Lance, I hope this email finds you in good health and good spirits. Thank you for your pictorial record of our travels in Japan, it has rekindled the happy times Lee and I enjoyed with our group of travellers. I am very impressed with your ability to produce it. …. On a serious note, Lance how do I buy copies of your books? …. I enjoyed A Rain of Ruin and all the more so as we just attended the commemorative celebration at Albany WA from where the fleet with thousands of soldiers and their horses sailed on November 1st 1914, and eventually went on to Gallipoli. It was then I became aware that the Japanese had provided the largest ship of the naval vessels which sailed with the convoy to protect it against any German attack. Of course, then there was World War II. How things change.

John S

Lance, I am writing to congratulate you on another excellent novel (A Rain of Ruin). I want you to know that reading your books is addictive and I hold you responsible for the sleep deprivation that goes with them. Lance, they are brilliant and I have enjoyed the three to date immensely. I am amazed at the research that you would have to do for the books and they are, for me, a great history lesson as well. A Rain of Ruin was of much interest to me as I am quite ignorant of Japanese culture, apart from two books I’d read by Bryce Courtney that introduced me to it. Yet yours are totally different – written without bias from an entirely different angle. Your characters are so fixed in my mind that it is easy to visualise each of them. I applaud your writing (skill) and please let me know when your next one is in print and where I can order it. My friend’s husband loves to read the same books as I do, so I lent him your three. It may interest you to know that when I next visited him, he had set up a monster world atlas on a wall and dotted it with pins to follow the locations in your books. I knew that he would enjoy them as thoroughly as I did.

John & Ruth N

Thank you, Lance, for your book A Rain of Ruin. It was an excellent read – another cracker of a book. Please let us know when you finish another one as it will be a ‘must-read’ for me.

R and J

Dear Lance,

I enjoyed When Tulips Bled and Brother Rats. Haven’t read A Rain of Ruin yet so will have to get through that before #4….

Kind regards, Hamish

Lance,

Good luck with the new book. You are a man of many talents!

Kindest regards, Gary L

Hi Lance,

Great news on the books. You are a genius….

Cheers Doug B

Hi Lance,

Will look for your books. Need one on the plane to Cambodia in a couple of weeks. What was the one on ‘Nam?

Cheers, Mick O’F

Hi Lance and Ollie,

I have read books 1 and 2. Really enjoyed them both. Must get hold of 3 for the Xmas break and then 4 when it comes out.

Cheers, Ian C

Sharon and I are back in sunny southern California after our long and wonderful time in France. First, let me say that Sharon and I agree that we were very lucky to have met you and had the pleasure of sharing an evening with you. Our only regret is that we didn’t have more time to spend together. But we will always remember you as part of a wonderful trip to Paris. Please let me extend a sincere invitation to visit with us whenever you are passing near Los Angeles. We only live an hour north of LAX and would love to see you again someday. I didn’t really get started on When the Tulips Bled until we came back to Paris after our time in Provence. But once we settled into our apartment I had more time to relax and read. Lance, I truly enjoyed the book and the story and wondered throughout how each character was linked to Ollie’s family. As I recall the story is based on some of the experiences of Ollie’s parents. Correct? I think it is so important to see WWII (or any war for that matter) at the personal level you offer in the book. In addition to portraying the real hardships experienced by the occupied Dutch you did a great job of portraying the great moral dilemmas faced by each and every citizen…and how some succeeded and some failed in this great test. The drama of real history is much more intense and revealing than any fiction. What a shame that so much is lost along with the lessons it teaches us. As I read the book I couldn’t help asking myself if I would have been bold enough to stand up to the Nazis? I’d like to think I’d be like Harry and join the underground…but when you have a family or loved ones to protect it’s not so easy…as you clearly show. As noted above, I really identified with Harry…I suppose that what one would expect of a person who spent his life in the military. I would love to hear more about the underground. By the way, you did a good job of telling the personal story while in the background you also showed the progress of the War. Well I guess the best review of an author is whether you’d recommend his book to a friend or read other works. I intend to do both, Lance. Thank You Very Much for the gift of the book and the pleasure of meeting you and Ollie. We hope you had a wonderful time after we parted…and especially that we may cross each other’s path again someday!

All the Best, Mike and Sharon Walker

I happened to pick up this book at the LifeLine Bookfest this year. It looked and felt like it had never been read. I have never been much of a reader but somehow it seemed to grip me. Well, I just couldn’t put it down. I finally finished it yesterday. During the last chapter, I had to continually remove my spectacles to wipe them as I was weeping so much. A truly wonderful tale, Lance. I’m looking forward to reading your next novel.

