On Sunday, October 15th from 12-2pm, join Left Coast Writers® Live on FCCFREE RADIO’s popular show, Lilycat on Stuff. Lilycat’s guest on Sunday will be Barbara Ridley.
Barbara Ridley is a writer living in the San Francisco Bay Area. She is the author of When It’s Over, a literary novel set in Europe in World War II, to be published by She Writes Press in September 2017.
Originally from London, U.K., she has lived in California for over 35 years. She loves the San Francisco Bay Area which is now her home, and likes to spend as much time as she can in the great outdoors.
She was born in London and grew up in a tiny village in Sussex. She attended the University of Sussex and then the North London School of Nursing. She worked for over 30 years as a nurse and then a nurse practitioner, specializing in the care of adults with physical disabilities. She has now retired from her day job and is focusing on her writing. She lives in the East Bay with her partner and their West Highland terrier MacDuff.
When It’s Over is a literary novel set in England during World War II. Lena is a young Czech Jewish woman who manages to reach England and join a group of refugees staying in a small village in Sussex, where they are
sponsored by an eccentric upper-class, left-wing English family. As the war progresses, Lena is torn between her attraction to Milton, the landlady’s son, and her loyalty to fellow refugee Otto. She tries to keep hope alive in the face of frightening news reports on the fate of Jews in Nazi-occupied Europe, while Milton is caught up in the political movement that leads to the defeat of Churchill’s Tory Party in 1945, ushering in Britain’s first viable Labour Government.
When It’s Over deals with universal themes of optimism versus pessimism, hope and denial, and the assimilation of immigrants during a time of social upheaval. Although it is a work of fiction, it is based on Barbara’s late mother’s experience as a refugee in the 1940’s.
Barbara was inspired to write the novel after her mother’s death in 2002. There was so much in her story that was too good to lose, but so many details she realized she didn’t know. So as a lover of fiction, she decided to write a novel and make up stuff to fill in the gaps.
But she also did a ton of research. Among other resources, she was able to read her father’s contemporary letters to one of his close friends. The novel offers fascinating insights into some little-known aspects of life during the war, and the history of the progressive political movements in the 30’a and 40’s. The issues they struggled with then still have resonance today.
The ongoing spot on Lilycat on Stuff is scheduled for the third Sunday of every month. Left Coast Writers® are invited to participate in the programming. Listeners are invited to call in and share their opinions. FCCFREE RADIO is home to over 50 + original programs each week that produce more that 1,000,000 listeners per month(yes, you read that correctly 1,000,000 + listeners) of LIVE hosted content. that comes out of the plush studios in the SOMA District of San Francisco. FFR talk shows cover everything from sex, politics, sports, and back again. Google calls them an “Iconic Staple of San Francisco” and a “Frontrunner in Internet Broadcasting.” Add your voice to the fray by calling in during show hours: 415 829 2980. How to Listen in/Call in! 1 – log onto www.fccfreeradio.com 2 – find “schedule” tab and click it – go to Sundays – there will be the link for Lily Cat on Stuff – click it 3 – on Lily Cat page – there will be a “Tune In Now” section to select the streaming service of listeners choice – Under Studio A: – iTunes – Windows Media Player – Real Media Player – Quick Time Studio 4. Once selected the listening controls should appear & sound should be on – listen to the program – Lily Cat will give the phone # to call Nice thing about these live casts – they’re incorporated into Pod Casts so you can go back and listen if the program played while you were out.