Book excerpt: This is a book of historical fiction. The story is loosely based on the life of my great-great-grandmother. The story spans one hundred years of Irish history. Connie, the main character in the book, lived through every year of the twentieth century. Connie was born in Belfast, North Ireland, in the year of 1900 and passed in the year of 2000. Connie lived through both the First and the Second World Wars. Connie also lived through what became known as the troubles in North Ireland. Hence the title, Connies Wars. Connie was born into an extremely wealthy family. It would be fair to say that Connie lived a life of privilege, wanting for nothing throughout her early years. As a child, Connie was taught by both her mother and father that to live a life of such privilege carried a huge responsibility. A duty to look after those less fortunate than she was. Connie was taught that it was the duty of the wealthy to provide work and security for the working classes. This was a lesson that Connie learned well and put it into practices throughout her life. Although a Unionist and loyal to the British Crown all her life, Connie never ever harbored bigoted thoughts of any kind. When dealing with people no matter their creed, Connie always treated people as just that, people.