Freda Lightfoot's Blog

Gracie's Sin

Now Published by Canelo. 
It's 1942 and three young women join the Women's Timber Corps, eager to do their bit for the war effort. Buxom and bouncy, red-headed Lou is newly married and sees her training in Cornwall as a way of staying near her sailor husband.

I often interview people when I’m working on a book, and they readily find time to share their memories with me of the work they used to

The Bobbin Girls

Now Published by Canelo.
Alena Townsen wants nothing more than to spend the rest of her life with her childhood friend Rob, the only son of James Hollinthwaite, a wealthy landowner.

The Bobbin Girls, set against the wonderful backdrop of Grizedale Forest where two young people in love try to escape the disapproval of parents and make a new life for themselves, are one of my favourite historical

Daisy's Secret

Now Published by Canelo. 

Daisy is devastated when her lover, Percy, abandons her. All alone, Daisy is forced by her own mother to give up her baby son for adoption – shortly before she throws Daisy out.

The Lakes 2012
Laura is having problems with her marriage, so when she is left a house in the Lake District by her grandmother, she starts to look at her life anew. And she begins to

Kitty Little

Now Published by Canelo.
After fleeing from a marriage arranged by her ambitious mother, Katherine throws herself into an acting career, but a scandal threatens to wreck everything she has worked for.

I based the LTP’s on Eleanor Elder’s story, whose great wish was to bring the Arts to the masses, and on that of the old Blue Box, otherwise known as the Century Theatre. This was a collection of

Lakeland Lily

Now Published by Canelo.
Lily Thorpe is a spirited, ambitious fisherman’s daughter, desperate to escape the poverty of her Lakeland home.

Back in the fast I was enjoying my new career. I finished that first series then went on to write Lakeland Lily, which deals with snobbery and the effects of World War I. I’d achieved my dream. Life was good.

I checked with various people when I was writing

Favourites of mine

Here are the details of favourite books of mine.





Just returned from the Napoleonic wars Raul Beringer discovers that as well as contending with the enmity of his brother, Maynard, the legacy of his late father’s wine business in Madeira must be shared with a penniless orphan, Coriander May. Whoever makes the most profit from their inheritance in a year will win control of the company. But is

The Joy of Writing

I accept that writing can be a difficult process. At the start of my career when a book was rejected I would deal with drying my tears, put on a pot of coffee, and stoutly concentrate on writing another book, taking any criticisms into account. Persistence, patience and practise are three essentials. I have no problem finding time to write, spending hours each day, being a full time job. In the

Six Champion Street Market Sagas

They bubble with enough life and
colour to brighten up the dreariest day and they have characters you can
easily take to your heart’ Northern Echo

<!--[if gte mso 9]>

Normal
0


<![endif]-->Now Presented by Canelo. 



Putting on the Style (Book 1) Amazon





<!--[if gte mso 9]>

Normal
0


<![endif]-->






Folk are just emerging from the shadow of WWII and money is still

The Favourite Child

The idea for The Favourite Child came about quite by accident. I was working on my novel in which one of my characters needed guidance on contraception, worrying how to stop yet another baby coming. I was telling Ursula, a writer friend of how I’d discovered in my research that there had been a Mothers’ Clinic over a pie shop in Salford in the twenties.

‘I know,’ she said. ‘My mother opened it.’

The Castlefield Collector

I often interview people when I’m working on a book, and they happily find time to talk to me and share their memories of times past, the work they used to do whether in the mill or munitions, farming or forestry, in war or peace. I like to be able to properly describe some activity for my heroine during a particular scene or while a piece of dialogue is taking place.

For this book I chatted