Regards John H

We are visiting some Baltic ports by sea including Ijmuiden, (and a trip to Amsterdam), Tallinn and St Petersburg. The sea time gave me an opportunity to catch up on reading, not least When the Tulips Bled. Our tour guides spoke at length about the impact of occupation before, during and after WW2 so it was all highly relevant to your book. I had not appreciated the full horrors of that experience for the Dutch people. So it was all very moving. Thanks for a very good read… and there are some more to look forward to.

Best wishes, Robin

“Thank you Lance for sending the 2 novels. I really enjoyed reading both. The experiences (..in Holland..) during the second world were, to say the least, harrowing and frightening. It shows that the human spirit can overcome a lot of grief and misery. I had no idea of the circumstances of the Dutch during the war, other than stories of the resistance fighters. The Germans certainly had a lot to answer for.
I was impressed with the amount of research needed for both books. It must have taken an enormous amount of time. I was grateful to learn, through your research, much more about the efforts of the Australian soldiers during the Middle East campaigns. I had only a small snapshot of the campaign, so thanks for giving me, and the other readers, a greater understanding of what our soldiers endured.”

“Hi Lance, Just a short note on finishing Brother Rat. I thoroughly enjoyed it! The amount of research that you undertook to get it right was awesome – not a word I use much…………
Now I’m looking forward to the next one, which Ann couldn’t put down! Hope all’s well with you both.”

“Hi Lance, Have recently read your book ‘When The Tulips Bled’, and would like to let you know just how much I enjoyed it. Lita P recommended it and lent me her copy. I am not what you would call an avid reader but really found that I could not put it down. Robbie is looking forward to reading it over the holidays and I’ll read ‘Brother Rats’ which he got from the Villa Library. I have recommended Tulips to all the family as it gives real insight into just how lucky we are that we have not had to endure such unbelievable hardship in our lifetime. Incredibly strong people. Hope you and all your family are happy and well. Congratulations on having a great talent.”

Best Wishes

“Hi Lance, I’m sorry I’ve taken a couple of days to say thank you, but I have been too engrossed in reading “Tulips” in my spare time. I’ve realised how little I knew about the occupation of Holland during WWII and the terrible suffering of the people. I feel guilty that I should have been so ignorant.”

Mick, Thank you again for sending me the three books written by Lance Grimstone. I thoroughly enjoyed reading ‘Brother Rats’ as it put things into perspective for me, particularly the advances and retreats. A great and informative read, I thought. I am half-way through ‘When the Tulips Bled’ and its opened my eyes to a part of WW2 I didn’t know much about, the ruthlessness of the invasion and the brutal way the Nazis treated the civilian population. I had a neighbour who was a boy during the German occupation in Holland, and I wish now that I had asked him more about it at the time…

Peter K , 18th September 2015

When The Tulips Bled

“You, as the reader, feel like the shadow of the characters in the book. Invisible, you are the witness of what is overcoming them. You do not read the story, you are in it. You have to believe the unbelievable because you are there…”

“U, als lezer, voelt als de schaduw van de karakters in het boek. Onzichtbaar, bent u de getuige van wat hen overwint. U leest niet het verhaal, bent u daarin. U moet unbelievable geloven omdat u daar bent…”

“Vous, comme lecteur, sensation comme l’ombre des caractères dans le livre. Invisible, vous êtes le témoin de ce qui les surmonte. Vous ne lisez pas l’histoire, vous êtes dans elle. Vous devez croire l’incroyable parce que vous êtes là…”

Teresa 22 August 2008

“You surprised me! Brother Rats has kept me up these last few nights. So nice to actually meet the author of a bloody good read.…”

Rob R

“You know, I thoroughly enjoyed Brother Rats. Nice to see a piece of our own history from another viewpoint. You did take it to us, didn’t you. You didn’t hold back at all…”

Mel T (Squadron Leader, retired)

Hi Lance, We are visiting some Baltic ports by sea including Ijmuiden, (and a trip to Amsterdam) ,Tallinn and St Petersburg. The sea time gave me an opportunity to catch up on reading, not least “When the Tulips Bled”. Our tour guides spoke at length about the impact of occupation before, during and after WW2 so it was all highly relevant to your book. I had not appreciated the full horrors of that experience for the Dutch people. So it was all very moving. Thanks for a very good read….and there are some more to look forward to. Best wishes, Robin

