Lily Graham's Blog

Her Forgotten Hours

I am delighted to tell you about my latest novel, Her Forgotten Hours!

This is a story that has been brewing for years and I am so thrilled to finally get to share it with you. It’s about a female pilot who steals a plane to find and save the man she loves. I think if you’ve enjoyed The English Patient, you might like this, as Frankie faces memory loss after an accident. The only thing she knows is that when they found her she was saying someone else’s name. Someone she can’t remember, but knows she has to save.

It’s out on 5 November and is available to pre-order now on Amazon. Let me know if you do pre-order it, your support means the world.

Read on for the full blurb!

Love,

Lily x

The Germans shot down her plane. She couldn’t remember who she was. But she knew she had to save him…

France 1944: Frankie opens her eyes and winces. The daylight coming through the shutters is acid-bright, but that’s not what is causing her pain. As she tries to speak through burned and blistered lips, she realises there is only darkness where her memories should be. She is fed sips of water by a kindly old French man, Antoine, who tells her that his grandson found her lying next to her burning plane, crying out for a man called Michael. A man she cannot remember.

The Nazis stalk the streets outside the little French farmhouse where Frankie is hidden, and she knows that she is putting Antoine and his grandson’s life in terrible danger. But to leave she needs to remember who she is, and why she feels so afraid when she tries to recall the man she cried out for. As she lies in lavender-scented sheets, flashes of memory begin to come back. A forest deep in rural France, the smell of fear and pine trees and a face she loves marked with terror. Frankie is sure she came to rescue Michael, and she’s determined to complete her mission. But can she find him before the soldiers find her?

A haunting and compelling read about love, strength and sacrifice in the darkest days of World War Two. Fans of Kristin Hannah and The Alice Network will fall in love with Her Forgotten Hours.

The Only Light in London out now

The Only Light in London is out now!

The picture above is from the writing journal I kept when I first started writing the story. It’s the first book I’ve done that for but won’t be the last!

You’ll see in the picture below an advert for a real Musical and Dramatic Society for the underground, I was so pleased to come across it on the Transport Museum’s website records!

My story follows the lives of a group of amateur dramatic members, and in particular that of Finley and Sebastien, a Jewish refugee, and how they fall in love against the backdrop of war.

It’s a story of friendship, love, and finding the light amongst the dark. (Read on for the full official blurb.)

I really hope you enjoy it!

It’s out now and you can get it here on Amazon UK and here at Amazon US.

Below is the official blurb

She took him in when no one else would. She didn’t expect to fall in love…

London 1939. As war casts a dark shadow in his homeland Germany, journalist Sebastien wanders the grey fog-filled streets. His heart breaks as he remembers his hurried goodbye to his mother and sister. But even if everyone in London looks at him with suspicion in their eyes, he knows he made the right choice. It was the only way to keep his family safe from the Nazis hunting him…

When he sees a notice for a lodger in a pretty house on a cobbled street, he doesn’t allow hope to flare within him. He’s been rejected at every door he’s knocked on. But when Finley, with her warm brown eyes and sparkling smile, agrees to rent him the room, he allows himself to see a chink of light in the darkness. And as they grow closer over cups of cocoa in the cosy kitchen, love begins to develop.

Sebastien knows that he can’t stay hidden in Finley’s warmth forever though. He has to join the fight. It’s the only way to save his family and put a stop to the horrors in the country he once called home. When he leaves, they promise to keep their hope and love alive.

But Finley has something that she hasn’t been able to tell Sebastien; something that makes her life alone in the city all the more dangerous. And as the bombs rain down in London, and Sebastien risks his life in France, will she ever get the chance to share her secret with him?

A completely life-affirming and tear-jerking read about love, friendship and being a light for those who need to brave the dark. Fans of The Nightingale and The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society will fall in love with The Only Light in London.

The Only Light in London

I am delighted to tell you about my latest novel, The Only Light in London which is out on 20 February.

It’s set in London during the Blitz and was inspired, in part, by those early days in the pandemic, when theatres were shut and it made me imagine what it must have been like during the war. All those lives, interrupted.

In the months before war breaks out, Prudence Finley (inspired by the brilliant Prunella Scales, who was likewise told that her round face and short stature meant that she didn’t have ‘leading lady potential‘) decides to take matters into her own hands and create her own amateur dramatics group. At first the only ones interested in joining Finley’s theatre group are an assorted mix of retirees, like widower and librarian Archie Greeves, Sunella Singh one of the first female surgeons from India, and former teacher, Anita Hardcastle, but when Sebastien Raphael, a handsome Jewish refugee arrives, albeit by accident, it changes everything, and not just for Finley’s heart.

