Researching D-Day

Fun facts but based on historical entries

I’m currently in the throes of finishing the last chapters of the first draft of The Highland Raven. By 6 June 1944 my main character Sable Montgomery, codenamed Raven - le Corbeau Noir - has been in France as an SOE agent for over two years and her BROADCAST network has created havoc and confusion to deter the German advance towards Normandy.

Before finally flying back to England and safety, Sable really wants to be close to the Allied landings on the beaches of Normandy. So, she is in Caen where they have been protecting the bridges over the river Orne and the canal through Caen (Pegasus Bridge).

For this part of my book I was close-reading about the events in the early morning of D-Day.

Thought I’d share what some of key players were up to. Just for fun.

The Highland Raven is currently on preorder and will come out on 27 September 2022.

Preorder The Highland Raven here

From troubled society girl to diehard SOE agent.

Scotland, January 1938

Staying strong and picking up your life, when you’re brought to ruin before even turning twenty, seems an impossible pursuit. Sable Montgomery sees only one way out. Pretend nothing happened, though the scars are deep, literally engraved on her body.

In a desperate dash for a new start, she accepts a marriage proposal from childhood friend Freddie, but their plans are thwarted. Instead, Sable ends up at a finishing school in Switzerland. High time to party and bully the less popular girls. Until a skiing accident and World War 2 handcuff Sable’s society life and all the fun stops.

On her return to London, a brush with secret agent recruiter Anna Adams sets the drifting Sable on a new course and to a new love. William “wild Bill” Mitchell – the Scotsman who trains the SOE agents - wins her heart. And though it’s love at first sight, the past won’t leave Sable alone.

When she’s forced to face her biggest enemy, SS-Hauptsturmführer Joachim Von Henkell, in a one-to-one battle, her heart is ripped open all over again.

With her tough exterior and survival instinct, Sable ultimately fights her way to the top of Churchill's secret agents’ ladder. Even Anna can be proud of her. But when the war is over, Sable has but one wish. To find the girl she was forced to leave behind.

The Highland Raven is a young woman’s spellbinding story of heartbreak and revenge, in which her fight against the Nazis proves to be both a blessing and a curse.