Dear Lance, Sharon and I are back in sunny southern California after our long and wonderful time in France. First, let me say that Sharon and I agree that we were very lucky to have met you and had the pleasure of sharing an evening with you. Our only regret is that we didn’t have more time to spend together. But we will always remember you as part of a wonderful trip to Paris. Please let me extend a sincere invitation to visit with us whenever your are passing near Los Angeles. We only live an hour north of LAX and would love to see you again someday. I didn’t really get started on When the Tulips Bled until we came back to Paris after our time in Provence. But once we settled into our apartment I had more time to relax and read. Lance, I truly enjoyed the book and the story and wondered throughout how each character was linked to your wife’s family. As I recall the story is based on some of their experiences. Correct? I think it is so important to see WWII (or any war for that matter) at the personal level you offer in the book. In addition to portraying the real hardships experienced by the occupied Dutch you did a great job of portraying the great moral dilemmas faced by each and every citizen…and how some succeeded and some failed in this great test. The drama of real history is much more intense and revealing than any fiction. What a shame that so much is lost along with the lessons it teaches us. As I read the book I couldn’t help asking myself if I would have been bold enough to standup to the Nazis? I’d like to think I’d be like Harry and join the Underground … but when you have a family or loved ones to protect it’s not so easy…as you clearly show. As noted above, I really identified with Harry…I suppose that what one would expect of a person who spent his life in the military. I would love to hear more about the underground. By the way, you did a good job of telling the personal story while in the background you also showed the progress of the War. W ell I guess the best review of an author is whether you’d recommend his book to a friend or read other works. I intend to do both Lance. Thank You Very Much for the gift of the book and the pleasure of meeting you and your lovely wife. We hope you had a wonderful time after we parted…and especially that we may cross each other’s path again someday!

All the Best, Mike and Sharon W

“I just finished your book, When the Tulips Bled. I really enjoyed it. I must admit that I got emotionally involved in it. I only started it on the weekend. Congratulations. Regards, Mick.”

Dear John – re Lance Grimstone’s epic books (When the Tulips Bled, Brother Rats and A Rain of Ruin), I thoroughly enjoyed Mr Grimstone’s remarkable books and thank you for bringing them to my attention. They were all extremely well researched and brought together a real sense of those times. To be able to tie together all those threads and personalities in Brother Rats and A Rain of Ruin shows true understanding of the life and times so poignant to many of us today. Personally, it was of great interest as my own father was in the South Pacific theatre of war and was with the RNZAF in Bouganville, Solomons and those actions. In respect of the North African campaigns, my Dad’s close friend from early school days was a prominent member of the Long Range Desert Group (LRDG) and is well recorded in the NZ official war records, ending up a Lt Colonel, before returning to his farming life post war. Myself, I was in 22 Bty, 6 Fd Regiment Artillery as a territorial in the mid-1960s where we progressed from 25 pounders to the more up-to-date howitzers. When the Tulips Bled was a great read also. I was familiar with much of the events but had not really realised just how horribly the Dutch were treated over a long time by the occupying power. Should you be in touch with Mr Grimstone, I should be most obliged if you would convey my congratulations for his first class works. Best Regards, David S.

Dear Lance, We would like to take this opportunity to wish you and your family Merry Christmas, and a healthy, happy and prosperous 2011. We also like to say thank you for your generosity for your books and extremely interesting conversation whilst on the barge. It was lovely to met you both last Sunday. I realy admire the people like you and we wish you all the best. Teresa and Peter

Lance, Just finished A Rain Of Ruin. Really enjoyed it – fair bit of emotion. Thanks, Mick

“Mate, I’ve just finished the first book I’ve read in thirty years….if I put it down, it was because you brought me to tears…John A”

“Lots of colour and pace make this a story hard to put down…. You are very good at making your characters into real-life, flesh-and-blood people, almost as if you were drawing them from life -individual characters who face up to life in different ways. I liked the very moving conclusion of the story which was told very realistically without it being just another tearjerker…Richard.”

“Well Lance, just to let you know I have spent the last week with some friends of yours….Maya and Dirk and of course, the gorgeous and brave Harry…it was a great read and even had a tear in the end…well done, great effort.. ….looking forward to your next one .. Love Shelly”

Lance, John Van Shangan is a carpenter/builder who has been working at home for some months on renovations. He is very thorough and thinks about his work a lot. He is Dutch and migrated to Australia in the 1970’s. I gave him a copy of your book to read and it turns out that he came from a part of The Netherlands about 20Km from where your book is set. He was very interested in your book and it has brought back all sorts of memories some related to your book and some unrelated. He has given me some DVDs to look at of matters along similar lines. Lita P has also asked for a copy of the book. I have purchased a spare one and will pass it on to her. Regards, Mick

Dear Lance, I have read the pages of your book with pleasure, and I recognized also Dirk and Maya. I think that the whole book was so interesting and nice. I ordered two more copies of your book, also one for my sister Nan. Maybe we will see you when you come back to Holland. Best regards from Trudi