As the bombs rain down, and the London streets empty, they discover what truly matters – love, friendship, and being a light for the ones who need to brave the dark.

It’s out on 20 February, and is available for pre-order here and to request on NetGalley now. Read on below for the full blurb.

I really hope you like it!

Love,

Lily x

She took him in when no one else would. She didn’t expect to fall in love…

London, 1939. When Finley offers her spare room to refugee Sebastien, she sees relief in his haunted eyes. Forced to flee the hatred in Germany, Sebastien has been desperately lonely in his adopted country. Finley lost her father in the last war and feels a stab of empathy for the pain of this thin stranger, separated from his loved ones, far away from home.

At first, Finley and Sebastien are like ships in the night, exchanging bashful goodnights in the corridor. But Finley quickly realises that Sebastien is too terrified to sleep, plagued by thoughts of his smiling little sister being snatched by soldiers. As the London sky darkens with enemy planes, he slowly opens up to her over cups of cocoa in the kitchen.

Every time Sebastien speaks to Finley, she finds herself inching closer to him, and soon love begins to grow. But when he tells her he wants to join the English army, to fight the people who have forced his family to face such horror, she must work hard to crush the devastation in her heart. She knows if she were in his shoes, she would do the same thing, and she must be brave too. She will stay in London, waiting for Sebastien, and helping other refugees like him.

As the bombs rain down, and the London streets empty, she knows she faces grave dangers. But she can’t hide away while the man she loves risks his life. She needs to do anything she can to defeat the enemy they all share. But the last war cost Finley so much. What will this one take?

A completely life-affirming and tear-jerking read about facing the darkness and despair of war together and allowing the light to creep in. Fans of The Nightingale and The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society will fall in love with The Only Light in London.

THE LAST RESTAURANT IN PARIS

I am delighted to tell you about my latest novel, The Last Restaurant in Paris. Featuring a restaurant full of secrets, a long-lost grandmother, and a very dark legacy.

It began with the idea of inheritance. Some people might wish that a long lost relative has left them something of value. But what if what you inherit isn’t … wonderful?

What if your inheritance is a moment in history that can never be forgotten – what if you discover that you are related to one of the most evil women in Paris?

When Sabine Dupris discovers that she is now the owner of an old property, a former restaurant, that closed down forty years ago, where the owner killed all its customers one awful night, that dream quickly turns into a nightmare.

Everything she thought she knew about her family is turned around when she discovers that she related to someone she has heard of for all the wrong reasons. Marianne Blanchet. The woman who poisoned all her customers. On purpose. A woman so despised that forty years later, passers by still spit on the sidewalk and make the sign of the cross.

But what if everything everyone thinks they knew about her is wrong?

It’s out on 18 July 2022, available for pre-order here and to request on NetGalley now. Read on below for the full blurb.

I really hope you like it!

Love,

Lily x

SHE SERVED THE ENEMY. SHE SAVED HER PEOPLE

In enemy-occupied Paris, as the locals go to bed starving and defeated by the war, music and laughter spills through the door of a little restaurant, crowded with German soldiers. The owner Marianne moves on weary feet between its packed tables, carrying plates of steaming, wholesome food for the enemy officers. Her smile is bright and sparkling, her welcome cordial. Nobody would guess the hatred she hides in her heart.

That night, the restaurant closes its doors for the final time. In the morning, the windows are scratched with the words ‘traitor and murderer’. And Marianne has disappeared without a trace…

Years later, Marianne’s granddaughter Sabine stands under the faded green awning, a heavy brass key in her hand, staring at the restaurant left to her by the grandmother she never met. Sabine has so many questions about herself. Perhaps here she can find answers, but she knows she isn’t welcome. Marianne was hated by the locals and when Sabine discovers they blamed her for the terrible tragedy that haunts the pretty restaurant, she is ready to abandon her dark legacy.

But when she finds a passport in a hidden compartment in the water-stained walls, with a picture of a woman who looks like her grandmother but has a different name, she knows there must be more to Marianne’s story. As she digs into the past, she starts to wonder: was her grandmother a heroine, not a traitor? What happened to her after the tragic night when she fled from her restaurant? And will the answer change her own life forever?

A haunting and compelling story of love, strength, and sacrifice in Nazi-occupied Paris as one brave young woman risks everything to save the lives of those around her. Fans of The Nightingale, The Paris Library and The Alice Network will lose their hearts to The Last Restaurant in Paris.

