Anna Sayburn Lane

I hope you enjoyed a good Christmas. I’m writing this in the weird hiatus between Christmas and New Year (I think it might be Tuesday but couldn’t swear to it) after lots of festive celebrations with family and friends. It’s been a lot of fun, but I’m looking forward to getting back to the desk for a new writing project.

First, here’s a quick newsletter to wish you a very happy start to 2026, share my writing news, and make some recommendations.

Book news

I hope you enjoyed reading about Marjorie Swallow’s Christmas, and thanks to all the readers who got in touch to tell me what they thought of the story. I’m glad it went down well. If you missed it, you can find it via the Readers Club page.

I’m giving Marjorie a break for a while now, as I get started on a new book which I hope will become a series. I don’t want to jinx it by telling you too much, but it will be historical fiction, feature new characters, and be set in London. I’ll tell you more when I’ve made a bit more progress with it. I’m still in the research phase, which is probably my favourite part of writing a book, so doing lots of reading and delving into newspaper archives.

Recommendations

This year I’ve joined forces with twelve historical mystery authors to introduce you to some books you may not have discovered yet. The first on the list is Murder At Merivale Manor by Ella Strike.

Kitty Goring seems to have it all—lavish parties at London’s finest clubs, elegant soirées, and a parade of charming bachelors vying for her hand. But despite the glamour, Kitty longs for something a little more… thrilling.
In a bid for excitement, Kitty dreams up the perfect diversion. A playful mock robbery at her family’s grand estate, Merivale Manor. It’s all meant to be fun—until one of the guests turns up very much dead.

It sounds a lot of fun and I look forward to diving into the series.

As you may remember from my December newsletter, I love a ghost story–and many thanks to the readers who wrote to me with their own chilling or unexplained tales!

The best TV programme I watched over Christmas was Mark Gatiss’s adaptation of the EF Benson short story, The Room in the Tower. Those of you who enjoy EF Benson’s comic Mapp and Lucia stories may think that he simply wrote about fun, but the fun in this story takes a deliciously horrifying turn. A man tells a stranger during a 1940s air raid about a recurrent dream he’s had since teenage years, in which he’s invited to stay with a schoolfriend where the friend’s creepy mother (brilliantly played by Joanna Lumley) tells him he’s been given the room in the tower. Each time he knows something terrible is about to happen…

I won’t spoil it for you, but I will share one thing that made it even more fun for me – the house in the adaptation is Cobham Hall, a manor house in Kent dating back to Elizabethan times, and also a setting for my first novel Unlawful Things. I remember touring the house when I was researching the book, although nothing terrible happened to me!

Have you ever seen a ghost? I don’t think I have, but I am haunted by one all the same, in my flat by the sea. December, with its long dark nights, seems the right time to share ghost stories, preferably around the fire with a glass of something warming! Read on for the full story.

And talking of stories, I have news of my annual Christmas story, a little look at what you might have found under the tree in the 1920s, a Christmas walk to share, plus the usual book recommendations and promotions.

A ghostly warning

My apartment by the seaside is on the second floor of a big house built in the 1840s, with lovely high ceilings, bay windows, cornices and mouldings. It was divided into flats sometime in the last century. But you can see how it fitted together as one big house. When we had some building work done in our kitchen, the workmen uncovered the top of a boxed-up narrow staircase leading down to the ground floor. They covered it up again, of course, and it’s now under the floorboards and kitchen tiles. It was probably the ‘back stairs’ used by household staff.

But shortly after that discovery, my writing group was challenged to write a ghost story. I used the hidden staircase in my story. I imagined walking into the kitchen to see a girl dressed in a black-and-white maid’s uniform, descending the stairs and disappearing into the floor. In the story, as she reached neck-height, she turned and gave me a malicious smile, as if she knew something terrible was going to happen.

The trouble is that ever since, whenever I pass the kitchen to go to the bathroom at night, I have to turn the lights on to make sure she’s not there. That’s the problem with having a writer’s imagination – I can scare myself half to death with imaginary ghosts. I do realise this is a ridiculous state of affairs. So, here’s a tip: if you are going to write a ghost story, don’t set it in your own house!

Marjorie Swallow’s Christmas

The invitations have been sent out, Mrs Smithson is cooking honey-roasted ham and mince pies in the kitchen, the All Stars Jazz Orchestra are tuning up and Marjorie is decorating the Christmas tree with a little help (or hindrance) from the new housemaid. Mrs Jameson’s detective agency in Bedford Square is all set for a wonderful Christmas Eve party. If you’ve read the Marjorie Swallow books, you’ll recognise plenty of the guests–and here’s nice Mr Rubin the diamond merchant, with a pile of expensive-looking presents. Let’s hope nothing happens to them…

I’m putting the finishing touches to Marjorie Swallow’s Christmas, a short story which I’ll be sending you on Christmas Eve to read with a glass of mulled wine and a mince pie, when all the present-wrapping and tree-decorating is done. Look out for it on Christmas Eve morning.

