Valerie Wood - Author
Valerie Wood was born in Yorkshire and now lives in a village near the east coast. She is the author of The Hungry Tide, winner of the Catherine Cookson Prize for Fiction, Annie, Children of the Tide, The Romany Girl, Emily, Going Home, Rosa’s Island, The Doorstep Girls, Far From Home, The Kitchen Maid and The Songbird, all available in Corgi paperback.
This author won the inaugural Catherine Cookson Prize and she is very good indeed.Similar this month: Dilly Court.Comparison: Katie Flynn, Josephine Cox, Lyn Andrews.
I was privileged to be a judge of the first Catherine Cookson Award and this lovely author’s first novel was the winner so I have been following her career with interest. This one, as the title implies, has a girl with a beautiful voice as its heroine, and an incident-filled plot to totally absorb you.Comparison: Josephine Cox, Lyn Andrews, Lesley Pearse.Similar this month: Charlotte Bingham, Beryl Matthews.
One of our favourite authors in this genre and a recent award winner for her book ‘The Hungry tide’
Sarah Foster's parents have been fighting a constant battle with poverty, disease and crime. When her father, Will, is involved in a terrible accident at work, their lives became even harder. But Will's good deeds of the past pay off as John Rayner decides to rescue the Fosters. John provides them with work and a house on the estate owned by his wealthy family. It is at this new home on the crumbling coastline of Holderness that Sarah is born - and grows into a bright and beautiful girl, and a great source of strength to those around her. As John grows closer to Sarah, he becomes increasingly aware of his love for her. But could these two very different people ever make their love story truly work? If you enjoy books by Katie Flynn and Dilly Court, you'll love Val's heartwarming stories of triumph over adversity.
Val's Bridge is the story of a Black woman who followed her dreams from the age of six years old. She was aware very early on that it would take more than determination and ambition to pursue her goals, especially when the going got tough. This is her fascinating journal of the major episodes in her journey of life.