What next?


Embers of War will be published in summer 2020.

It’s summer 1944. Nine months after liberation, war-torn Naples teems with Allied troops but the inhabitants struggle with lack of food and work. Prostitution is rife.

As the bitter Italian campaign enters its second year, Frank, a British officer, knows he's a lucky man. Since reopening an abandoned theatre, he is relishing the chance to stage operas to entertain the Tommies.

Vermillion, an officer in the ATS, loves the independence and fulfilment of working at the theatre. And with Frank falling for her, she begins to reciprocate his feelings.

Incendiaries from an air raid bring back Frank’s painful memories of four years of war, which he thought he had buried. Nightmares threaten to undermine him.

Should Frank hang on in Naples? Or should he confront his fears, rejoining his former comrades as they fight their way north towards the Alps?

And if Frank returns to the front, what will Vermillion do? He knows she won’t stay in Naples waiting for his return. Whatever he chooses, he doubts that his luck will last.


 © rjjhall 2020