May is my favourite time of year and this month got off to a great start with a few days of beautiful sunny weather by the seaside!
And talking of seaside, I finished the first draft of the next Marjorie Swallow book, Murder On The White Cliffs. I’m having a much-needed break from writing this week and hope to get out and enjoy the sunshine.
Read on for a first peep at the brand new cover for Murder On The White Cliffs, recommendations, promotions, a spot of family history and more!
Murder On The White Cliffs
The first draft of Murder On The White Cliffs will be making its way to my editor this month, ready for publication in July.
I’m trying something different this time. I plan to release the e-book for pre-orders via my own website first. If you would like to buy it directly from me, you can do so. If you’d prefer to buy it from Amazon, I’ll put it up on the Kindle Store after that, and it will be available in Kindle Unlimited as usual at that time.
Eventually I want to have an online store where you can buy all your books directly from me, if you wish to do so. I’ve been dreaming about having a bookstore since I was a child – it must be the family history of shop-keeping in my blood! Talking of which…
Meet the real Marjorie Swallow!
Actually the lady on the left is Marjorie Swaddling, my grandmother, looking very glamorous in the 1930s. Marjorie worked a hairdresser in her sister’s hairdressing salon, before her marriage to my grandfather David Swaddling. Dave was a shop-keeper and proprietor of Swaddling Toys and Prams in Rushey Green, Catford. ‘The shop’ was a big part of my childhood, as were my grandparents.
Marjorie died more than 20 years ago, but I have so many happy memories of her, especially the cakes she used to bake, and the wonderful family parties at Christmas. She even used to cut my hair!
This photograph of the two of us together was taken at my cousin’s wedding in about 1990. I think I’d moved on to other hairdressers by then, although I still have a sharp 1920s bob.
I’ve been exploring how my family history has influenced my books over on my Substack blog. You can read more about Marjorie and her siblings here. I also uncovered a rather amazing story about my great-grandfather William Ball, Marjorie’s father, who had the most unpromising start in life but went on to establish a successful family firm. You can see him with my great-grandmother Henrietta on the right.
Audiobooks
I loved your suggestions for who should play Mrs Jameson in a dramatisation of the Marjorie Swallow books. Suggestions included Judi Dench, Maggie Smith and Gillian Anderson. I can easily imagine any of them doing a great job!
Don’t forget you can now download the free audiobook of my novella, Murder At The Ritz, as narrated by Kim Bretton. Kim is hard at work now on The Soho Jazz Murders, and you can already buy Blackmail In Bloomsbury from the usual audiobook retailers. See what you think of Kim’s version of Mrs Jameson!
If you’ve enjoyed any of my books, in whatever format, it would mean a lot to me if you would post a review online. Reviews make a huge difference to independent authors.
Recommendations
Rosie Hunt has a new book out this month, set in 1920s London. I’ll let her tell you about it:
England, 1922. London is a dazzling change from Lady Felicity Quick’s life in rural Devon, and her first case as a professional private detective is proving a rousing success.
Investigating a string of daring thefts at an exclusive Bond Street jeweller has introduced Felicity to bustling theatres, lively music clubs, and the glamour of London’s high society. It’s also brought her closer to Mr Alexander Cooper, the London-born journalist on whom Felicity is rather keen.
But when a jaunt to the river takes a sinister turn, Felicity is drawn into an even deeper mystery involving the most fascinating and fashionable denizens of England’s capital.
Murder By The Thames is out now.