A Sea of Barbed Wire: Fear, Romance and Betrayal in Occupied Guernsey
My books are available in local bookshops in Guernsey, The Lexicon in The Pollet, and Writer’s Block in Commercial Arcade and on Amazon in both paperback and Kindle.
A Sea of Barbed Wire: Fear, romance and betrayal in Occupied Guernsey, is a fictional dramatization of the experiences of a family in Guernsey, in the Channel Islands. In 1940 the German advance across Europe didn’t stop at the coast of France but proceeded across the short stretch of water to attack and invade the Channel islands. My novel takes up the story in 1942 when, Lukasz – a Polish prisoner-of-war, who is suffering under the ruthless treatment of the Germans – escapes his guards and seeks refuge at the home of a local family. Ellen is a young woman who is desperate to save him, but if she and her parents defy the Germans, take him in and hide him, suddenly all their lives are in peril. To shelter an escapee is punishable by death, or at the very least, they could all be sent to a prison camp in Nazi Germany. This is a fictional story based on the true accounts of what life was like in the small island situated off the coast of France, in Guernsey.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Sea-Barbed-Wire-betrayal-Occupied-ebook/dp/B0CW7V3WZ4/ref=s
Below is the thrilling sequel to A Sea of Barbed Wire. The people of Guernsey look forward to their freedom. Liberation from the German Occupation approaches, promising joy and reunion with loved ones. So why are Ellen and Lucy now facing the future with such growing unease? Freedom on the Morning Tide: Liberation on the Island of Guernsey
Freedom on the Morning Tide continues the story three years later. A Sea of Barbed Wire and it’s available on Kindle and in paperback on Amazon here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Freedom-Morning-Tide-Liberation-Guernsey-ebook/dp/B0DZZSB56X/ref=s
It’s over three years since Lukasz, having kissed Ellen goodbye, escaped in a fishing boat from the island of Guernsey under German Occupation. It’s February 1945 and WW2 drags on. Desperately hungry, islanders are drawn together in fear for their lives. But excitement builds as rumours of the Allies’ victories spread across Europe.
On 9th May 1945 the Germans surrender, and Guernsey is liberated. Allied soldiers come ashore to be greeted by a jubilant crowd. Celebrations erupt with music and dancing in the streets! However, just as island life is settling down and evacuees are returning home, Ellen is shocked to receive an unexpected letter. Suddenly she’s swept back into the past, to a time she believed was lost forever …
I can hardly believe it! Next year it will be 12 years since The Forgiving Sand was published in hardback by Robert Hale Ltd. and went on the public library library circuits. That was in 2013. The following year it was also published in paperback Large Print by Ulverscroft Books. More recently it has found a new home at Joffe Books Ltd with a kindle edition.
I hope Christina, who fights hard to keep her Sea Cafe open, her family and the other characters in my novel, continue to intrigue and delight fans of this family saga with all its ups and downs. Emotional, dramatic, romantic, but always engrossing.
Dreamcatcher Girl …
A Cornish love story of mystery and obsession
“Isobel, an artist and single mum, spends idyllic days beachcombing, painting and making dreamcatchers. But she longs to meet and fall in love with someone caring, who would be a loving daddy for her little boy. When she happens to meet an old acquaintance, Clem Penfold, her best friend Rebecca warns her to be careful. Clem is a moody young man who seems obsessed with saving an oak tree.
Travelling to Saltash in Cornwall to see her parents, Isobel discovers the family farm is threatened with closure. But why is a personal letter to her mother, rather than the loss of the farm, causing tension between her parents?
Clem runs into trouble and as Isobel rushes to help him she finds herself caught up in his passionate world. Feeling drawn ever closer to him, could she at last have found the man of her dreams?”
