Ruth Bayley is a history graduate who's woven what she's read in second world war soldiers' diaries and telegrams into her first novel, Barefoot. It's set between Wellington and the battlefields of North Africa. Adelaide desperately misses her husband John who's sent to Egypt after enlisting. She becomes obsessed with the letters he writes her, using them to turn their home into a shrine. Excerpts from the novel were longlisted in the First Pages International Prize 2020, and then shortlisted in the NZSA New Zealand Heritage Literary Awards 2021. Lynn Freeman talks with Ruth about the completed book. Barefoot by R V Bayley is published by Eden Street Press.