Two local writers will talk at Kingston's library about their war-time novel at 11am on Monday 27 November.

Former journalist Sarah Onions and retired researcher Laura Meloni have teamed up to bring to life a tender and amusing story of love, loss and resilience based on a tragic event in 1940. 

 'One Year One Night' is told through the nostalgic eyes of Annie after, some 20 years later, she rediscovers her wartime diary. It follows the fortunes of 16-year-old Annie and the soldier she falls for.

It also captures the growing affection she has for the evacuee boy who has come to stay and offers a panorama of the devastating effects of the war but seasoned by a light touch of humour.

Now the story has been taken up in North America and will be published by Red Chair Press next year. The American edition will be stocked in libraries across the U.S. and Canada.

UK cover of One Year One Night by SL Roman. (Photo: Supplied)

Sarah admits the idea for 'One Year One Night' by SL Roman stemmed from a chat with some journalism students. She explained: "I got the original idea from the students at Strode's Sixth Form College in Egham who knew the curious story of wartime pupils who had been evacuated there including Ken Carter from a prep school in Brighton.

"Laura and I made an early visit to the seaside town for research to look at the bungalow where Ken lived until he was 10. Then to Egham library for research – we just walked in and asked to see newspapers from 1940.

"We also did a lot of work online and we got hold of the birth certificates of the evacuee boy's mother to try and make sense of what happened."

'One Year One Night' has been described by reviewers as 'enjoyable and well written', 'a deep insight into the mind of a teenage girl', and as having 'very nice twists'.

Although both accomplished writers in their own right, Sarah and Laura, who deliberately chose to write under the name S. L. Roman, have found two minds can work better than one.

Sarah's journalistic background along with Laura's academic and linguistic skills have helped to sniff out a real-life historic thriller and to transform it in "a rattlin' good yarn." As critic Veronica Brightman stated.

Laura left her native Rome to enjoy a successful career in further education as a teacher, a university assessor and a lead examiner for A level Italian.

Sarah has previously co-authored her own family's story ('Don't Bring Lulu: Her Family's tale of Trial and Triumph') with her late father, broadcaster Ron Onions OBE.

Sarah and Laura will be available at Kingston Library at 11am on Monday 27 November.

For more information visit Amazon and search for S. L. Roman, where the Kindle and paperback versions of 'One Year One Night' are available. It's also on sale at the Regency bookshop in Surbiton.

For more info: email [email protected]