Ta Da! Here’s the cover for my upcoming novel, Lies Told in Silence. As with Unravelled, the design was the work of the very talented Jenny Toney Quinlan.
For me, what is particularly exciting is the picture of that handsome, vulnerable looking soldier who just happens to be my grandfather. Does he look old enough to shoot the enemy, to lie in the muck in the trenches, to relay vitally important communications up and down the line (he was in the Signal Corps), to stare death in the eye?
Behind him is a picture of the French countryside I took while visiting WWI battlefields and memorials in 2010.
Let me know what you think.
LIES TOLD IN SILENCE – In May 1914, Helene Noisette’s father believes war is imminent. Convinced Germany will head straight for Paris, he sends his wife, daughter, mother and younger son to Beaufort, a small village in northern France. But when war erupts a few months later, the German army invades neutral Belgium with the intent of sweeping south towards Paris. And by the end of September, Beaufort is less than twenty miles from the front.
During the years that follow, with the rumbling of guns ever present in the distance, three generations of women come together to cope with deprivation, constant fear and the dreadful impacts of war. In 1917, Helene falls in love with a young Canadian soldier who was wounded in the battle of Vimy Ridge. But war has a way of separating lovers and families, of twisting promises and dashing hopes, and of turning the naïve and innocent into the jaded and war-weary. As the months pass, Helene is forced to reconcile dreams for the future with harsh reality.
LIES TOLD IN SILENCE examines love and loss, duty and sacrifice, and the unexpected consequences of lies.
8 Responses
It’s really beautiful. Well done!
Thanks, Rachel. Every time I look at it, I think of my grandfather.
NIce! My mother used an old family photo on her first novel.
beautiful!
I love the cover!
He does look very young.
Very strong cover. I was hoping it would be a relative – now that I know that is the case, it resonates even more.
Many thanks, David. I’m really excited about releasing this novel. In some ways, I’m feeling more relaxed than I was with Unravelled – although who knows how things will unfold! Currently writing the afterword and acknowledgements 🙂