We’re heading ‘behind the scenes’ of Katie Ginger’s heartwarming new romcom! It’s time to meet Amelia and Adam and discover the secret family history behind The Secrets of Meadow Farmhouse…
I wanted to give you a sneaky peak behind the scenes because The Secrets of Meadow Farmhouse was inspired by my great-grandparents’ heartrending romance and it’s a story I’ve been hoping to share for a long time.
In the book, Amelia is forced to return home to the tiny village of Meadowbank when she inherits her great-aunt Vera’s house. As she sorts through Vera’s possessions, she finds a beautiful locket, and this inspires her to find out more about Vera and discover why she was always so unhappy.
That’s where my family history comes in!
My great-grandmother, Marion, was an exceptional and loving woman, not at all like grumpy, great-aunt Vera who features in the book! She fell in love with Billy Davies – a young soldier with the Canadian Expeditionary Force when he passed through Kent as part of his training, and though we don’t know the ins and outs of their romance I know that he loved her dearly, giving her a locket containing a picture of him in his uniform. Marion passed that locket to my mum who then gave it to me on my wedding day. It was my something old.
At the time, we didn’t know who Billy Davies was because my grandmother, Violet, was born out of wedlock. Marion was cast out of her family and disowned by her mother and sister (her father had already passed away) and because of the shame she felt, she never spoke of Billy, and his name isn’t even on Violet’s birth certificate.
When we found out about Billy, thanks to Ancestry and one of Billy’s relatives getting in touch, (you can see the little video I made with them here) it was like a piece of a puzzle fell into place, particularly for my mum who truly believed she would never know who her grandfather was, the man her grandmother had loved so much.
Marion never met or married anyone else and had he not died at the Battle of Vimy Ridge in 1917, I’m sure Billy would have returned and married her.
You may be wondering how this fits in with Vera and Amelia. Well, I’m sorry to be a Teasey McTeaseFace but you’re going to have to read the book to find out exactly how!
The Secrets of Meadow Farmhouse is out now in ebook! Get your copy here.