The German Girl is out today!

I’m so excited to announce that my latest book, The German Girl, is out now!

Hamburg 1938. Fifteen-year-old Asta is hurrying home with her twin brother Jurgen. Synagogues have been attacked, and she is frightened. But when they are stopped by a friend, her world implodes. Her Jewish parents have been dragged into the streets by German soldiers and if she and Jurgen return to their house, they will be taken too.

Asta knows they must flee into Denmark to reach their only surviving relative, but crossing the border is punishable by death. So they embark on foot, through the snowy forest dividing Germany and Denmark. When armed soldiers find Jurgen and Asta escapes, she must hold on to hope. One day she will find him, whatever the price…  read more

The German Girl is a story about love, family, and the unimaginable test of war. I really hope you enjoy it!

Available from Amazon here

The German Girl out 12 Jan!

I am delighted to announce that my latest book The German Girl is out in six days – on 12 January!

It’s a story about a twins, family and how the past never truly leaves us.

‘Our parents were taken. And if we go home, the Nazis will take us too…’

Hamburg 1938. Fifteen-year-old Asta is hurrying home from school with her twin brother Jurgen. The mood in the city is tense – synagogues have been smashed with sledgehammers, and Asta is too frightened to laugh as she used to.

But when she and Jurgen are stopped in the street by a friend, her world implodes further. Her Jewish parents have been dragged into the streets by German soldiers and if she and Jurgen return to their house, they will be taken too.

Heartbroken at the loss of her parents, Asta knows they must flee. With her beloved brother, she must make the perilous journey across Germany and into Denmark to reach their only surviving relative, her aunt Trine, a woman they barely know.

Jammed into a truck with other refugees, Asta prays for a miracle to save herself and Jurgen. Crossing the border is a crime punishable by death, and what she and Jurgen must embark on a dangerous crossing on foot, through the snowy forest dividing Germany and Denmark. And when barking dogs and armed soldiers find Jurgen and Asta escapes, she must hold on to hope no matter what. One day she will find her twin, the other half of herself. Whatever the price she has to pay… 

A gripping and poignant read that will break your heart and give you hope. Fans of Fiona Valpy, Kristin Hannah and Catherine Hokin will be gripped by the story of a brave brother and sister seeking safety during one of the darkest times in our history. 

It was originally going to be published as The Flight Of Swallows but the publisher decided to change it before publication as while beautiful the title wasn’t quite working for them. But it is still the same story.

I hope you will enjoy this story, about twins, family, and the things we do for the ones we love. I spent a long time living in this world, which spans three countries – from Sweden to Germany and Denmark, and I can’t believe that it’s soon to be out in the world.

You can preorder it on Amazon in the UK here and in the US and here.

The Flight of Swallows

I am delighted to let you know that my latest book : The Flight of Swallows will be out next year on 12 January.

It is available to pre-order now from Amazon here.

It is a story about family, belonging and the lengths we will go to for the ones we love.

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Oh my dears,’ she gasped, clutching at them. ‘You can’t go home.’ A fresh set of tears began leaking down her face. ‘They’ve taken them both.’

Hamburg, 1938. Fifteen-year-old twins Jurgen and Asta stroll home from school, unaware their world is about to implode. A family friend stops them in the road, weeping. Their Jewish parents have been dragged into the streets by German soldiers and if the twins return to their house, they will be taken too.

Heartbroken at the loss of their parents, the twins know they have no choice but to flee. They must make the perilous journey across Germany and into Denmark to reach their only surviving relative, their aunt Trine, a woman they barely know.

After days hidden under blankets in a truck with other refugees, they reach the dark, snow-covered forest that divides Germany and Denmark. With safety almost in sight, the twins grow careless, unaware that they are being followed. And when they are found by the enemy, brother and sister end up facing a terrible dilemma. They swore they would always protect each other, but what happens when that promise is tested?

A gripping and poignant read that will break your heart and give you hope. Fans of Fiona Valpy, Kristin Hannah and Catherine Hokin will be gripped by the story of a brave brother and sister seeking safety during one of the darkest times in our history. 

UK Paperback publication day for The Child of Auschwitz!

I am DELIGHTED to announce that today is the paperback publication day for The Child of Auschwitz, published through Sphere (Little Brown).

This was without a doubt, one of the hardest books I’ve ever written, but it was one I was most compelled to write. It whispered to me while I was meant to be writing something else, and took over, after I heard the story of a woman who’d survived one of the camps and managed (when no one thought she ever could) to give birth … that something so wonderful could come from such a horrible time affected me deeply, and I knew I had to explore this more.

