Sharing a Husband's Love with an Aeroplane Gazette & Herald 3rd November 2005 pg 5 www.thisiswiltshire.co.uk with special thanks to Zoë Mills If you see a new bride sporting a pilot's cap wandering around Swindon on Saturday, don't worry - it's author Annie Waller promoting her first novel based on life and love at RAF Lyneham. The former PR girl decided to write the comedy when she realised she hadn't just married pilot Trev, but his love of the RAF too. Mrs Waller, 37, describes Married to Albert as a story about marrying someone who is already married to his job. "When I first married Trev and moved to Lyneham eight years ago I couldn't understand a word people said," explained Mrs Waller.

"Everybody talked to me in abbreviations. 'Your husband's doing CPT today' I was told. I thought to myself, what's that? Could Play Tennis? "And they still live in this archaic world where they are obsessed by rank. You're called Squadron Leader Waller's wife or whatever and it's like, no, I've got a name. I just had to write about it."

Married to Albert follows the life of heroine, Kate, a high-flying career woman who falls in love with a handsome RAF pilot named Guy. They are married before Kate discovers that Guy has another passion, one which takes him away from her at just a phone call's notice.

Mrs Waller lives on base at RAF Lyneham with Trev and their children Henry, five, and Kate-Scarlet, one. She wrote her debut book when Henry was a baby but its launch was put on hold after the Hercules tragedy in Iraq January.

The book's name comes from Fat Albert, the RAF's nickname for the Hercules. "This is a dream come true for me," said Mrs Waller. "Writing it was easy. It filled the long, lonely nights when Trev was away in Afghanistan and I was stuck at home with a new baby wondering what on earth I was doing. I found it quite cathartic.

"It's quite a poignant tale at times. Us women are left behind while our husbands are out in Iraq and Afghanistan being shot at. It's made me so blasé about war, and all I want to know is whether Trev will be home for his tea."

Mrs Waller said she hoped the story would put a smile on the nation's face. "I've got a surreal sense of humour I grew up watching Black Adder. The book is a mix between Peter Kay and Jilly Cooper. Life is far too funny to forget, and Lyneham people are more funny than any of the people on telly." Mrs Waller said she'd had an enthusiastic reaction from people on the air base, especially other women who felt being an RAF wife was a lonely job.

"The station commander's wife bought five copies and other women on the base have said it's saved their marriage. The blokes in Trev's squadron have been buying copies for their new wives. "Some of the lads think I'm making money out of their jobs, but really I'm just observing like Shakespeare did.

"Trev just laughs. He told me by the time Kate started school he wanted me working in Tesco's, so I thought I'd better start making money some other way.

"But it's not just for military people, it's for anyone who is married to their job. Friends in civi-street think it's so romantic to have a pilot for a husband but they can see what life is really like for people like me."

	Married to Albert by Annie Waller Annie Waller's style is sharp, witty and direct, with a riotous yet deeply emotional narrative that keeps you guessing all the way to the end. Married to Albert, by Annie Waller ISBN number: 0-9546399-0-1, is available at Swindon's Waterstones Bookshop in the Brunel Centre or to order in all leading book stores, at £6.99. You can also order the book online through www.anniewaller.com
Click Here	Why not take a sneak preview of this marvelous book Married to Albert
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