Dreamcatcher Girl was published by Goldcrest Books on 30th October 2019 and is available on Amazon in paperback and ebook:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Dreamcatcher-Girl-Cornish-mystery-obsession/dp/191150570X/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=Dreamcatcher+Girl&qid= paperback £7.99 ebook: £1.99
My collection of poetry is called ‘Meet me at Low Tide’ and is available on Amazon: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Meet-Me-At-Low-Tide/dp/1532793081/ref= as a paperback and in ebook format: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Meet-Me-At-Low-Tide-ebook/dp/B01JCMQH2Q/ref= 
The Gypsy’s Son: http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Gypsys-Son-Theresa-Flem-ebook/dp/B010WADW8Y/ref=
The Gypsy’s Son is set in 1950s Cornwall. It is the story of a runaway boy who finds himself homeless, hungry and alone in the depths of rural Cornwall. An old Romany gypsy called Gideon, who is travelling along with a horse and caravan, discovers him and takes pity of him. What follows is an adventure which secures a bond of friendship between the gypsy and the boy, Finn, as he learns all the skills of living alongside of nature, surviving, and growing into a young man. But Finn has a secret, the reason he ran away from home, that haunts him until he has to confess to Gideon the real reason why he ran away …
The Sea Inside His Head: Free on Kindle Unlimited or to buy: £1.99p A gripping and emotional family saga re-published by Joffe Books 14th June 2019
During the National Miners’ Strike of 1984-85 I was living in a mining village in Kent. Not many people knew about the Kent Coalfields, but there were several pits in Kent, Tilmanstone and Betteshanger being among them. It was a very traumatic time. I knew some of the miners and the miners wives were my friends. My novel follows the story of one of these miners who, through dire circumstances when his family were hungry and he couldn’t pay the bills, broke the strike and went back to work. He loathed working down the pit; the pit that caused the death of his father, and he dreamt of getting away from all that – to live by the sea and grow vegetables in the fresh air. His dream helped him to endure the harsh treatment he received when he was labelled ‘a Scab’. It’s a love-story that demands a box of tissues nearby, I warn you. I cried enough when I was writing it.
The Forgiving Sand:
The Forgiving Sand Free is on Kindle Unlimited or to buy: only £1.99p re-published by Joffe Books 14th June 2019
A gripping, heart-warming Cornish romantic saga that you won’t be able to put down
So pleased to see that The Historical Novel Society have reviewed ‘The Gypsy’s Son’. The review written by Christoph Fischer I’m delighted to say is complimentary and honest. I’m especially honoured that the HNS have chosen my book for review from those published independently. A few years ago they wrote an excellent review for my first novel “The Sea Inside His Head” which was published by Robert Hale Ltd. As I published ‘The Gypsy’s Son’ myself, I was curious to know if they would accept it in their independent book review section. Going it alone isn’t easy and to be recognized by the HSN is very encouraging. To read the HNS review, please take a look at the link below:
The Gypsy’s Son
Following the publication of the review, Christoph Fischer has contacted me. He has invited me to give a blog interview on his website. This will be posted online on 9th January 2016. Click on link here: http://www.christophfischerbooks.com/
St.Ives September Festival 2015 In October I was delighted to take my gypsy back to Cornwall – a part of the country I once lived in and always find inspiring to return to…there’s nowhere quite like Cornwall!
This is me giving a talk for the St.Ives September Festival, a few years ago now. In the St.Ives Public Library I was invited to read read extracts, sign copies and talk about writing The Gypsy’s Son, which is set in Cornwall, in the 1950s. It follows a Romany Gypsy, one of the few remaining authentic Romanies that roamed around the country lanes of Cornwall in a Vardo drawn by a horse. Many thanks to staff at the library, those lovely people who attended and bought my books and organizers of the festival.
“If you want sheer down-to-earth escapism and beautiful prose, this is the perfect book for you. There is no wizardry or sci-fi fantasy but deep and emotional crises handled with care and sensitivity. A delightful story with excellent characterisation of people, place and life. This is a work of art when most people don’t think of writing as an art. Intelligent, engrossing and – I haven’t finished reading it yet but – I think ultimately satisfying.”( 5 STAR Review posted on Amazon by OneHappyLady)
My talk was well-attended and (disguising the fact that I wasn’t feeling very well) I managed to run well over the allocated hour and nearly cost some people parking fines. Finding a place to park in St.Ives is similar to Guernsey, where I now live. In other words, they are like gold-dust! Several people bought books and had them signed. many thanks to the librarian Jane who arranged the talk for me and also bought some books for the library. When I walked into the library to give my talk I was delighted to see all three of my novels displayed on the shelves at the entrance. I felt famous! The Gypsy’s Son is available from Amazon books now:
ebook £1.99 http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Gypsys-Son-Theresa-Flem-ebook/dp/B010WADW8Y/ref=
paperback £7.95 http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Gypsys-Son-Theresa-Flem/dp/1514604930/ref=tmm_pap_title_0
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A RECENT REVIEW of The Sea Inside His Head published by Robert Hale Ltd. in 2012
THE SEA INSIDE HIS HEAD is set in the Kent Coalfields during the National Miners’ Strike of 1984-85. It was a period in history which I experienced first-hand, living within a mining community. It is as much a man’s book as a woman’s, as the story follows a coal-miner and all the rough times he went through during the strike. I know it’s a man’s read because one of the guys who read it told me it made him cry.
My novels usually explore the deeper emotions of love, conflict and hardship and this is all too clearly demonstrated in The Sea Inside His Head. The story of this coal-miner’s struggle against the forces of politics, family responsibility and loyalty to his fellow miners highlights the trauma these men went through. It also illustrates how brave and resourceful the women were, and how determined they all were to save their jobs. All but a few that is. When a miner turns ‘scab’ things get very complicated.
