Author Louise Morrish talks to us about her debut novel Operation Moonlight and her research into the clandestine group of women spies created by Churchill in the 1940s.
Louise Morrish is an author and librarian. As a librarian she has worked in public libraries, catalogued private literary collections and run school libraries.
In 2012 she enrolled on a six month 'Write a Novel Online' course with Faber. Next she joined the Hampshire Writers' Society and began entering competitions and winning prizes.
In 2019 she entered the Penguin Random House First Novel Competition. Louise's story was chosen from over 5,000 entries. That manuscript became Operation Moonlight which was published by Century on 21 July. You can also find Operation Moonlight on our catalogue.
I grew up in the 1980s, and throughout that time there were few women writers in the public eye, and certainly none like Victoria Wood. Not only did she write her own sketches, plays and songs, but she also performed one-woman shows that consistently sold out venues such as the Royal Albert Hall. She was self-deprecating, quite shy in fact, but supremely gifted when it came to writing material. I read and watched every single thing she ever created, and still feel sad that she is no longer with us.
Yes, managing a school library has helped me enormously with my writing career. Writing, by its very nature, is largely a solitary endeavour. Working part time in a busy, constantly changing school environment keeps me connected to other people, and on my toes.
A significant part of my job involves enthusing young people to read. I often give presentations to classes of teenagers, and sometimes they can be a tricky audience! On the whole, their enthusiasm for literature is heart-warming and encouraging. Young people still love to read.
The range of children’s and young adult literature these days is thankfully far more extensive than when I was young. My role as librarian ensures I stay up to date with the latest authors and publishing news, and I get to share my love of all things bookish with the new generation of readers.
Winning the PRH First Novel competition was, quite honestly, a dream come true, and has completely changed my life. The biggest change is how I perceive my writing. I no longer feel guilty when I sit down at my laptop and begin to type, I no longer worry so much that I should be cleaning the house, or weeding the garden, or doing a million other things. Writing is my job now, and I have contracts to fulfil, and readers to enthral (hopefully!). The competition has enabled me to realise my lifelong ambition to become a published author, and I will be forever grateful to my editor, Selina Walker, my literary agent, Luigi Bonomi, and everyone else who has been involved in helping me reach this goal.
Research plays a huge part in my novels. I write historical fiction, and the past is a foreign country, as they say - they do things differently there! Luckily, I love the research process, especially when my explorations cause me to stumble into a ‘rabbit hole’ and I discover something entirely new.
This is what happened with Operation Moonlight, when I stumbled across a rather mysterious area of British military history – the Special Operations Executive (SOE) - whilst conducting research for a different novel. Intrigued, I plunged into a murky, terrifying, thrilling world I knew nothing about.
I discovered that in 1940 the SOE, a clandestine government organisation authorised by Winston Churchill to ‘set Europe ablaze’, recruited and trained hundreds of secret agents. As the war progressed, it became almost impossible for these male agents to infiltrate Nazi-occupied France, as able-bodied men were increasingly forced to work for the Germans.
The SOE needed a new plan, and so in 1942 they took the unprecedented decision to recruit women. Training alongside their male counterparts, 39 bilingual women, ostensibly ordinary wives, mothers and daughters, their ages ranging from 19 to 51, and from a variety of backgrounds, were taught the skills to undertake the most dangerous missions in enemy territory. Mostly alone, and always under cover of night, the female agents were parachuted or submarined into Nazi-occupied France to aid the Resistance.
Twelve women were executed following their capture by the Nazis, while one died of meningitis during her mission. The remainder survived the war. Most of these women have fallen into shadowy obscurity over the years, and I wanted to bring their perilous endeavours, and awe-inspiring courage, back into the light.
Operation Moonlight is a dual timeline novel, set during the Second World War, and the present day. In 1944, newly recruited SOE agent Elisabeth Shepherd is faced with an impossible mission: to parachute behind enemy lines into Nazi-occupied France and undertake a perilous mission. Her only advice? Trust absolutely no one. With danger lurking at every turn, one wrong move for Elisabeth could spell instant death.
In the present, Betty is about to celebrate her 100th birthday. Encouraged by her carer Tali, she reluctantly accepts an invitation to join the Century Society, a social club exclusively for centenarians. Remembering a life shrouded in secrecy and danger, Betty refuses to reminisce on the past, remaining tight-lipped. But when Tali finds a suitcase filled with letters and a gun hidden in Betty's cellar, it becomes clear that Betty's secrets are about to be uncovered…
All my characters have elements that are inspired by people in my life. For Tali and Betty’s relationship, I drew on my memories of an old friend who had a live-in carer who was almost one of the family. I wanted to reflect as realistically as possible the relational dynamics that can arise between two people forced together, such as a live-in carer and their elderly charge. Another theme I wanted to highlight in the novel was how often the elderly are written off once they pass a certain age. We dismiss their life experience, when in fact they have so much to teach us. I also wanted to write about the challenges faced by carers, particularly the loneliness and isolation that can sometimes afflict this vital workforce.
I can’t divulge too much at this stage, except to say that it’s set in the First World War this time, and is also inspired by real women in the past who achieved extraordinary things…
I often write to music, but only ever instrumentals (lyrics interfere with my concentration). When I discovered the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra had made a cover of Comfortably Numb by Pink Floyd, I listened to this repeatedly whilst writing Operation Moonlight. There’s something about this haunting tune, its rhythm and pace working in harmony with my creative process, that just helped the words to flow.
I continue to be surprised! Becoming a published author feels a little like being admitted into a castle, passing through the hallowed portal into a huge courtyard thrumming with busy folk. I had no idea that there were so many people involved in bringing a book to publication. Since signing with Penguin and LBA Books, I have had the pleasure and privilege of working with editors, copyeditors, proof-readers, typesetters, illustrators and cover designers, not to mention publicists, marketing managers, printers, agents and literary assistants.
I recently ran 53km (31.5 miles) in one go. I was, admittedly, running at ‘picnic pace’ which is only slightly faster than a trot. But even so, it was a long way to go… but the medal at the end was worth it.
Writing a novel is a bit like running an ultra-marathon. It’s a hell of a long process, but if you keep putting one foot in front of the other, one word in front of the next, you’ll get there in the end.
