Featured Author: Jan Lloyd

Historical Romance | War Torn Series

About the Author

Jan Lloyd is a retired Science and Mathematics teacher who spent the final years of her career teaching English as an additional language. Although she published her first novel in 2023 at the age of 72, the story itself began almost forty years earlier. Tucked away in a wardrobe for decades, her early manuscripts might have remained hidden, until her daughter asked to read them.

Rediscovering the stories, Jan realised they were far better than she remembered. After a developmental edit, rounds of personal revisions, and final line edits, War Torn Book 1 was published in March 2023, followed by Book 2 later that year. Since then, she has released Book 3, completing the trilogy, and a standalone time-slip/paranormal novel set between 1914 and 1964.

Jan is currently working on a Tudor-era novel, with plans to publish in May next year, proving that storytelling has no age limit and no expiration date.

Featured Book: War Torn — Book 1

Genre: Historical Romance

The Story Behind the Story

The spark for War Torn came from watching the 1980s version of Das Boot - a powerful portrayal of war, fear, and humanity. Jan had a sudden “what if?” moment:

What if a woman found herself among fifty young men in a U-boat during wartime?

What started as a playful idea grew unexpectedly into something deeper. The characters developed minds of their own, pulling Jan into darker, more complex emotional territory. The result was not just one book, but an entire trilogy exploring impossible choices, survival, and the unyielding pull of forbidden love.

War Torn is an unforgettable enemy-to-lover story, rich in detail, morally layered, and driven by the resilience of the human spirit.

 Book Blurb

 October 1942.

Frances Meyer, a gifted violinist, faces an unthinkable choice: remain in Nazi-occupied France under the obsessive watch of an SS officer, or flee with her ailing Jewish husband. A desperate escape attempt leaves her shipwrecked and stranded aboard a German U-boat commanded by the enigmatic Kapitan Kristian Mueller.

Trapped in a claustrophobic world of steel and shadow, surrounded by fifty restless young men, Frances fights to stay unseen and to stay alive. But as danger closes in and the U-boat becomes a hunted target, an unexpected connection with Mueller forces her to confront feelings she never imagined. 

Perfect for fans of The Nightingale, All the Light We Cannot See, and Beneath a Scarlet Sky, War Torn blends meticulous research with gripping emotional depth. It’s a story of moral conflict, extraordinary courage, and the fierce power of love in the darkest of times.

Excerpt

“Ah, Heinemann,” Mueller said, “this is our passenger, Frau
Meyer.”
Heinemann gave her a huge smile, which she determined not to
return. To keep from it, she looked around at the narrow passageway
where she found herself. It was tiny, a little more than a metre wide. To
her right, there was a hatch leading into what appeared to be a larger
compartment or room. Men were seated or standing amongst dials,
wheels, pipes—and sausages. Sausages! The place was hung with all
types of German sausage.
~ 44 ~
“That’s the control room,” Mueller said. “The heart of my old lady.
We’re going this way, though.” He gestured left.
“Kapitanleutnant Mueller, can you tell me where my case is?”
He turned and shook his head. “Case, Froggy?”
“My black violin case. It was in the life raft with me.”
“Then I’m afraid it’s still there.”
“But it can’t be! It’s my Stradivarius. Please don’t tell me you left it
behind.”
Mueller gave a shrug. “Well, it’s not here.”
Frances felt sick. The heat of oncoming anger and disbelief knotted
her brow. “You left my bloody Stradivarius. Have you any idea what an
instrument like that is worth?”
“No, Froggy, I haven’t a clue,” said Mueller, “but if I had, I would
have made sure we saved the violin and left you on the rowing boat.
Come on.”
He left her, and she had no choice but to follow him, ducking
through a hatch into a smaller compartment where a couple of men were
seated. She struggled to navigate the hatches, mind reeling with the shock
of learning that they had left her violin to the mercy of the sea.
“The officer’s wardroom,” Mueller explained.
She recognised the fair head of Leutnant Werner seated at a table.
Werner jumped to his feet and gave a little bow, struggling to speak
in broken French. “Frau Meyer, welcome aboard. This is our Second
Officer, Leutnant Schumacher.” Werner’s nod indicated a younger man,
also sitting at the table, who appeared engrossed in some reading material.
“She’s fluent in German!” Mueller called back across his shoulder
as Frances followed him into the next compartment that was full
of bunk beds and men eating and drinking. She and Mueller had to
continually dodge hammocks pulled tight into the ceiling or flat against
any conceivable wall space. Every nook and cranny bulged with tinned
supplies and fresh produce. Young men grinned foolishly at her as they
passed.
“Petty Officers,” Mueller muttered. Evidently, he felt the need to
give her some kind of explanation, a running commentary, as she hurried
to keep up with him. At last, he paused before a door, thrusting it open to
reveal a small foul-smelling cubicle housing a lavatory, small washbasin,
and mirror, and announced, “Here you go.”
Frances took a step back. “I can’t use that!”
“It’s the only one.”
Frances glared at him. Was the bastard laughing at her?
“One between us all, and there are almost fifty of us,” continued
Mueller. “We have another, but that’s full of provisions, you see.”
“That’s disgusting,” said Frances, but ultimately, need overcame her
repulsion, and she stepped into the cubicle, slamming the door behind
her.
Mueller was in a dilemma as to what she found so disgusting. Was
it the state of the head, or that food was stored in the second one? He
rapped on the cubicle door. “By the way, take note of the flushing system,
Froggy. I’d hate you to jettison yourself.”

Connect with Jan

Website: https://www.janlloyd.uk

Where to Buy: Available on Amazon - www.amazon.co.uk/War-Torn-Book-Jan-Lloyd-ebook/dp/B0BZSXM89J