More about Helga’s Story

a clue to the 1980s' setting of Helga's Story 

I shall be starting work on this very soon. I’ve decided to link Helga’s time in the 1940s to her later life in the 1980s where persecution threatens to happen again.  Except that she is now wise to the way it works and gets round it this time.

I shall make good use of the episodes of her life that appear in Girl in a Smart Uniform. The very first scene, however, will be in the 1980s.

I’ve read a few novels recently that do this sort of exchange between the 1940s and a later time and I find they work very well. So, I’m looking forward to playing with this a bit myself.

I’m at that stage with this story where I sit and make notes, often when I’m in cafés. Next week it will be when I’m on the train to London. I’ll be thinking about the characters, the settings and the shape of the story. Also there is a lot of planning about background material that the reader never sees but it must be there so that I can write my characters with authority.

I’m looking forward to getting to know Helga a lot better.