It is a story of friendship, survival, and the things we will do for the ones we love.

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A heart-breaking story of survival, where life or death relies on the smallest chance and happiness can be found in the darkest times. Fans of The Choice and The Tattooist of Auschwitz will fall in love with this beautiful novel



‘She touched the photograph in its gilt frame that was always on her desk, of a young, thin woman with very short hair and a baby in her arms. She had one last story to tell. Theirs. And it began in hell on earth.’



It is 1942 and Eva Adami has boarded a train to Auschwitz. Barely able to breathe due to the press of bodies and exhausted from standing up for two days, she can think only of her longed-for reunion with her husband Michal, who was sent there six months earlier.

But when Eva arrives at Auschwitz, there is no sign of Michal and the stark reality of the camp comes crashing down upon her. As she lies heartbroken and shivering on a thin mattress, her head shaved by rough hands, she hears a whisper. Her bunkmate, Sofie, is reaching out her hand . . .

As the days pass, the two women learn each other’s hopes and dreams – Eva’s is that she will find Michal alive in this terrible place, and Sofie’s is that she will be reunited with her son Tomas, over the border in an orphanage in Austria. Sofie sees the chance to engineer one last meeting between Eva and Michal and knows she must take it even if means befriending the enemy.

But when Eva realises she is pregnant she fears she has endangered both their lives. The women promise to protect each other’s children, should the worst occur. For they are determined to hold on to the last flower of hope in the shadows and degradation: their precious children, who they pray will live to tell their story when they no longer can.

AVAILABLE FROM THESE STORES

I had so hoped that I would be able to visit bookshops and see it out in the wild, but for now it is available to order online – and if you do want to pick up a physical copy I am happy to report that you can get it from TESCO!

Available at:

Tescos – In stores

Amazon

Foyles

Waterstones

Hachette (Sphere, Little Brown).

The Child of Auschwitz – Out Today!

There are no words really to explain how I feel about the fact that The Child of Auschwitz is out today. Amazed, elated, scared … none of this fits, what was without a doubt, one of the biggest labours of love of my career, so far.

I was never meant to write this novel. It happened, almost by accident, when I was confronted with writer’s block for the first time. The real, movie-type nonsense I’d scoffed at for years.  My theory was, you sat down at your chair and you wrote. Inspiration was for people without deadlines or contracts to fulfil… Except as I was trying to write the book I was contracted to write, the words would not come. Weeks passed, and … nothing. I forced myself to write something but it was flat and just wouldn’t come alive. It was really painful.

Then, out of nowhere, I came across a story about a woman whose mother had given birth to her after surviving a concentration camp. Her body was so malnourished and weak, she was told that the chances of her ever having a child was impossible. Yet, somehow, she did. It was one of the most beautiful and inspiring stories I’d ever come across. This idea grabbed hold of me and would not let go. While I was meant to be writing that other book, I became obsessed, wanting to know more about women like her, and incredibly I came across women who were pregnant in Auschwitz. Suddenly, I knew what I desperately wanted to write about – only now I had to convince my editor. I wrote the first page and a synopsis in a fever, and incredibly, she said yes.

It tested me beyond anything I have ever done before, and my wonderful editor, Lydia, who I dedicated the book to, held my hand every step of the way, believing in me when I inevitably fell apart not believing I could actually do this. I cannot emphasise how kind and supportive she was, and how much I lent on her and somehow made it through to the other side.

Anyway, I just wanted to let you know how it happened, and why there’s a bit of a lump in my throat as I share the news: it is out today.

I really hope you like it.

x

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‘She touched the photograph in its gilt frame that was always on her desk, of a young, thin woman with very short hair and a baby in her arms. She had one last story to tell. Theirs. And it began in hell on earth.’

It is 1942 and Eva Adami has boarded a train to Auschwitz. Barely able to breathe due to the press of bodies and exhausted from standing up for two days, she can think only of her longed-for reunion with her husband Michal, who was sent there six months earlier.

But when Eva arrives at Auschwitz, there is no sign of Michal and the stark reality of the camp comes crashing down upon her. As she lies heartbroken and shivering on a thin mattress, her head shaved by rough hands, she hears a whisper. Her bunkmate, Sofie, is reaching out her hand…

As the days pass, the two women learn each other’s hopes and dreams – Eva’s is that she will find Michal alive in this terrible place, and Sofie’s is that she will be reunited with her son Tomas, over the border in an orphanage in Austria. Sofie sees the chance to engineer one last meeting between Eva and Michal and knows she must take it even if means befriending the enemy…

But when Eva realises she is pregnant she fears she has endangered both their lives. The women promise to protect each other’s children, should the worst occur. For they are determined to hold on to the last flower of hope in the shadows and degradation: their precious children, who they pray will live to tell their story when they no longer can.

