A New WW2 Novel set in Cornwall.

‘There’s a novel in all of us,’ it’s been said. First, come up with an engaging story. It starts, things happen and then it ends in glory, happiness or tragedy.

So, it must be easy?

I think not. After all, there’s not an astrophysicist or a nurse in every one of us, is there?

Yes, a novel contains the narration of a series of events. This is the Outer Story. But it’s more than that, in many ways. Most novels reveal something of the human condition. They take us on the emotional journey experienced by our protagonist. This is the Inner Story. Think Tess of the D’Urbervilles, which is still being read over a hundred years after it was written. Most powerful of all in Tess is her own emotional journey: her feelings, fears, hopes and desires.

Oslo Fjord, where INVASION is set. Looking south, 2024. A: The port town of Drøbak. B: Hallangspollen, a branch of the main fjord. C: Oscarsborg Fortress. D. Approximate location where the heavy cruiser Blücher sank.

In my first novel, INVASION, my protagonist, Thomas Galtung, is driven by fear: his intense desire to stay alive and navigate difficult decisions as war comes to Norway. Yet, we humans are rather complex. Thomas, like us all, is shaped by a whole array of other emotions, instincts, cultural influences and learned behaviours. These affect how he reacts and makes decisions. Often his emotions conflict with each other, as they do for most people.

So, as we read a good novel, we share in the characters’ inner story. We live their dilemmas, indecisions and their pain. We wonder if they have correctly balanced what is moral with what is expedient or safe.

There are many layers in a good novel, which is one reason why writing is so complex. In addition to the inner and outer journeys, we also have to paint a picture of the world in which the story unfolds: its geography, way of life and the historical events that took place at the time. In the case of INVASION, this was the fjords and forests south of Oslo in 1939/40, in the coldest winter for a hundred years. In my new novel, set in Cornwall where I grew up, it’s Falmouth harbour and the bay in the first days of the Battle of Britain up to June 1944 four years later. This is the backdrop for another story of conflict, intrigue and adventure.

The complex layering of a novel is certainly testing for an author. Easy it’s not, but thrilling it is.

Falmouth, 2024. From Pendennis Head towards Black Rock and St Anthony lighthouse. Falmouth Bay is off to the right; Carrick Roads and the Docks are away to the left. Photograph: Graeme Tregay