A 1920s Christmas Gift Guide

While preparing the story, I enjoyed researching the sort of presents you might have found under the tree in the 1920s. The British Newspaper Archive, one of my favourite sources of information, had a handy blog about the top 10 presents. So, are you ready?

1: A handkerchief. ‘There are no more acceptable gifts…than handkerchiefs,’ according to The Sphere, in December 1920. Walpole’s Irish Linens agree.

2: A pencil. ‘Everybody loves good pencils, and has a use for them,’ says The Sphere. I may be one of the few people in 2025 who would love a box of Blackwing pencils in my stocking – they are my preferred pencil for first drafting and note-taking.

3: Cigarettes. ‘There are few things that can give greater pleasure,’ says The Tatler. Not to mention lung cancer.

After that the list perks up a bit – I’d be very happy with a ‘set of gin cocktails’ or a cocktail shaker, not to mention ‘a black velveteen frock’ to wear to a dance.

However, my Christmas list is usually a list of books I want to read and haven’t got around to buying yet. Those days between Christmas and New Year, when everything shuts down and no-one knows quite what to do with themselves, are the perfect time to get cosy with a cup of tea, a tin of biscuits and a good book. So in that spirit, here’s a reminder of the Gift Guide I’ve worked on with other authors of historical fiction. Download the Christmas Gift Guide 2025 – there’s sure to be something that fits your taste.

I’m home from Japan, after a wonderful trip. But one evening early on our trip, I just wanted to sleep. My jet-lagged brain had struggled to cope with Tokyo’s chaotically-busy wholesale fish market in the morning and to navigate the underpasses, overpasses and complex transport system of this futuristic city. We were running late to meet our ‘nightlife guide’ and all I wanted was my bed.

We met Hiro Nippon in the centre of Ebisu, a vibrant area of central Tokyo. He had prepared a tour of the local izakaya bars and asked how we were. I answered (perhaps a little too honestly) ‘tired’. Then he asked a question. Did we know the movie Perfect Days?

We did. It was one of the films that made me want to visit Japan. It tells the everyday story of a humble public toilet cleaner, as he goes about Tokyo doing his work to the best of his ability, meeting strangers, co-workers and friends, his day full of little rituals and detail that highlight the beauty in life. It’s a profound film, acted with great sensitivity and charm.

Did I want to see one of the toilets where they filmed? You bet I did. I even used it (immaculately clean, like most Japanese loos).

After bonding over Perfect Days, we enjoyed juicy yakitori skewers with beer, then tried excellent sushi with a variety of sake. We had a great time finding out about Hiro’s life in Tokyo (and previously in California). Perhaps not for the first time, a good loo had saved a night out.

Sometimes it’s not the biggest things that stay with you. Our trip included taking a cable car over volcanic vents in the mountains, visiting some spectacularly beautiful gardens and temples in Kyoto, and relaxing in hot spring onsen baths in a traditional Japanese ryokan inn. I won’t forget those experiences. But that moment of connection over a film that celebrates the beauty in the everyday will stay with me too.

Have you had a moment like that on your travels? When something completely mundane creates a moment you’ll remember, or turns around your experience of a place? Hit reply and let me know – I’d love to hear from you.

Now, read on for news of Christmas markets, a Christmas gift guide (sorry – but it’s not too early to plan!) and a Christmas story in the works.

 

Christmas Fairs and Gifts

I’m going to be busy attending Christmas markets in the next two months, both in Deal and London. Why not come by and say hello if you’re in the area? I’ll be selling signed books and (I hope) some smart new box sets of the Marjorie Swallow series.

Here’s the plan:

• Deal on 22^nd November, 10am to 3pm Landmark Centre
• Dulwich on 29 November, 10am to 4pm St Barnabas Parish Hall
• Dulwich on 30 November 10.30am to 3.30pm Dulwich College
• Deal on 6 December, 10am to 3pm Landmark Centre

There’s now an online alternative to Amazon for people wanting print books: The Great British Bookshop. All my books are listed on the site, which is run by the people who print my paperbacks. You order direct from them and I get a bigger slice of the price than from Amazon.

Christmas Gift Guide

Looking for the perfect Christmas gift for the book lovers in your life? (or a treat to yourself?)

I’ve joined forces with 21 other authors to create a free Historical Fiction Gift Guide filled with books set in the 1920s (and a few from the 1910s and 1930s). It’s designed to help you discover wonderful books and find thoughtful gifts for fellow bookworms this festive season.

Inside, you’ll find:

 A curated list of novels across multiple genres — from historical fiction to fantasy and mystery

 Perfect ideas for Christmas presents (or a little treat for yourself!)

 Free novels to download

 Many complete series

 Download your free copy here

A Christmas story

Talking of Christmas, I’m hard at work on a story that you’ll receive next month. Christmas is a time for reunions, so I thought I’d throw a party for Marjorie and Mrs Jameson, where lots of their friends and former clients come together.

Let’s see: jazz musicians, nightclub dancers, artists, actors, newspaper reporters, explorers, diamond merchants… it should be quite an occasion! Let’s hope nobody tries to spoil it with a little light criminal activity…

Remember you can find my previous short stories in the Marjorie Swallow series on the Readers Club page of my website.

