On the first day of World War II, a young man makes a promise—one that will shape every choice he makes for the next four years.
Essex. September 1939.
A wounded German pilot drops from a clear autumn sky into a quiet
English field. Seventeen-year-old Derrick finds
him—broken and feverish. Not an enemy. Just a young man asking for one small
mercy before everything ends.
One more hour of daylight. That is all I ask. A chance
to breathe free air before whatever comes next.
Derrick gives him until morning.
When the stretcher comes, the pilot’s last words strike Derrick
like a blow he will never stop feeling.
Scotland. France. Germany.
1941–1943.
In the mountains of Scotland, they teach him how to kill, how to
lie, and how to endure things that break most men. Then they give him a new
name, put him on a plane, and drop him into the dark.
As an SOE operative deep
inside occupied Europe, Derrick Sedgley lives
on false papers, borrowed names, and nerves worn to nothing by years in the
shadows. He moves agents to safety, builds escape routes, and stays one breath
ahead of the Gestapo.
Then a mission collapses—and everything changes.
Forced to run, Derrick finds himself moving through the most
dangerous corners of occupied Europe alongside someone whose connection to his
past he cannot yet see. As safe houses fall, loyalties fracture, and the frozen
passes of the Pyrenees rise ahead like the edge of the world, Derrick begins to
understand something.
The choice he made in an Essex field on the first day of the war
has been leading him here all along.
Some debts cannot be paid.
Some can only be carried.
And some—if you are brave enough, and fortunate enough—can finally be laid to
rest.
From the quiet fields of Essex to
the mountains of Scotland, from the dangerous streets of Lyon to the shadows of
wartime Hamburg and the high passes of the Pyrenees, One
More Hour of Daylight is an unforgettable story of
courage, guilt and redemption—of ordinary people forced to make impossible
choices in extraordinary times.
Some promises can survive a war.
Some people can too.
For readers who believe that even in war, what matters most is who
we choose to be.
Praise for One More Hour of Daylight:
"A beautifully written book with a perfect pace that kept me reading
from start to finish."
~ Bookcollector, Amazon 5* Review
"A confident, carefully crafted novel that handles its subject matter
with restraint, earning the weight it carries."
~ Indie Library, Goodreads 5* Review
Buy Link:
Universal Buy Link: https://books2read.com/u/bz01nG
This title is available to read on #KindleUnlimited.
C.M. Gray's first book, The Flight of the Griffin, was longlisted in the 2015 Times Chicken House Writing Competition. Shadowland, the first book in the Pendragon Saga, has so far received over 900 five-star reviews on Amazon. These things still genuinely astonish him, and he is deeply grateful for every one of them.
Most of his previous work has been fantasy: either pure fantasy or historical fantasy, the kind of writing where druids turn up uninvited and one of your main characters develops an unsettling affinity with wolves before you have quite decided what sort of book you are writing. Shadowland began with every intention of staying grounded in historical reality, the story of Uther Pendragon. It did not. It has turned out to be a popular book, so he does not complain.
His years travelling through Asia, India, Africa and the Middle East have a habit of finding their way onto the page. He has seen and done some fairly strange things along the way and met some extraordinary people, and writing fantasy has always felt, to him, only a short step from writing fact.
New for 2026
One More Hour of Daylight, marks C.M. Gray's return to writing. It will be fully published in June 2026, marking a departure: pure historical fiction, no druids, no wolves. It follows Derrick Sedgley, a seventeen-year-old from Essex who makes a single moral choice in a field one September morning in 1939 and spends the next four years living with the consequences. From the Essex countryside to occupied France, from the mountains of Burgundy to the Pyrenees, it is a story about promises, betrayal, courage and the cost of doing the right thing too late.
And for those who have been waiting patiently for the Pendragon Saga to continue: the third book, Shadow's Heir, the story of Arthur Pendragon, follows in September 2026. More on that very soon.
C.M. Gray was born in England and grew up in the Essex countryside near the Suffolk border, which is where Derrick Sedgley grows up, too. The flat fields, the big skies and the particular quality of Essex light found their way into the book, whether he intended them to or not.
C.M. Gray is now very happily settled just outside Barcelona with his wonderful wife and partner in life, Adriana.
Author Links:
Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/stores/author/B0H23SV952/
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5752854.C_M_Gray
If you enjoy discovering new stories,
you may also like The AnaRose Chronicles—a trilogy of award‑winning
adventure novellas. https://books2read.com/u/4jzKAY
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