Kate O’Connell, who writes under the pen name Kate Duprez, is set to release the first of three novels this month.
Over the past four years, O’Connell has written the historical novels set in Europe during World War 2, involving espionage and British agents.
The novels, The Warsaw Messenger and The Bordeaux Bakery are to be released on Amazon this month and next.
Her interest for European history came from her parents who lived through World War 2 and was maintained through reading a range of non-fiction books based in Europe which made her aware of intelligence used during the war.
On her website, O’Connell said she was inspired to bring to life the amazing feats and courage of women and men during the war.
‘‘The novels are inspired by the female agents who were sent into Germany and occupied Europe to live and work undercover in local communities during World War 2.’’
O’Connell said she discovered her ability and desire to write during the Covid-19 lockdown in 2020.
‘‘During the lockdown I was looking for something to fill my time and thought I could write,’’ she said.
With characters in the novels based on real people from history, O’Connell’s website said historical fiction made readers care about those who lived, loved, suffered or thrived during times of change.
‘‘In historical fiction, during the events of history, the characters and their stories become more than just statistics, they become real,’’ she said.
O’Connell spent seven weeks in Bordeaux, immersing herself in the culture and landscape of the French countryside, gathering information which she later used in the final novel of the Bordeaux series.
The self-publishing author and part-time English and music teacher said she was proud of the books regardless of whether they sold.
‘‘The entire writing process has been a very steep learning curve and very expensive, they may not sell but I will still be proud regardless,’’ she said.
As well as her European-based works, O’Connell also takes an interest in South East Asia, particularly the Vietnam War era with a novel expected for release in 2027.
