The Hidden Road Home

London 1939. With a global conflict on the horizon, 19-year-old waitress, Charlotte Reid meets 21-year-old fighter pilot Tom Hammond. They soon realise that they have something special and after a short engagement, they marry, just after war with Germany is declared. The fall of France puts the Luftwaffe within striking range, and Tom in the thick of the action during the Battle of Britain. Both he and his young wife are taken through every nerve-shredding emotion as the fight for air superiority intensifies. If the Germans achieve their goal of totally destroying the RAF, then invasion would be the likely outcome. With fighter pilot casualty rates so high will Tom Hammond be one of the lucky ones or will the future he has planned with Charlotte literally go up in smoke? If that were to happen, how would she cope with grief at such a young age? Could she cope? War asks some tough questions of love. Is it stronger than fear? Stronger than hate? Stronger than death even? As the bloodiest conflict in history got underway, millions of people, including Tom and Charlotte, didn't know the answers. But they were about to find out.

My name is Steve Johnson and I live in Watford with my son and Purdy, our rescue dog. ( I think we rescued each other). The Hidden Road Home is my debut novel, set in the Second World War, with all the drama and twists and turns of that fascinating era. Covid was obviously an awful time for many people but for me, it gave me the chance to put my business on hold and start writing the story that I conceived in lockdown. To my amazement a whole little world inhabited by living, breathing characters grew organically and here we are. My wife, who was more certain I could do it than I was, sadly passed away suddenly in May 2023 so the book is dedicated to her memory.