Spanish Crossings is an epic tale of love, politics and conflict, with the yearning but elusive possibility of redemption. A woman's life has been cast in shadow by her connection to the Spanish Civil War. We meet Lorna in Spain, 1937 as she falls in love with Harry, a member of the International Brigade who had been at Guernica when it was bombed. Harry is then killed in the fighting and Lorna fears she might have lost her best chance of happiness. Can she fill the void created by Harry's death by helping the child refugees of the conflict? She finds a particular connection to one boy, Pepe, and as he grows up below the radar of the authorities in England their lives become increasingly intertwined. But can Lorna rely on Pepe as he remains deeply pulled towards the homeland and family that have been placed beyond his reach? Coming through the war, then the post-war rebuilding, Lorna and Pepe's relationship will be tested by their tragic and emotive history.

Author Biography

John Simmons is an independent writer and consultant. His current clients include Allied Irish Banks, Anthony Gold Solicitors and Marks & Spencer. John runs Writing for design workshops for D&AD and the School of Life. He also runs Dark Angels workshops. He has written a number of books on the relationship between language and identity, including The Writer's Trilogy We, me, them & it, The invisible grail and Dark angels. He's a founder director of 26, the not-for-profit group that champions the cause of better language in business, and has been writer-in-residence for Unilever and Kings Cross tube station. In 2011 he was awarded an Honorary Fellowship by the University of Falmouth in recognition of outstanding contribution to the creative sector. His most recent books are 26 ways of looking at a blackberry, about the creative power of constraints, and Room 121: a masterclass in business writing. In June 2011 John's first work of fiction, The angel of the stories, was published by Dark Angels Press, with illustrations by the artist Anita Klein. He initiated and participated in the writing of a Dark Angels collective novel Keeping Mum with fifteen writers the novel was published by Unbound in 2014. John also write the compelling novel Leaves, which was published by Urbane in 2015. John is on the Campaign Council for Writers Centre Norwich as Norwich becomes the first English City of Literature.