I am pleased to announce the publication of the first of three novellas from Sharpe publishing, set during the Malta convoys in the summer of 1942, when the island was the most bombed place on Earth and getting supplies of food and fuel through was essential to the entire Mediterranean theatre…

“A remarkable insight into the doubts and fears of a fighter pilot, contrasting relentless action with cool post-combat de-briefs, written by a master of time and place, the ring of authenticity in every word.” Frank Barnard

Sea Hurricane pilot Edmund Clydesdale, a battle-weary loner with a secret, sets out on a vital convoy to the island of Malta.

Clydesdale is on the brink of becoming an ace. The only trouble is that he shouldn’t be. Blind luck, mistakes and politics have seen him awarded with four of the five kills he needs. As the convoy Operation ‘Harpoon’ heads into the Western Mediterranean with only a handful of worn-out fighters to protect it, the eyes of the Navy and the press are on him.

And soon, the eyes – and guns – of the enemy will be too.

Six ships carry vital supplies, without which Malta cannot survive the Axis onslaught. The ageing carrier HMS Eagle, with its complement of battered Hawker Sea Hurricanes and their overworked pilots, must face legions of German and Italian bombers, all desperate to send the transports to the bottom of the Mediterranean.

‘Harpoon’ is the first book in a series chronicling the struggle of the Royal Navy’s ‘few’ to protect the island fortress of Malta in the dark days of 1942.

“Harpoon gets into the cockpit and inside the skin of a WW2 pilot. Willis has written a tale of triumph – and redemption. The author has used his intimate knowledge of the period to serve as a backdrop to a human – and thrilling – war story.” Richard Foreman, author of Warsaw.

‘Harpoon’ is available from Amazon as an eBook – click here to see a sample and purchase