Wonny Lea

Wonny Lea

About

I’ve just celebrated my 70th birthday and I can’t remember a time in my life when I haven’t been doing something new! If I had to put my finger on one life-changing event it would have to be getting the opportunity to attend Grammar School. In that environment I was middle of the road in terms of academia but I left school having been taught how to learn and for me that has been better than any exam results.    
By the end of the swinging sixties I was a qualified nurse and midwife as well as being a wife and mother. Fitting life around my family I did all sorts of things from training as a florist and opening my own business; to running a crèche; to owning a pub; to working in the tourist industry! When I returned to nursing I had many of the life skills and business talents that the reorganised NHS was looking for and I successfully rose to become the Chief Nurse at Trust Board level in Cardiff.
Early retirement gave me another chance to seek out new opportunities and in what is possibly the opposite to a ‘poacher turned gamekeeper’ moment I established a Nursing Agency. My eldest daughter is now the MD of that company and her input gave me the chance of a second retirement and a new and unexpected career as a writer!

 

Godwine Kingmaker: Part One of The Last Great Saxon Earls

Godwine Kingmaker: Part One of The Last Great Saxon Earls

0.0
0 ratings

Description

<p><span><span>Harold Godwineson, the Last Anglo-Saxon King, owed everything to his father. Who was this Godwine, first Earl of Wessex and known as the Kingmaker? Was he an unscrupulous schemer, using King and Witan to gain power? Or was he the greatest of all Saxon Earls, protector of the English against the hated Normans? The answer depends on who you ask. He was befriended by the Danes, raised up by Canute the Great, given an Earldom and a wife from the highest Danish ranks. He sired nine children, among them four Earls, a Queen and a future King. Along with his power came a struggle to keep his enemies at bay, and Godwine's best efforts were brought down by the misdeeds of his eldest son Swegn. Although he became father-in-law to a reluctant Edward the Confessor, his fortunes dwindled as the Normans gained prominence at court. Driven into exile, Godwine regathered his forces and came back even stronger, only to discover that his second son Harold was destined to surpass him in renown and glory.</span></span></p>

Story Behind The Book

Beginning in the swinging sixties and ending in the 1990's my time in the National Health Service was rooted in a time of constant change and amazing developments. As I climbed the ladder in my nursing career I became part of the latest discussions about scientific advances. Coupled with my natural love for solving puzzles it was almost inevitable that there was a crime novel somewhere in my brain! I had itchy feet after taking early retirement and set up a health related business that continues to thrive, albeit now with my eldest daughter at the helm. With time on my hands I turned to writing and my first book 'Jack-Knifed' sat on my laptop for some time before I got up the courage to ask my husband to read it. Almost a week went by and as he had made no comment I figured he was summoning up the courage to tell me it was rubbish. John is not someone who gives out praise unless it is justified so when he told me that it was as good as many books he had read and a hell of a lot better than lots of others, I was amazed and encouraged. I have since gone on to complete four novels in the DCI Martin Phelps series, based in Cardiff Bay and the fifth is currently keeping me awake at night. It is my husband who has been the driver in relation to publishing the series and continues to be my number one fan.

Reviews