Wherefore Sings the Blackbird

After twenty years apart, two teenage sweethearts are unexpectedly reunited – now amidst the terror and devastation of war, they must learn to survive together, or alone.

Wherefore Sings the Blackbird – Laura A Coats

War has come to the UK. Within five fateful minutes of nuclear strikes, long-ago teenage sweethearts Danicka and Zeph find themselves reunited. Fearing fallout, they become stuck in Zeph’s country home, and must learn to put the bitterness of their distant past behind them. In such dark and confusing days of war, however, nothing is easy. While Danicka grapples with the unknown fate of her husband, Zeph battles his own demons. When supplies become scare, the couple are forced to navigate the war-torn landscape facing death, disease, devastation, and distrust at every turn. All will be well as long as they have each other, but can their renewed bond endure the perils of the long road ahead?

The Idea

The idea for this novel originally occurred to me during the first of the pandemic lockdowns in 2020. I was intrigued by stories I read of people who found themselves in situations where they were stuck – unable to leave the house for work or leisure – spending time together, where they usually wouldn’t.

I met my husband when I moved into his house as a temporary lodger. Although this was years before Covid, we were practically strangers then, having only known each other briefly when we met in social circles in our youth. By the time the pandemic hit, we had been living together for four years, fallen in love and got engaged. During the first lockdown I started pondering on what might have happened I had only just moved in when Covid came along. Would we have fallen in love? Would we have stayed friends or fallen apart in the crazy circumstances that was the pandemic? I like to think the outcome of this imaginary situation would have been the same as real life, and we would have still found love together…but who knows?

It was this line of thinking that got me wandering down dark avenues, through war torn landscapes; cities and towns denuded of any semblance of normal life. Danger at every corner – yet the human need for love and comfort still prevalent – in a world turned upside down.