A heart-breaking story of survival, where life or death relies on the smallest chance and happiness can be found in the darkest times. For fans of The Choice and The Tattooist of Auschwitz.

Available here:

AMZ: https://geni.us/B07WF74ZM1Social…

Apple Books: https://buff.ly/2pGvPF9

Kobo: https://buff.ly/2pPtyr7

Googleplay: https://buff.ly/2NsV32J

The Child of Auschwitz – cover reveal and PAPERBACK DEAL!

I am delighted to reveal the cover of my latest book, The Child of Auschwitz, out on 8 November.

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‘She touched the photograph in its gilt frame that was always on her desk, of a young, thin woman with very short hair and a baby in her arms. She had one last story to tell. Theirs. And it began in hell on earth.’

It is 1942 and Eva Adami has boarded a train to Auschwitz. Barely able to breathe due to the press of bodies and exhausted from standing up for two days, she can think only of her longed-for reunion with her husband Michal, who was sent there six months earlier.

But when Eva arrives at Auschwitz, there is no sign of Michal and the stark reality of the camp comes crashing down upon her. As she lies heartbroken and shivering on a thin mattress, her head shaved by rough hands, she hears a whisper. Her bunkmate, Sofie, is reaching out her hand…

As the days pass, the two women learn each other’s hopes and dreams – Eva’s is that she will find Michal alive in this terrible place, and Sofie’s is that she will be reunited with her son Tomas, over the border in an orphanage in Austria. Sofie sees the chance to engineer one last meeting between Eva and Michal and knows she must take it even if means befriending the enemy…

But when Eva realises she is pregnant she fears she has endangered both their lives. The women promise to protect each other’s children, should the worst occur. For they are determined to hold on to the last flower of hope in the shadows and degradation: their precious children, who they pray will live to tell their story when they no longer can.

A heart-breaking story of survival, where life or death relies on the smallest chance and happiness can be found in the darkest times.

It’s available for pre-order here. Also it will be audio form too – more news on that soon!

The story behind the novel and my PAPERBACK DEAL!

This book has been such a labour of love, testing me in ways I could never have imagined. It is far and away the most difficult novel I have ever written. I never meant to write a story set in Auschwitz. But when I was trying desperately to write the book I was meant to be writing, the words just would not come. I’d been struck by a true story about a woman who’d given birth to a child after surviving a concentration camp. No one thought her malnourished body would be able to sustain a pregnancy, and the miracle of it haunted me – this idea of such light coming from such darkness.  As much as I tried to write that other novel, this one began to whisper in the corners. I became drawn to other survivor stories. Finding incredible, rare stories about women who were sent to Auschwitz while pregnant, and how they managed to survive. Their incredible strength and courage inspired me so much, and before I knew it this story came instead. I then had to explain why my overdue book was non-existent to my editor and publishers (um, not a great moment) and sent them the early chapters of a completely different type of novel than the one I had promised.  Luckily, my wonderful editor came back rather quickly, and was incredibly supportive. They really believed, as I did, that I should write this story instead, so I did.

Sometimes you have to take a risk, and go where your heart leads you. Occasionally when you take a leap, amazing things happen. I am so incredibly excited, and honoured, to announce that next year, 2020:  The Child of Auschwitz will be published in the UK in PAPERBACK by Sphere.

As some of you may know, I am published digitally with Bookouture – all my books come out in ebook form, and you can order a print-on-demand-copy – but this is something that has to be ordered online or through a bookshop who will place a order with the printers.

Bookouture are an imprint of Hachette one of the big five publishers and one of their imprints is Sphere, who publish authors like Robert Galbraith (well, hello J.K. Rowling!). Occasionally (not often) some Bookouture  books are picked up by them and offered a paperback deal… and incredibly, after six novels, it’s happened to me! I don’t mind admitting that there were a few tears when I heard the news this week (the happy kind).  Part of me is also really grateful that it happened on book seven. Not the first, as it really does show you that if you keep trying and keep striving amazing things happen. I am utterly over the moon to think that next year UK readers will be able to pop into their local WH Smiths or Waterstones and find my book on the shelves!! I will keep you posted on the paperback release date.

I really hope you like the cover, I’d love to hear your thoughts.

Love,

Lily

xxx