Bill Spence (writer)
William John Duncan Spence was an English writer. He wrote war novels as Duncan Spence, and Westerns as Jim Bowden, Floyd Rogers and Kirk Ford. He also used the pseudonym Hannah Cooper. His most successful novels have been historical romances written under the name Jessica Blair.
Life and career
Spence was born in Middlesbrough on 20 April 1923. He worked as a schoolteacher from 1940 to 1943. He saw active service during World War II with Bomber Command. On 1 October 1943, he was commissioned into the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve as a pilot officer. His commission was confirmed and he was promoted to flying officer on 1 April 1944. He was promoted to flight lieutenant on 1 October 1945. He served as a bomber aimer in Avro Lancasters, completing 36 operations. He was a store manager from 1946 to 1977.Spence later lived in Ampleforth near York. He was nominated for a prize at the 2014 Romantic Novelists' Association Awards; his novel The Road Beneath Me, written under the pseudonym "Jessica Blair," was nominated in the Epic Romantic Novel category. Had he won, he would have been the first male writer to do so. Spence was interviewed in May 2019, at the age of 96, where he discussed his service in World War II and his love of cricket. He suggested that, despite medical problems, he did not intend to stop writing. He retired from writing in May 2020, aged 97, after suffering from a fall.
Spencer turned 100 on 20 April 2023, and died on 28 May 2024, at the age of 101.
Works
War novels
;as Duncan SpenceDark Hell, 1959;as Bill SpenceBombers Moon, 1981Secret Squadron, 1986
Westerns
; as Jim BowdenThe Return of the Sheriff, 1960Wayman's Ford, 1960Two Gun Justice, 1961Roaring Valley, 1962Revenge in Red Springs, 1962Black Water Canyon, 1963Arizona Gold, 1963Trail of Revenge, 1964Brazo Feud, 1965Guns along the Brazo, 1967The Stage Riders, 1967Gun Loose, 1969Valley of Revenge, 1971Trail to Texas, 1973Thunder in Montana, 1973Showdown at Salt Fork, 1975Hired Gun, 1976Incident at Bison Creek, 1977Cap, 1978Dollars of Death, 1979Renegade Riders, 1980Gunfight at Elm Creek, 1984Hangman's Trail, 1986Return of the Gunmen, 1988Robbery at Glenrock, 1992A Man Called Abe, 1993;as Floyd RogersThe Man from Cheyenne Wells, 1964Revenge Rider, 1964Hangman's Gulch, 1974Incident at Elk River, 1979
;as Kirk FordTrail to Sedalia, 1967Feud Riders, 1974
Romance
;as Hannah CooperTime Will Not Wait, 1983;as Jessica BlairThe Red Shawl, 1992A Distant Harbour, 1993Storm Bay, 1995The Restless Spirit, 1996The Other Side of the River, 1997The Seaweed Gatherers, 1998Portrait of Charlotte, The LocketThe Long Way HomeThe Restless HeartTime and TideEchoes of the PastSecrets of the SeaYesterdays DreamsReach For TomorrowDangerous Shores, 2007Wings of Sorrow, 2008Stay With Me, 2009Sealed SecretsSecrets of a Whitby Girl
- ''The Road Beneath Me''