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Can Christmas festivities brighten even the darkest days of war?
Tilly, Maggie, and Katie Kingston’s lives changed when the blitz tore through London, putting a sudden end to a peaceful childhood on Longridge Road. With all three sisters determined to do their part for England in the war, their paths lead them away from each other for the very first time. Tilly to the Royal Ambulance Service, Maggie to the Women’s Army, and Katie to the Navy.
Christmas with the Kingston Girls is a look back at each Christmas during World War II. It begins before the war begins in 1938, and ends in 1946 when the family is into the post-war period and finally back together.
The events of each Christmas season are told through the eyes of one of the main characters: Tillie, Maggie, Katie, and Alice. It is a series of snapshots of where everyone was in their lives, and how they were coping with the war impacts of that year. Some are poignant, many are sad, yet there is also a lot of joy and merriment.
You can follow the Kingston girls as they mature, serve their country to help the Allies to eventual victory, and deal with love and loss along the way. It completes the original trilogy by wrapping up the stories of these courageous women and their wartime adventures.
What was your inspiration to write a Christmas book?
Christmas with the Kingston Girls is a thank-you to all the readers who have loved the tight-knit Kingston family and wanted to read more about Tillie, Maggie, and Katie. I thought it would be a great way to showcase the entire story of the Kingston Girls through a specific lens, and to share untold tales that helped shaped the characters into who they became. I’ve always loved holiday books – they get you into the Christmas spirit! As I hope this book does for you.
Was it easy or difficult to write a book spanning nine family wartime Christmases?
It was surprisingly difficult to write Christmas with the Kingston Girls. I originally thought I would be able to take a broad sweep of the nine Christmases based on all the writing and research I’ve done for the first three books. But remembering exactly who was where, and within which individual story arc each short Christmas period was more difficult than I anticipated. I found I had to constantly re-read my own books to ensure I got it right!
I also found it challenging because I couldn’t change any of the storylines of the first three books. As I was writing Christmas with the Kingston Girls, I wanted to embellish certain events or add more content, but I couldn’t without compromising the integrity of the first three books.
Lastly, I suffered a minor (major?) emergency when I lost the first 30,000 words of the manuscript in January. I spent a frantic few days trying everything I could to recover the file, to no avail. At that point, I reconsidered even writing the book. I wondered if maybe I wasn’t meant to write it and the story wasn’t supposed to be told.
But I decided that it was important for me to finish, so I painstakingly re-created the first ten chapters from memory. Luckily, I am a planner so at least I had my outline to guide me. I actually believe the second version is better. Being named a finalist in the Historical Novel Society’s First Chapters Competition reassured me that this book was meant to be written.
What’s one interesting thing that you found during your research?
One of the most interesting and challenging things was the sheer difficulty in getting weather information for the wartime period. The newspapers stopped printed weather forecasts so that the enemy wouldn’t be forewarned about optimal bombing conditions in England. And none were broadcast on the radio either, so the British people never knew what might be coming weather-wise for six long years. One of the many hardships they had to face.
It was important to accurately portray the weather conditions as a backdrop for what was happening to Tillie, Maggie, and Katie. This part of the research caused me to dig in to many different sources to recreate the real weather conditions as closely as possible.
Are you sad to leave Tillie, Maggie and Katie behind as the Kingston family saga ends?
Yes, I have fallen in love with each of the girls, and I’m sad to leave them behind in my made-up world of 1946. As each girl has grown into a woman, faced and overcame many personal challenges, bravely conquered dangerous wartime conditions, and searched for love, I have been cheered with their personal resilience and commitment to family. It’s a testament to the real wartime spirit that existed in Britain. At the same time, I feel their stories are complete and I’m content to leave them alive and joyful after six long years of war.
Watch out for a cameo or two in my next book, as I’ve brought along a Kingston girl into my upcoming series!
What are you working on next?
I’m writing a new series about brave women at Bletchley Park, home of the codebreakers, which is also set in WW2. There is a new set of characters who will be facing their own obstacles and seemingly impossible wartime roles, all the while dreaming of a love that will stretch past victory. The first adventures of Violet, Fern, and Isabelle Grey will be coming in 2025!
Deb Stratas
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About the Author
Deb Stratas tells well-researched and highly readable stories about powerful women in extraordinary circumstances. Readers are transported to other times and places, inspired to be authentic in their own lives. In 2023, Deb signed with ReadMore Press to re-launch her WWII Kingston Twin series: The War Twins of London and A Burning London Sky. As The Kingston Twins, Bravery in the Blitz, the first book was a finalist in the regional fictional category of the 2023 Next Generation Indie Awards. 2023 also saw her enjoy her fourth intensive research trip to London (her happy place!) and complete the Cheshire Novel Prize Summer School and Advanced course. She is based in Oshawa, Ontario, and when not researching or writing, she cherishes spending time with her two amazing adult children, their spouses, and two sweet grandchildren. Find out mor from her website https://www.debstratas.com/ and follow Deb on Facebook and Twitter @deb_stratas
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