New book joy for Wednesbury author

Lee Willmore, age 32, penned the novel about a young man from Birmingham who is drafted into the Second World War, where he witnesses his destiny take a new direction into the world of dance.

The former Wood Green High School pupil was inspired after learning a few of his relatives were soldiers in the war.

He said: "One day, a story came to me about one of my favourite dance styles - ballet. So for the next two years, I spent my time writing my book.

"It took all those two years on my lunch breaks at work as I didn't want my wife to know due to her being one of the dedications.

"I did a lot of research, such as what people ate, dates of the month during the 1940s calendar, what elements I could use of ballet, and World War II history to make the book really interesting. I discovered that what I wanted to happen in the book could be used from a dance perspective, but the era only I believe would provide an interesting story line.

"My home city is a key point for the book, and locations have been added to signify this. I wanted the book to be personal to me as much as possible, from names to locations."

The book was published on Wednesday this week, and its release will be marked at Waterstones in Covent Garden this month, with another evening at the Birmingham store on Friday, May 11 at 6pm.

Lee Willmore, who now lives in Kent with wife Keighley, said: "There's a follow-up to A British War Dance in the pipeline, but I can't give too much away at the moment. What I can tell you is that it will have a lot of twists and turns; more dramatic and a lot darker - and still in a period setting.

"I enjoy the journey of being a writer. Later down the line, I hope it will lead onto theatre, dance and musicals - that's only because it's one of my interests."

To buy a copy of Lee's book visit waterstones.com and search Lee Willmore.