RHYS BOWEN: Today I’m celebrating the release of my latest book, THE ROSE ARBOR.
I’ve already shared a lot about it… about how I read an article on the village abandoned in WWII when it was requisitioned by the British army. The photos showed ruins that could be centuries old, creepers covering the remains of walls, trees growing up through what had been living rooms. This touched me so much that I wanted to write about it, and since I primarily write mysteries, I found myself thinking…. What if something really bad had happened in that village, but because everyone had to move out in a hurry nobody even found out about it for years.
My village is a fictitious one but absolutely based on the real Tyneham. So the story takes place in 1968. And some of you will be surprised to know that this now counts as a historical novel. I think quite a few of us were around in 1968. Dost that make us historical figures? One of my first readers of the manuscript said the book felt so real. This is probably because I lived through this time. I was fresh out of university, working for the BBC in London, very fashionable in my Mary Quant, my Vidal Sassoon haircut and my white boots. And I was there when the culture suddenly changed, from smart, mod, preppy to hippie. I remember watching as young people, people I knew, tuned out, dropped out, grew their hair, wore long flowing garments and went to live together in squats in abandoned buildings. At first they championed causes… save the whales, save the forests, no more war etc, but then they were high on weed most of the time, or even LSD and just existed.
This story features that change to hippie culture as well as tying back to WWII. A child missing in 1968. Three little girls who vanished while being evacuated in the war. And a heroine who might have ties to a place she can’t possibly have been to. It was a challenge to write, piecing together various stories, like working on a jigsaw puzzle, but I guarantee it’s going to keep you turning pages.
Who of us remembers that time? Were any of you in London? It really was a swinging city. I remember shopping in Carnaby Street, watching the Beatles recording at the BBC, courtesy of my friend who was their sound engineer. I remember the protest marches that morphed into love-ins. At least it felt safe and optimistic in England (not so much in Europe where the Berlin Wall had just been erected). We hitch hiked everywhere. I went around Greece for three months with a friend, staying at private houses. A few men flirted with us but it was mostly harmless. I was worried the world had changed but my two granddaughters have just been around Italy and Greece and also had a wonderful time, feeling safe everywhere. So maybe things aren't so different and most people are still kind and trustworthy. Let's hope so.
So what were you doing in 1968? Were you born? In school? What do you remember?
And tomorrow evening I'll be visiting the Poisoned Pen bookstore via Zoom. I've signed a lot of books for them if you want a signed book and I'll be happy to answer your questions. Here is the link to check in for the event on Facebook. https://www.facebook.com/thepoisonedpenbookstore/videos/
Also I'll be the featured guest of the week on Friends and Fiction tomorrow. Busy week!
