Over the Line

In March I have new book out. It's called Over the Line and is about the WWI soldier who came out of the trenches to score England's first post-war international goal.

Jack Cock was in his teens when the war began. He volunteered to join the Footballer's Battalion in 1915, having just broken into the Huddersfield Town first team. He fought at the Somme, saw many of his fellow footballers killed in action, but survived himself, winning medals for bravery.

In 1919 England played Ireland in Belfast. Jack Cock scored after just 30 seconds on his debut.

Although Over the Line is fiction all the characters, football matches and battles are real. That is why it felt such a special book to write. It was standing at the grave of the Grimsby player, Sid Wheelhouse, that made me understand that writing about real people is very different to inventing spies, detectives and young sports stars.

I am going back to the Somme area of France in February to make some films for the website - www.firstworldwarfictionforkids.co.uk. The idea is to talk about and read from key scenes in the books where the action actually took place. Delville Wood. Bethune. Boulogne docks. The website will be live later in the spring.
 
The first review of Over the Line was written by children's author and football fan, Helena Pielichaty. Here it is.