AN AUTHOR who grew up in Romsey is publishing her third book of a World War II series set in the town.
Claire Gradidge, an author from Chandler's Ford, is releasing her third crime mystery book within the series inspired by Romsey, the town she grew up in.
The latest of the female-led sleuth series, titled A Conflict of Interests, is set around D-Day in 1944 when soldiers were posted around the market town ready for the seaborne invasion in Normandy.
The novel, based on local history and geography, will be available to read from October 13 with the author set to be signing books in Romsey’s WHSmith on the morning of October 15.
Claire began the series when working on a PhD in creative writing at Winchester University. Her debut book- The Unexpected Return of Josephine Fox- was published in 2019 and won the Richard and Judy Search for Bestseller Competition.
The local author said: “I was born and brought up in Romsey, my parents farmed the little bit of land that is now eight acres of housing estate and what is now Tadburn Meadows nature reserve. I love Romsey as my hometown.
“We left in 1967 when the land was sold for development, but I’ve always lived close and I’ve retained my love and interest in the town and obviously the other part of the book is my interest in local history.
“The crime part of the story is obviously fictional but all the rest of it, the places and what was happening in the world at the time is all based on proper history and geography. The series is rooted from what I remember from my childhood of small town living in Romsey and to be part of the community there.”
Claire, 69, whilst growing up as an only child in the area, would read a lot and write stories when she ran out of things to read. Throughout Claire’s working life as a nurse, a school librarian and now a creative writing lecturer at Winchester University, it had always been her dream to publish a novel.
As well as the ongoing series following protagonist Josephine Fox, the associate lecturer has had short fictions and poetry published in South, Orbis and Vortex, participates in local writing events such as judging poetry and prose competition and is the founder of Chandlers Ford Writers.
The Romsey patriot is currently working on book four of the local crime series, with the working title of Victory Harvest. The former nurse hopes to have it written and finished by the end of 2023 and published next year. The follow up to the upcoming release will continue in Romsey with the same characters as they near the end of WWII.
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Claire said: “It may be true that it’s not a town where you’d expect to see serial killers but it’s certainly a place where ordinary life happens and although most of what happens in Romsey is quiet and community based, there are crimes that happen. Fortunately, I don’t know of any murders- I made them up but it’s not divorced from human suffering and living.
“The other thing I wanted to show is how ordinary people got on with things like the war happening. My dad lived in Romsey during the war, farming the bit of land between the railway and the river. Although, it was quiet things still happened- people loved and lost, did bad things and good things.”
A Conflict of Interests is the third of the series, following The Unexpected Return of Josephine Fox and Treachery at Hursley Park House. Claire’s latest novel, exploring Romsey centre and areas such as Broadlands, will be available online and from book stores from October 13, 2022.
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