Well, August is only just upon us but the month has already delivered plenty of excitement! On August 3 my stepson Chris and his partner Amy welcomed their baby Minnie into the world. I’m beyond excited to be a grandmother. When you get this newsletter I’ll be visiting the family in Wales and I cannot wait to meet little Minnie.
Despite the excitement, I managed to finish the first draft of A Midwinter Murder this morning. I know I have quite a few ‘fixes’ to come back to with this one, but it’s always good to get the first draft finished. I’ll have it up for pre-order soon.
It’s been a hot, dry month by the seaside. I’ve enjoyed the flowers that grow along the shore: yellow poppies, fennel and viper’s bugloss, to name a few. I’ve also spent time growing fruit and veg on my allotment. And if you’ve ever wondered what happens if you leave the courgettes (zucchini) alone too long, I can show you! I’ve been begging friends and family to take a few marrows off my hands, and dusting down my recipes for stuffed marrow.
Read on for book news, audiobook news, offers and recommendations.
A Midwinter Murder
Cover reveal! Donna Rogers of DLR Cover designs has worked her magic again. I hope you like the cover for The Midwinter Murder as much as I do.
Marjorie is preparing for Christmas in Bloomsbury, when the unexpected arrival of Frankie and her Auntie Clara sent them rushing for the next train heading north.
The trio set off for a snow-bound Northumbrian castle to find out who killed the Earl of Ashwick on Midwinter Eve. His Lordship’s feuding family are all home for the holidays, but suspicion has fallen on his chauffeur – who happens to be Frankie’s cousin Will.
With Mrs Jameson away in the south of France, it’s up to Marjorie to save the day.
The Midwinter Murder is set in Ashwick Castle, which isn’t a real place but was inspired by the castles of Northumberland, several of which I visited on a cycling trip last August.
You might recognise the magnificent Alnwick Castle, seat of the Dukes of Northumberland, from the Harry Potter films, where it stood in for Hogwarts, or from some episodes of Downton Abbey which were filmed there. The castle dates back 900 years as a stronghold against the Scots, and the seat of the Percy family, dukes of Northumberland since 1309. The family still lives there.
I was also inspired by Bamburgh Castle, which sits on a rocky headland above the sea, and by the haunting ruins of nearby Dunstanburgh Castle, further down the coast. So although you can’t visit Ashwick Castle, you can visit plenty of the castles I had in mind when I created it.
Audiobook news
The audiobook of Murder On The White Cliffs is available on Audible now, and should be on Spotify and the other audiobook channels very soon.
Did you know you can borrow audiobooks via your local library? Why not ask them about it? I enable distribution of all my audiobooks through library services, so all of the titles in the Marjorie Swallow series published so far should be available.
Check out the audiobooks and listen to samples here.
Recommendations
August’s Mystery of the Month is Losing Leonard, the free prequel to Kelly Mason’s rollicking Lady Ellen Investigates series. In this introduction to the series, the newly-widowed Lady Ellen has to find out who she can trust in 1920s Somerset.
Other books I’ve enjoyed recently:
- Olga Tokarczuk’s murder mystery with a difference, Drive Your Plough Over the Bones of the Dead, translated by Antonia Lloyd-Jones. Set in the Polish plains, it tells a story of cruelty, friendship, and revenge.
- LC Winter’s creepy Spider, Spider, a gothic Victorian story of witchcraft and revenge. I had the pleasure of meeting author Libby at an Arvon course a couple of years ago. I devoured the story in a couple of days.