they were just not made of the stuff that could keep a storyline moving at the pace I desired. So, along came two new characters - Eve Trelawney and Bevan Briscoe. As I think of it now, I’m not altogether sure if I created them or they somehow created themselves. These two were definitely made of the right stuff and made the story come alive for this author.
As I’m sure a number of writers would attest, characters have the quirky ability to take on distinct personalities of their own. My two new characters undoubtedly nurtured the plot and I, the writer, simply kept up, or so it felt at the time. Eve and Briscoe soon found their strengths and weaknesses, likes and dislikes, habits and foibles, because they had somehow transformed themselves into authentic individuals in an imaginary world.
When people ask what my book is about, I usually respond by saying it’s WWII fiction, but wartime England is simply the setting, an entity that forces all the characters to behave in ways they might not ordinarily. Harbinger of Secrets is, essentially, a tale that revolves around loyalty and the submerged currents hidden in the subconscious. The character, Morley Quinn, sums it up when he remarks that whether we like it or not, the war forces us to acknowledge those loyalties. The war, like a strong-arm, compels the characters to think and act in much different ways than those to which they’re accustomed and, often, the results are disastrous.
Harbinger of Secrets tells its story through a woman who is dissatisfied with her lot in life, when 1940s wartime society had specific expectations of women and their “proper place.” The character, Eve Trelawney, tries desperately to conform to a life imposed upon her by her husband David, a quiet, country doctor, but ultimately she must face the decision to either betray, or succumb to David’s wishes. She yearns to return to a life of excitement and intrigue where she knows she is at her best. What she doesn’t bargain on is the unexpected return of a past that threatens her future and a new war where nothing is as it seems. Living in a time when the rules of society are undoubtedly off-balance, Eve Trelawney finds herself in a man’s world, where every female is told her place. Unable to submit to the rigid standards of the era, she relies on her once well-honed skills as a former agent, her uncanny ability to thrive in a climate rife with mistrust, and on basic human intuition to simply survive.
