It\u2019s my very great pleasure to welcome Ros Rendle to the blog today. Ros lives just up the road from me and we have served together on the Deepings Literary Festival committee. I caught up with Ros in person recently and realised she\u2019d never actually featured on Linda\u2019s Book Bag<\/em> so we\u2019re putting that omission right today.<\/span><\/p>\n Let\u2019s find out more:<\/span><\/p>\n Welcome to Linda\u2019s Book Bag Ros and thank you for staying in with me.<\/strong><\/p>\n It\u2019s lovely to spend an evening with you, Linda.<\/span><\/p>\n Tell me, which of your books have you brought along this evening?<\/strong><\/p>\n The book I\u2019ve brought is Sisters At War<\/strong>. It\u2019s the first of a series of books about three sisters in times of early 20th century turbulence in Europe and beyond.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n A series of books in that era must have taken considerable research.<\/strong>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n With the extent of research I\u2019ve done for the subject matters, the stories have the possibility of being grim but, while painting a picture of those times, WW1, WW2, and the Cold War, each is definitely interesting (I\u2019m told), and ultimately uplifting. In each, they look at the position of women in a \u2018man\u2019s world\u2019 and how they show bravery, and conquer setbacks to reach fulfilment.<\/span><\/p>\n I love a bit of \u2018herstory\u2019 as a counterbalance to history Ros! Tell me more\u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n Sisters At War<\/strong> is set during WW1, and covers life for men in the trenches but also the things women did to contribute and survive. I\u2019ve brought Rose, my main character from the first book along with me. Let me introduce her to you.<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0 Rose gives a small self-conscious smile, pushes her glasses up her nose, and pats her fly-away hair.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u201cShe has agreed that we might tell the background to her story.\u201d I glance at her. \u201cRose, you\u00a0 are serious and intelligent, and I know you\u2019ve loved Michael for as long as you can remember.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u201cYes, It\u2019s true but I\u2019ve secured a place at Oxford university. I know, as a woman, I can\u2019t win the degree even if I qualify but it will be marvellous, and Father is so generous to let me go. It\u2019s causing problems, though.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u201cOh?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u201cDelphi is far from happy. She\u2019s so vivacious and beautiful, exotic-looking, really, but she\u2019s always struggled as the middle sister. She\u2019s envious of me and this opportunity, and Iris, Izzy we call her, is the young one and spoiled, I suppose.<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u201cI gather Delphi has told you a secret.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u201cYes, I\u2019m not sure whether to believe her or not. Perhaps she\u2019s being malicious. She\u2019s complex, but I do love her dearly. She told me Michael has said he loves her and has asked her to wait for him when he goes away to France. It shouldn\u2019t be a surprise. She\u2019s so lovely.\u201d Rose needlessly brushes her skirt and takes a moment.<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0I give her time, and say, \u201cI\u2019m not giving anything away to say that Delphi will eventually go to France, too. She will grow and develop but she\u2019ll have a major life-changing experience.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u201cIndeed, and maybe I\u2019ll even develop some sense of my own place,\u201d Rose says.<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u201cMy dear Rose, it\u2019s not always wise to be too self-deprecating. I know you try to see the best in everyone but if it\u2019s at the expense of your own worth and well-being, well\u2026\u201d\u00a0 I pause. \u201cMichael\u2019s going to France, you say?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n I like the sound of Rose. What made you decide on WW1 as your narrative background for Sisters at War<\/em>?<\/strong>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n My grandfather, who fought at the battle of the Somme, survived those ordeals and when we went to live in France we weren\u2019t far from the battlefields.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n My grandfather was at the Somme too \u2013 reported missing in action, blinded in one eye and with shrapnel embedded in him for the rest of his life. I find the battlefields fascinating so I think I\u2019d love Sisters at War<\/em>.