> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://hiddenvoices.ghost.io/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Featured Author: Jan Lloyd - URL: https://hiddenvoices.ghost.io/featured-author-jan-lloyd/ - Published: 2026-01-22T10:05:10.000Z - Updated: 2026-01-22T10:05:10.000Z - Description: Jan Lloyd published her first novel at 72, but the story had been waiting for decades. Rediscovered manuscripts, wartime romance, and proof that it’s never too late to tell the stories that matter. - Author: Roberta Maretti - Tags: Featured Authors, Follow Hidden Voices 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. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/39/5c/395cd0d1-81e7-48cf-b7f2-ae6b679e2276/content/images/2025/12/jansoames-e_-book-cover-design---Copy--2-_page-0001.jpg) --- **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