Greg Lewis

Writing a book can be a long and lonely journey.

My latest began many years ago while sitting in my friend John’s house.

I’d always been fascinated by the Resistance and evasion line heroes who had helped him and many others.

I trace my interest back to the great BBC series ‘Secret Army’, and many of the short stories and ‘novels’ I wrote as a child featured characters operating behind-the-lines in occupied countries, the Gestapo on their trail.

When I began to meet those people for real, I started to write non-fiction, seeking to bring these heroes – men, women, and often teenagers – out of the shadows.

‘The Nazi Ghost Train’ involved a lot of trawling through archived reports from WW2, mostly at the UK National Archive and CegeSoma in Belgium.

Holding these real documents is one of the great thrills of writing a book such as this.

In the coming weeks, I’ll do a post with research tips. Plus, maybe something about my experience of working with publishers, both large and small – and maybe a piece on literary agents. (Tell me in the comments if you have any questions!)

Having a great agent remains very important – and I’ve worked with three.

Anyway, a book has been researched and written. A publisher found. A box arrives…

… followed soon after by the unboxing video, as the author struggles with the hardest part of all – the marketing!