<\/strong><\/p>\n Through significant research and looking at war diaries of the time, my husband and I found him mentioned, and were able to walk within ten metres of his positions on that first day \u2013 1st July 1916. When he died, a small memento was found among his effects. It was a tiny \u2018touch wood\u2019 figure. He would have worn it on his watch chain. They were given to soldiers\u00a0 for good luck and a swift return, hence the four-leaved clover stamped on its little wooden head and the wings on its heels. The arms can be raised to touch the wood. This one has a silver body but others were brass or gold, and some had precious stones for the eyes. I have a collection of nearly forty now and each is slightly different.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Oh! I haven\u2019t heard of them. I\u2019d love to see that collection sometime. What else have you brought along?<\/strong><\/p>\n I\u2019ve also brought some slices of trench cake. The women at home sometimes made this and sent it out as a taste of home to their men in France. Sometimes eggs were in short supply, and were substituted with vinegar and baking soda to make it rise. I shan\u2019t be offended if you don\u2019t want to try it. It\u2019s a little dense, shall we say!<\/span><\/p>\n I think I\u2019d better just give it a quality control test Ros, even if it doesn\u2019t sound the most appetising! Thanks so much for staying in with me to chat about Sisters at War<\/em>. You serve up a couple of slices of cake and I\u2019ll give readers a few more details about Sisters at War<\/em>:<\/strong><\/p>\n In the shadow of war, a young woman battles with her heart\u2026<\/span><\/p>\n England, 1913<\/span><\/p>\n Eighteen-year-old Rose Strong has loved childhood friend Michael Redfern for as long as she can remember.<\/span><\/p>\n However, believing that Michael loves her beautiful but aloof younger sister, Delphi, Rose vows to keep her feelings hidden.<\/span><\/p>\n When war breaks out, Michael enlists, and Rose fears for his life as he heads to the trenches in France.<\/span><\/p>\n As the war rages on, Rose strikes up a friendship with Thom, a budding engineer. And when Thom\u2019s feelings for her grow warmer, Rose must decide whether she is prepared to betray her heart.<\/span><\/p>\n And with Delphi joining the Women\u2019s Legion while Rose remains at home, it seems Michael and Delphi may grow closer. But Delphi is harbouring a secret of her own\u2026<\/span><\/p>\n Will Michael make it home safely? Is he destined to be with Delphi?<\/span><\/p>\n Or could Rose be the one to win his heart\u2026?<\/span><\/p>\n Published by Sapere Books on 13th July 2021, Sisters at War<\/strong> is available for purchase here<\/a>.<\/p>\n After taking early retirement as a headteacher, when Ros Rendle had to write many policy documents and also had fun story-writing for children, she moved with her husband and dogs to France. She lived there for over ten years and began writing seriously for adults. She joined the Romantic Novelists\u2019 Association New Writers\u2019 Scheme. This afforded a detailed critique of her first novel and subsequently she was fortunate enough to gain a publishing contract. Ros has twelve historical and romance books published and another three contracted, frequently featuring the French countryside and sometimes even a handsome, enigmatic Frenchman!<\/span><\/p>\n The new mediaeval series (first book published 25\/07\/2025 and two others, so far, to follow), is published under the pseudonym of Cara Clayton<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n Now, as well as writing, Ros and her husband are raising a guide dog puppy for the blind and enjoy walking him and their new pet dog.<\/span><\/p>\n For further information, visit Ros\u2019s website, follow her on X @ros_rendle<\/a> or find Ros on Facebook<\/a> and Bluesky<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" It\u2019s my very great pleasure to welcome Ros Rendle to the blog today. Ros lives just up the road from me and we have served together on the Deepings Literary Festival committee. I caught up with Ros in person recently and realised she\u2019d never actually featured on Linda\u2019s Book Bag so we\u2019re putting that omission […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":336563,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[161569,91005,4385],"dealstore":[],"offerexpiration":[],"class_list":["post-336562","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-rendle","tag-ros","tag-staying"],"yoast_head":"\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/lindasbookbag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/sisters-at-war.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\nStaying in with Ros Rendle<\/span><\/h3>\n
<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\nSisters at War<\/span><\/h3>\n
<\/a><\/p>\nAbout Ros Rendle<\/span><\/h3>\n
<\/a><\/p>\n