Two British women writers have secured an American book deal for ‘One Year, One Night’ by S.L. Roman.
It has been published by Red Chair Press and copies will go into American and Canadian libraries as well as an e-book.
The co-authors submitted their writing to Page Turner Awards and were surprised and delighted when one of the judges offered them a publishing contract! Find out more about this co-writing team...
One Year One Night
It’s the story of Annie Corbett who in June 1960 re-discovers her diary from when she turned 16 at the start of World War 2. Her entries reveal her plucky, likeable character. Thrown into running the family shop, she learns not to take people and events at face value, without losing her sense of humour.
She has a love story with a soldier and also cares for Ben, an evacuee boy whose tragic death in a bombing raid provides the climax of the novel.
The narrative moves between comedy and drama with a cast of colourful village characters, against the tragic effects of the war.
The story shifts to 20 years later, when Annie returns to her village for a World War 2 celebration and the laying of a headstone on Ben’s grave. Suzie Bell - an actress will also be there as a special guest.
The novel concludes with a showdown between Annie and the famous actress, who turns out to be Ben’s older sister. The story - aimed at a Young Adults, has plenty of historically accurate detail.
The casual style of the diary pages reflects the age of the main character at the time of writing them, set against her look back two decades on.
Meet The Authors
Sarah and Laura have been friends for many years, and they wanted to create a new name for their first novel. 
With surnames of Onions and Meloni sounding like a veg counter, they chose S.L. Roman (in homage to Laura’s native city).
They’ve both been teachers and understand the mind-set of their target readership. The idea came from a true story which surfaced at a former school in Surrey – a boy was evacuated from Brighton in WW2 and killed by a bomb soon afterwards.
Sarah had worked as co-author of 'Don't Bring Lulu; Her Family's Tale of Trial and Triumph' by Ron, Doris and Sarah Onions, which drew on her journalistic background.
Laura has a first class degree from Rome University, where she worked as a researcher and used to write stories for her students in London.
‘One Year One Night’ by S.L. Roman is on sale at the Regency Bookshop in Surbiton soon for £6.99 and with Amazon.co.uk
