MY
HEROINE, HOLLY KIRWAN – MARGARET
TANNER
War is a terrible thing, not only for those
fighting in it, but for those who wait at home for news of their loved ones.
Barely a day goes by without the papers referring to casualties in Afghanistan
or a couple of years go it was Iraq. Young men struck down in their prime, but
what of the women they leave behind? The ones who “keep the home fires burning”
as they would have said in earlier wars.
In Australia, war widows and their children
receive a pension and benefits from the government, but what of their other
needs? Here in Australia there is
an organization known as Legacy, dedicated to the welfare of widows and
children of deceased servicemen. The men do not need to have been killed in
action, but must have seen active service in a war zone.
My mother was a Legacy war widow, even
though my father died decades after he returned home from fighting overseas.
Legacy was started by veterans returning
from the 1st World War who wanted to keep a promise to their dying
comrades “look after my wife and children for me.” It is a completely voluntary
organization and receives no funding from the government. Their funding comes
from public donations, bequests etc.
The sole aim of Legacy is the welfare of children and widows of service
personnel who have died.
They do offer some monetary assistance if
required, but their priority is to help the widow with tasks that her husband
would have performed – home maintenance, educating and supporting the children,
organizing holiday camps for children and giving practical advice on pension
and other matters that the widow cannot handle on her own. Every widow and child is appointed a
Legatee to look after them. A Legatee is almost always an ex-member of the
defence forces who gives their time freely to help the family of their deceased
comrades
Holly Kirwan is a fictional character in my
novel, but she could quite easily be anyone’s daughter, sister or friend. Here
is a young woman who fought against terrible tragedy and was eventually able to
have a second chance at happiness.
I have to say I love all my books, (sorry
about the self adulation), but my favourite would be Holly And The Millionaire,
my one and only published contemporary romance. It has been published before,
but after revision and updating, and a wonderful new cover, Books We Love have
re-published it. It might seem strange because I call myself a historical
writer, but somehow Holly got under my skin and stayed there. She was a gutsy
little fighter whose soldier husband was killed in Afghanistan and left her
with a toddler to bring up on her own. She didn’t let being dealt a bum hand in
the game of life defeat her.
I didn’t need to do much research for
Holly’s story. My youngest son has been in the army, so I obtained information
from him, and the newspapers were full of the war in Afghanistan.
I actually got the idea for this novel when
I was flying back to Australia from London, after visiting my oldest son who
lives over there. A good deal of the story is set in Melbourne where I
live. I tried to imagine how a
young woman would feel, all alone with her baby, and on the run from her
husband’s ruthless parents. They
want the baby but not her, and they will stoop to anything to get their son’s
child. How devastating and frightening that would be for Holly, especially as
her husband was barely cold in his grave.
I wanted to make the hero, Justin, the
opposite. Wealthy, confident, ruthless to a point, but underneath that hard
exterior, a man with a heart, who falls in love with Holly and her baby, but
doesn’t realize how much he cares until he almost loses them.
******
HOLLY
AND THE MILLIONAIRE
Fleeing from her
ruthless English in-laws who are intent on stealing her child, Holly Kirwan
boards a flight home to Australia and meets Justin Devereux. They are instantly
attracted to each other.
Justin doesn’t want a
permanent woman in his life, particularly one with a baby in tow. Holly, still
grieving for her soldier husband who was killed in Afghanistan, doesn’t want to
be disloyal to his memory.
BLURB: MAKE LOVE NOT WAR
Make love, not war was the catch cry of the
1960’s. Against a background of anti-war demonstrations, hippies and free love,
Caroline’s life is in turmoil. Her soldier brother is on his way to the jungles
of Vietnam. She discovers she is pregnant with her wealthy boss’ baby, and her
draft dodger friend is on the run and needs her help.
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/240190
