The Gunner Girl - Tapa dura

Three women, one shared ambition: to join the ATS and do their bit for King and country. Bea has grown up part of a large, boisterous Kent family. But she hasn't heard from her soldier sweetheart in months and her mother is controlling her life. She needs to take charge of her future. Edie inhabits a world of wealth and privilege, but knows only too well that money can't buy happiness. She wants to be like Winston Churchill's daughter, Mary, to make a difference. Joan can't remember anything of her past or her family, and her home has been bombed in the Blitz. Desperate, she needs a refuge. Each one is a Gunner Girl: three very different women, one remarkable wartime friendship of shared hopes, lost loves and terrible danger.

Clare Harvey is an ex-army wife. The Gunner Girl, her debut novel, was inspired by her mother-in-law's experience during WWII and written while her husband was on active service in Afghanistan. She lives in Nottingham with her family. Find out more on facebook - facebook.com/clareharvey13 - her website www.clareharvey.net or on twitter @clareharveyauth.