A RECENT REVIEW of The Sea Inside His Head published by Robert Hale Ltd. in 2012 written by “Lefty Boy” as he calls himself. A new reader of my work, he is so enthusiastic he kindly asked me to share it with others.
“This novel brings to life the emotion and intensity of the miners strike in the early 1980’s, I could almost taste and feel the coal dust in the back of my throat. A community dragged apart, lifelong friendships destroyed and yet love turns the impossible into reality as a family fight to survive against all the odds. Billy Elliot without the dance but Theresa brings the Kent Coalmining village to life through the lives of wonderfully chosen characters who ride on the emotional rollercoaster which is “The sea Inside his Head”. A sequel is waiting to be written perhaps.” “Ten out of 10!” Thank you for a brilliant review Lefty Boy!
I am often drawn to identify with the poor and the disadvantaged. I resent social injustice of any kind and where as some authors would express their interest through writing non-fiction, I prefer to capture the drama and explore the human elements which lie beneath the surface. THE SEA INSIDE HIS HEAD was published by Robert Hale Ltd, London in 2012.
It’s 1984, and the Kent Coalfields face closure. In this moving love-story, striking miner Bradley pleads with his beloved Helen: ‘The pit killed my Dad, will it kill me too?’ He longs to escape the suffocating tunnels underground and dreams of living by the sea, of breathing fresh sea-air. He retreats to his allotment while the sea rages “inside his head”. But his wife Helen fails to understand and her vigorous campaigning to keep the pits open escalates.
Kim, Bradley’s sister, falls pregnant and she has her reasons for keeping it a secret. Seeking help from their Irish priest, she finds refuge in the manor house Chalkfield Hall and she goes into hiding. But danger looms…
Meanwhile Bradley faces a heart-rending decision. Voluntary redundancy from the pit could enable him to buy a small-holding in Wales or Cornwall – with the promise of a new life for him and his family …but there’s a catch. To qualify, he must break the strike and return to work. This means he will defy all that his wife has been fighting for – saving the pit from closure. Should he betray his friends? Dare he become a scab and risk losing his wife and his friends? It is available as a hardback and as an e book on Kindle etc. http://www.amazon.co.uk/Sea-Inside-His-Head/dp/0709095678
REVIEW BY THE HISTORICAL NOVEL SOCIETY: https://historicalnovelsociety.org/?post_type=&s=The+Sea+Inside+His+Head
Although not belonging to a mining family myself I was living in a mining village during the 1984-85 National Miners’ Strike. I experienced first-hand the effect the strike had on the local community. The threat of the closure of Tilmanstone Colliery, near Dover, was devastating news to my friends and neighbours who would all be thrown out of work. I was struck by the camaraderie of the coal-miners, how everyone joined together, supported each other and helped out where they could. But a job down the pit had its downside and the conflict between the two opposing views – which led to so much hatred in the community – inspired me to write the novel.
‘The Sea Inside His Head’ was the first novel I had published by Robert Hale Ltd. It is available from Robert Hale Ltd, Amazon Books, Waterstones, W.H. Smiths and available as an e book: https://halebooks.wordpress.com/2013/04/12/how-did-margaret-thatcher-spark-the-idea-for-a-love-story/
In May 2013 my second novel THE FORGIVING SAND was also published by Robert Hale. On 8th June I had my book launch at Hunt’s Bookshop!
THE FORGIVING SAND
This novel was inspired by the time I lived in St.Ives during the 1960’s.
Christina’s life in Cornwall is thrown into turmoil when ruthless brother-in-law René threatens to close down her quiet beach café which is losing money. Disabled since childhood, Christina is determined to keep the struggling family business going but neither her mother, nor her sister, seem to care. If only she could contact her father again!
It’s 1994. The Cornish fishing industry is in crisis and lonely skipper, John Madison, widowed when his wife drowned, desperately pleads for Christina’s help with his little daughter. His passionate intensity disturbs her and yet she’s drawn to him.
While René is putting the pressure on with his scheming ideas, an old school-friend, big lovable Peter, returns to Cornwall and jumps in to defend Christina – but with untold repercussions. Who can save her beloved Sea Café? And when John compels her to make a choice, will her heart be torn in two? Available as an e book from Joffe Books @JoffeBooks and as a paperback from Amazon Books.
PAPERBACK LARGE PRINT published by ULVERSCROFT Large Print Books, LEICESTER.
http://romanticnovelistsassociationblog.blogspot.co.uk/2013/05/interview-with-theresa-le-flem.html
http://halebooks.wordpress.com/2013/05/28/author-interview-theresa-le-flem/
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Theresa Le Flem 