Historical family
romance Sagas
The Flying Scotsman Sings
A Historical Novel by Debbie Wastling
This witty, yet caustic novel explores the meeting of two unlikely young people in 1923 – Amos Bell, train driver of the Flying Scotsman, as he falls for an opera singer, Madame Neil-Gregory. Click here to learn more.
The Soundtrack of Their Lives
What happens to a young couple when the flush of love fades? In 1925 when flappers and jazz abound, this true life story Yorkshire people, who lived in Hull struggle through the depression into the World War II years, and this family saga romance tells of two suffragist sisters and Amos Bell’s relationships with both (and his mistress!).
Popular music of the period swings along with each chapter.
The Sutherland Scandals
The ‘star’ of my third novel is my great-grandmother, a suffragist with an original 1900 lithograph on the cover.
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Elizabeth Sutherland, whose life was rosy as a child in Victorian England while growing up in a famous Newcastle pub, ‘The Barley Mow’ by the River Tyne. When her father died suddenly, the Sutherland siblings met their unknown illegitimate brother who claimed the pub, and a scandal ensued.
Elizabeth found work designing the banners for the Suffragists, then married a working-class husband whose lack of fortune was frowned upon by her family. But their enduring love survived many challenges.
A must-read true love story of life from late Victorian and Edwardian eras, set in Newcastle and Hull, East Yorkshire.
Book 3 in my series called 'The Sutherland Scandals' is now available to buy in paperback, audio and ebook.
Here is a Hull Daily Mail News Article about Madame Neil Gregory's performances:
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Hull Daily Mail - Wednesday 24 May 1922
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A grand concert has been arranged by the Myton Ward Unionist Women's Association, to held to-morrow (Thursday) evening, in St. James's Parish Rooms, Alfred-Street. Hessle Road (not the schoolroom) 7.30. Admission free. All electors in Myton Ward are cordially invited. The artistes include Mrs Neil- Gregory. Miss Roe, and other well-known entertainers.
Dear Readers,
I am proud to say Hull, my home town is leading the way thanks to the Hull Silent Book Club which began
in California - San Francisco) but Ellie the organizer of the Hull meetings finds the most creative spaces open for as many types of readers as possible.
You bring your own book and read for an hour.
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Often held in places with food and beer and help the businesses stay open. I have written 5 stories so far about the places and people and as Ellie finds more spaces. I will continue to be inspired by her incredible creative drive
to have people who love to read be brought together to read. Pets and children are able to be brought to some, and this helps writers and readers be a community.
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Find a the nearest one near you if you put off reading at home! Sign up below to get my Silent Book Club Story.
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Debbie Wastling wrote her first play before she left her British High School. She wrote songs in the rock bands she played within, then original musicals for the companies she directed for, plus scenes for the actors she taught. On moving to Los Angeles, she won the Women in Theatre award for re-writing and editing 'Hamlet' for an all-woman cast and a TV show ‘Dicken’s Women’.
This led her to the non-profit world to educate teaching artists on how to write curricula and raise funds by grant writing for their work. She has raised over 3K for educational arts as a grant writer. She has completed three novels in this family saga and is starting novel four. Please visit our Facebook page for authentic photos:
Author Interview