What makes you smile? Today is World Smile Day, so I’m thinking about all the things that make me smile. There are plenty of them – reader reviews of Murder On The White Cliffs, my new electric bike (a marvel!), meeting readers while selling books at fairs, my upcoming trip to Japan. I’m also thinking about how I can put a smile on readers’ faces, with the Very Secret Project (VSP) that I’ve been getting up early to write. I can’t tell you about that. Not yet, anyway. See if you can guess!

Read on to find out about these, plus a walking tour of Canterbury, an audiobook discount, and some autumn recommendations and promotions.

Cars, book sales and travel plans

I love vintage cars, and I couldn’t resist going along when I heard that the first Bloomsbury Classic Car Show was happening in Bedford Square, Bloomsbury – which in my fictional world is headquarters for Mrs Jameson and her detective agency.

I had a lovely time looking at all the glamorous cars and wondering which one Marjorie and Frankie would have picked out. I rather fancied this bright red sporty Sunbeam Alpine. However, I got there on my lovely new e-bike, which makes zipping around town much easier, and I don’t have to worry about parking!

Writing is a solitary business, so I love a chance to meet readers. I regularly set up stall in my home town in Kent. I now have the pleasure of readers coming back asking for the next in the series. It’s so nice to chat and find out what they thought about the books. And a big smile for the gentleman who bought the entire set of Marjorie Swallow books for his wife’s birthday present this month. Not long till Christmas, if you’re thinking of delighting the mystery fan in your life!

For people who can’t get to Kent to buy their books from me directly, there’s now an alternative to Amazon: The Great British Bookshop. All my books are listed on the site, which is run by the people who print my paperbacks. You order direct from them and I get a bigger slice of the price than from Amazon. Everyone wins!

Finally, I’m beyond excited to be packing for a trip to Japan next week. I’ve wanted to visit for years. There aren’t many countries with such a tantalising mixture of ancient tradition and cutting-edge new technology, tranquil countryside and hypermodern cities. I’ll tell you all about it next time, and see if I can find a way to set a story there!

A walk around Canterbury

I’ll be leading a Murder And Mystery historical walk around Canterbury in November, as part of the Canterbury Festival. Do sign up if you fancy walking the city with me and learning about the darker side of Canterbury history.

I got to know Canterbury while writing my Helen Oddfellow thrillers, because it was the birthplace of Elizabethan playwright Christopher Marlowe. I’ve written a bit about how the city shapes my writing, here on Substack.

Reviews

Murder On The White Cliffs, the most recent Marjorie Swallow book, has been garnering some lovely reviews. I’d like to share a few here – they certainly put a smile on my face. I hope the book made you smile too.

“This might be my favorite mystery in the whole series—absolutely gripping from start to finish! The pacing was spot-on, with just the right balance of suspense and emotion. Once I started reading, I couldn’t put it down. The mystery kept me guessing the whole way through. I suspected everyone at some point (so many clever red herrings!), and the ending was both surprising and satisfying.

“The historical details were woven in beautifully, and the epilogue tied everything together in a really thoughtful way. I’m sad the series is over, but this was the perfect send-off. I already want to start back at the beginning and read it all again! Highly recommend to fans of smart, engaging historical mysteries.”

“Whodunit? The most obvious person or the least? That’s the dilemma every reader will have as they attempt to unravel the fabric of this mystery! Marjorie and Frankie team up to try and solve the murder while Mrs. Jameson for unknown reasons goes silent. Loved this latest book in the series and enjoyed learning more about each character. All the answers are here! Highly recommend the series for every lover of a good mystery ~ and the series would make a perfect gift!”

“The author’s impeccable descriptions of time and place, the setting of the story on the Kent coast are pure delight; the pacing is spot on, perfectly balancing suspense and emotion. The characters, old and new, are vividly described.”

“One of my favourite books in the Marjorie Swallow series. A really excellent finale to the current series of Marjorie Swallow books. Lots of intrigue and red herrings. It was a real pleasure to read.”

Thank you so much to everyone who has read and reviewed Murder On The White Cliffs. Reviews make a big difference to independent authors, so please do drop a review on Amazon or Goodreads if you’ve enjoyed the book.

Recommendations

The next Verity Bright novel is out, and it sounds like a cracker. Lady Eleanor Swift is called to Buckingham Palace to solve a right royal mystery! Murder At The Royal Palace is out now.

Talking of royalty, I’m excited to see the third Downton Abbey movie, Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale. I admit that I started watching Downton as ‘research’ for the 1920s, but was quickly gripped by the upstairs/downstairs plot, the glorious fashions and the amazing setting of Highclere Castle in Hampshire. I haven’t managed to see the film at the cinema yet, but I’m sure it’ll put a smile on my face.

Promotions

US and Canadian readers! Blackmail In Bloomsbury has been selected for a Chirp deal, which means it’s available for just $3.99 from October 8 to November 5, a big saving on the usual price in the US.