Greek-American author Christopher Cosmos has published his debut novel titled Once We Were Here, an epic and multi-generational love story set in Greece during WWII. The book was published in the United States by Arcade and Simon & Schuster on 20th October 2020, to commemorate the 80th anniversary of OXI Day the following week, and it’s now also available in the UK and around the world.

As World War II intrudes upon their home, three young friends risk everything for freedom, love, and a chance at a better life.
On October 28th, 1940, Mussolini provided Greek Prime Minister Ioannis Metaxas with an ultimatum: either allow Axis forces to occupy their country, or face war, and Greece’s response was swift. “Oxi!” they said. “No!”
In a small village nestled against the radiant waters of the Aegean Sea, we find Alexei, the son of a local fisherman, and his best friend Costa, who were both born on the same night eighteen years earlier and have been like brothers ever since, though now, like all the other young men in their village and throughout Greece, they will leave their homes to bravely fight for their country.
But before they go, Alexei asks Philia, the girl that he’s loved his entire life, to marry him, which sets into motion the events which will change the lives of these three and their family and friends forever.

Thus begins the story in Once We Were Here. The book, which Steven Pressfield (Gates of Fire, The Legend of Bagger Vance) has called “a stunning literary debut about legacy and history, war and peace, fate and destiny, the power of family and stories, and how young love can still shine and endure, even in the face of the greatest evils, and long after we’re gone,” was released in honour of the 80th Anniversary of OXI Day, and in celebration of the untold story of how Greece helped the Allies to win WWII.

As Winston Churchill once said, “We shall not say that Greeks fight like heroes, but that heroes fight like Greeks,” and you’re invited in the pages of Once We Were Here to experience first-hand the extraordinary story of these men and women and their courage, sacrifice, love, and strength of spirit and homeland.

“Growing up, I heard stories of Greece and WWII for as long as I can remember, especially at the Greek Orthodox church that I attended in Michigan, and I wanted to honour those who fought and what they gave,” Cosmos said.

“Those stories that I heard were the inspiration for this novel, which I hope will do just that, and help honour and make the memories of our ancestors, and what they did, eternal, both for us now, and for all generations to come.”

The novel is available to order via links at the author’s website, and all good book stores.

About the Author:

Christopher Cosmos is a Greek-American author and Black List screenwriter who was raised in the Midwest and attended the University of Michigan as the recipient of a Chick Evans Scholarship.

Once We Were Here is his debut novel, from Arcade Publishing, and more information and links to purchase can be found at www.christophercosmos.com.