Official Website of Author and owner of jigsaw tales

Lisa Polhill

Imagine sitting on a bench on a station platform and looking up to see yourself staring back from the train just pulling out. Not the you that you are now, but the you of twenty-five years past.

When this happens to Lizzie as the book opens in 1978, she reacts slowly, allowing the train to depart Edgware Road station, leaving her with just that glimpse.

Lizzie relives her story whilst searching for the daughter she gave up for adoption, the daughter she believes she has seen again. She spends any spare time she has travelling up and down the Bakerloo Line between Edgware Road and Harrow and Wealdstone, her home stop.

Although I left school at sixteen, I was able to go back to Education during my late forties, completing a

MSc in Education Leadership in 2016. I have worked in a primary school for twenty-five years and am currently the School Business Manager. Prior to that, I worked in a bank, as a library assistant, in credit control, delivered pizzas and was a registered child minder.

My dream for as long as I can remember has been to write a book that people would love to read. Always one of those children whose stories were read out to the rest of the class, my ‘vivid imagination’ has entertained myself and others for many years.

I love the history of Britain, well, from the Norman Conquest through to the Stuarts and,more especially, those Plantagenets. I well remember writing my first ever novel, set in Tudor England, during my 'A' Level English Literature lessons. I should have been listening to ‘Pride and Prejudice’ but had already read it twice. It was much harder to research in those days, but I still remember throwing in the one piece of knowledge I had by allowing my hero to tuck into a 'polonian sausage' to lend authenticity to my story! Many years later, when I found myself writing about the 1950s and 1970s, it took awhile for me to realise that those periods now constitute history. At last, I find myself to be a writer of historical fiction, a dream come true.

On the same week that I received the results of my Masters, I was travelling into London to see a musical. As always, I was bored by the train journey. I was counting off the stations, when I suddenly thought how strange it would be to look into a train and see yourself looking back. The journey home was gone in a flash as I formulated my plot for ‘A Dream to Spare’.

I have been greatly encouraged in my writing by my husband, my two boys and my friends, who have shown great faith in my storytelling abilities.

Lisa Polhill

March 2017

My Books

A Few Seasides Ago

To her class of eleven year olds, Miss Burton appeared to be a very old lady. They professed to be glad she was retiring at last. Secretly, many were sorry to see her go. Strict but fair, she always had time to listen to them. Few stopped to wonder what her life had been like or whether she even existed outside of the classroom. If they had known Betty Burton's story, they would have been astounded.

Hurt You, Burn You, Sting You

Today, they would have labelled TomTom as Autistic. In the late Sixties, he was just odd. His big, well a bit bigger sister, Eilish, adores him and accompanies him on their journey through childhood. She, at least, finds her escape by trying to enter into his world, whilst hoping to avoid the reality around her. Let the adults do what they will, while there is bread and jam there is hope.

reviews

A Fabulous Read

"I was completely caught up in Lizzie's life from the first page to the last; Lisa Polhill engages with the reader and makes you care about all of the characters. As the story moves through the decades, the social history unfolds, drawing you in to local and national events.

Lisa has a very pleasing style of writing – this was a fabulous read and I would recommend the book and the author wholeheartedly."

Tanju, Harrow

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Official Website of Author and owner of jigsaw tales

Lisa Polhill

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My Books

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