Yours Cheerfully: The Times Bestseller from the author of Dear Mrs Bird (The Emmy Lake Chronicles, 2)

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London, September, 1941. Following the departure of the formidable Editor, Mrs Henrietta Bird, things are looking up for Emmeline Lake at Woman's Friend magazine. And while the war rages on, Emmy is even firmer that she must do all she can to help on the Home Front. As ever, she is determined to Make a Go of It. When the Ministry of Information calls on Britain's women's magazines to help recruit female supporters to the war effort, Emmy is thrilled to be asked to help. The Ministry of Information needs help to recruit women workers for the war effort and they want magazines to run government funded articles. Emmy comes up with the idea to interview women who have just started working at a munitions factory and she receives permission to visit Chandlers. Emmy's new friend Anne works at the facility, she’s a war widow and has two young children. She discovers the challenges women workers face, they work extremely long hours, and juggling shift work and motherhood during a war isn’t easy. Most married women needed to work, many struggled financially and they had no access to funded childcare. The managers at Chandlers considered child minding not their problem, workers families should help out and many women didn’t have relatives living close by. Emmy immediately became one of my favourite historical fiction characters when I met her in “ Dear Mrs. Bird”. Emmy is utterly optimistic and sees joy in the little things, and I admire her for that. She takes the ultimate stand against the government and the male-led system in “Yours Cheerfully” and she most definitely deserves all of the cheers. Mrs. Edwards of Woman Today is a memorable figure and a role model for Emmy. Why does she make such an impression on Emmy? It has been said a lot, but you have to really love what you are writing. It takes a long time to write a novel, so you really do have to be passionate about it. Don’t try to write a thriller if you don’t like that genre! That’s where patience comes in as well. You can’t write a good novel overnight and there will be highs and lows along the way – there are even for the most successful authors.

My mother was a war bride from Scotland and emigrated to Canada with my father after WWII. She had a good friend in Scotland that she corresponded with for many years and her name was Bunty so every time I see that name I think of my mom. When we were kids we thought it was the funniest name ever!

Now enjoy Claire’s chat to A. J. Pearce about her writing and inspiration…

I really hope that readers will like Emmy’s latest challenge, but most of all I hope they will enjoy reading about the friendships in the book. That’s the main thing I write about – how friends share the good times and help each other through bad times. I loved Dear Mrs. Bird and was thrilled when I was asked to spend more time with Emmy and Bunty in Yours Cheerfully. AJ Pearce shines a light on the hardships that women factory workers faced during World War II and uses it as a segway to spotlight the plight of working mothers even today.

Book 1...Mrs Byrd was sat on my shelf for ages. Actually, since the time it was published and I only got to read it last year and flipping loved it. When I heard this was being followed up with a book 2 I was so anticipating it. A fabulous account of history within this fictional writing with an updated role from Emmeline now that the formidable woman from the previous book is now gone. We see more strength of character from Emmeline and when you have other women, strong women and support from other avenues it’s clear what can be achieved with the help of Yours Cheerfully in the forefront.But one of the wonderful things about writing is that it isn’t a race and there’s no age limit. You start at any point in your life and can be any age when you get published. I was 53 when my first novel came out. I knew I wanted to write about it so began researching the subject. I won’t give away the plot, but Emmy and her best friend Bunty find themselves torn between doing their bit for the war effort, and standing by their new friends. Tell me what you hope readers will love about it… The main focus of this story is the plight of the female factory workers: all those women who stepped up and worked long hours - for less pay than their male counterparts, and with few or no benefits. This is Book 2 in a series following the life and career of Emmeline (Emmy) Lake, who has hopes of becoming a Lady War Correspondent. I really enjoyed the first book, Dear Mrs. Bird, and was happy to settle in with the second book which begins in June 1941. Mr. Collins has replaced Henrietta Bird as the editor at Woman's Friend magazine and Emmy is given more responsibility. Mr. Collins announces he will be attending a meeting at the Ministry of Information and invites Emmy to join. The Ministry is calling upon British women's magazines to assist with what they call 'Doing Your Bit'. There is an urgent need to rally female workers to the war effort. Male factory workers need to be replaced with female workers so men can respond to the fight for freedom on the front lines of the war.

As columnists, one of their jobs was to encourage women to work in the factories...the same factories that supply artillery to their husbands. With little empathy for their plight, doing the same job, less money, still man the house and take care of the kids making it ever so difficult to keep up. Once the jobs were filled the demand to appreciate them became centerfold.Discuss the competing demands Emmy faces in her work, such as the Ministry recruitment campaign versus the women workers’ welfare. In what ways does Emmy try to strike a balance? Does she succeed? As Emmy visits the factory she speaks with the women and one of the things that is most needed is nursery care for their little ones. Everyone doesn’t have a family member available to care for the children and they also work very odd shifts at times. Despite the lessons learned in WW1, women were still not permitted to join any existing unions and child care and other basic services for working mothers was almost non-existent. Furthermore, the red tape involved in setting up nurseries during the war was a minefield in itself. Government officials would often fluff off any requests to simplify or escalate the process as being unpatriotic.. Women's requests for fair treatment were shut down and disregarded: "Don't You Know There's a War On?" was the consistent rebuff (The rampant feminist in me was outraged.)