The Beekeeper's Promise

by Fiona Valpy

  As well as the inspirational stories and memories so generously shared with me by friends in France whose families lived through the years of occupation, the following sources were helpful to me in writing this novel:

  Voices from the Dark Years: The Truth About Occupied France 1940–1945, by Douglas Boyd (2007)

  SAS Operation Bulbasket: Behind the Lines in Occupied France 1944, by Paul McCue (2009)

  Das Reich: The March of the 2nd SS Panzer Division Through France, June 1944, by Max Hastings (2010)

  In a Ruined State, Chapter 6: ‘Background to the 10th of June’, www.oradour.info/ruined/chapter6.htm, by Michael Williams

  If you have enjoyed this book, I should be very grateful if you would consider writing a review. I love getting feedback, and I know reviews have played a big part in other readers discovering my books.

  Merci, et à bientôt,

  Fiona

  ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

  A big thank you to my agent, Madeleine Milburn, for her friendship, enthusiasm and unfailing belief in my writing, and to the rest of the team at the Madeleine Milburn Literary Agency for all their hard work and support in promoting my books.

  Thank you to the brilliant Lake Union team at Amazon Publishing and especially to Sammia Hamer, Victoria Pepe and Bekah Graham, as well as to Mike Jones for his editorial patience and percipience.

  Thank you to the many friends who have cheered me on and checked up on my word count at regular intervals: the volunteer gardeners at Pitlochry Festival Theatre; my book-club buddies; the bridge group; all my friends in yoga; and to John, Amelia, Wyomia and Nairne for providing such a wonderful refuge at Taymount in which to write.

  Special thanks to Annie Fraser, Karen Macgregor, Sally Swann, Marie-Claire Norman-Butler, Mala Saye, Michèle Jobling, Frank Doelger and Bruce Harmon: Friends Indeed.

  Love, gratitude and huge hugs to my sons, James and Alastair, as always.

  And to Rob too, naturally.

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  Fiona Valpy spent seven years living in France, having moved there from the UK in 2007. She and her family renovated an old, rambling farmhouse in the Bordeaux winelands, during the course of which she developed new-found skills in cement mixing, interior decorating and wine tasting.

  All of these inspirations, along with a love for the place, the people and their history, have found their way into the books she’s written, which have been translated into German, Norwegian, Czech, Turkish and Slovenian.

  Fiona now lives in Scotland, but enjoys regular visits to France in search of the sun.