Anna Sayburn Lane

Thriller author

Anna Sayburn Lane

November newsletter: Read all about it!

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I’ve relocated from the seaside to London, while I help to plan a big walk for the Refugee Tales project. Next July I’ll be leading groups of walkers in a 60-mile partial circumnavigation of the city, on a route adapted from the Capital Ring.

It’s been a delight to get out and about in some sunny, cold autumn weather, and a real pleasure to visit parts of London I haven’t seen before, to the north and west of the city. Perhaps the walk will inspire me – watch out for Death In Finchley, or The Wembley Park Murders!

The walks get me away from my desk, where I’m hard at work on the next book, set in the newspaper world of 1920s Fleet Street. I’ve immersed myself in the newspaper lore of the 1920s, reading memoirs and old newspapers to get a feel for what it must have been like to work in the Street of Newspapers.

Read on for more about newspapers and history, free book promotions, and recommendations for books and other entertainment to keep you busy through November.

My favourite research tool: the British Newspaper Archive

Old newspapers give a fascinating glimpse into the world of the past. This week I’ve been dipping into the archives on a daily basis, as I put together the first draft of Death On Fleet Street.

What might a fictional national newspaper put on its front page in February 1924? Well, a quick search and I can find out: A scandalous divorce case involving a Lord, a Lady… and the butler. What were ordinary people worried about? The price of sugar, which was up a penny a pound. Who might a newspaper proprietor have lunch with at the Savoy Grill? How about up-and-coming politician Winston Churchill, standing as an independent ‘anti-socialist’ candidate at a by-election that month?

The only problem is that I get so engrossed in reading historical newspapers, I forget what I was supposed to be writing about!

If you’d like to learn more about the treasures I’ve unearthed from the archive, check out my Substack post Read All About It! And why not sign up to receive all my posts about historical research?

Books, podcasts and fun for November nights

There’s something so comforting about curling up with a good book on a dark night. One of my favourite writers, India Knight, has published a list of her favourite ‘comfort reads’ – books she returns to when she wants to retreat to ‘really deeply satisfying, fully realised worlds where you feel safe and cosy.’

The full list is here, but the ones I’ve read and wholeheartedly recommend include Nancy Mitford’s The Pursuit of Love; Winifred Watson’s Miss Pettigrew Lives For A Day; Barbara Pym’s Excellent Women, EF Benson’s Mapp And Lucia; and Armistead Maupin’s Tales of the City. I’ll add in my all-time favourite book to re-read, Stella Gibbon’s Cold Comfort Farm.

Less cosily, I’ve enjoyed listening to the always-excellent Lucy Worsley explore the world of female villains in her new podcast series, Lady Swindlers. I especially enjoyed learning about Alice Diamond, the queen of 1920s shop-lifters, and her all-female gang, the Forty Thieves. They raided the newly fashionable department stores, filling up their specially-made shoplifter bloomers with stolen goods! It’s given me a few ideas for future Marjorie Swallow adventures.

And finally, no I haven’t watched the television adaptation of Jilly Cooper’s Rivals yet. I adored the book as a teenager, and I plan to lock myself away next weekend with chocolate and the Big TV, and watch the whole thing in one go. Have you watched it yet, and if so what did you think?

Free books!

Looking for a few more autumnal cozy mysteries to squeeze into your e-reader? Check out the Cozy Mystery Free Book promotion at Bookfunnel for free novels and novellas. It runs until November 24.

October newsletter: cozy reading for rainy days

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The seasons have definitely turned in Britain and it’s perfect weather for curling up by the fire with a cup of tea and a good book. I’m home after an eventful trip (see below) and enjoying reading the lovely reviews for The Riviera Mystery. I’m also getting started on writing the next Marjorie Swallow adventure, which will be set in the newspaper world of 1920s Fleet Street.

Read on for travel misadventures, reading recommendations and promotions.

An adventure on the water

September is often a glorious month in the UK, with late summer sunshine and mellow temperatures making it my favourite time to travel. So I was looking forward a week-long trip on a narrowboat in the English Midlands for the end of September.

Britain is criss-crossed by canals, man-made waterways which were used to ferry heavy goods like coal around the country during the industrial revolution. Long cast-iron narrowboats, originally horse-drawn and later motorised, supplied fuel to the factories of the industrial revolution and moved goods from one end of the country to the other. They fell into disuse after the rise of the railways but recently the canals have been restored and now many people choose to live or take leisure trips on converted narrowboats.

It can be fun, trundling gently through the countryside at four miles an hour. You do need nerves of steel to steer a 60-foot boat from the tiller at the rear through some of the narrow, winding sections of canal, not to mention navigating and working the frequent locks which are used to raise or lower boats from a higher to lower section of canal.

But I didn’t bank on the weather. We had about an hour of sunshine before the heavens opened. Our trip coincided with the heaviest rain we’ve had for months. Not only did we get soaked steering the boat and working the locks, but some sections of the canal were closed because of dangerous flooding, which meant our boat might have been swept into the fields with the cows! We moored up and waited for the waters to recede.

There are two British responses to this sort of thing. The first is to make a cup of tea. The second is to go to the pub. Luckily we had a kettle and plenty of teabags, and our mooring was close to a fine inn, The Swan, which had an open fire, good beer and served tasty and enormous meals. Even better, I had a good book on the go, Charles Dickens’ Great Expectations, which I’m re-reading for a book club.

It may not have been the holiday I hoped for. But as Marjorie discovered in The Riviera Mystery, sometimes even the best holiday doesn’t quite work out as planned. I’m sure she’d agree that a cup of tea, good food and a gripping book makes it all worthwhile!

The Stories Behind the Story

A quick reminder that, if you are keen on learning more about the historical research I do for my novels, you can find out more on my separate newsletter, The Stories Behind the Story. Next week I’ll be sharing some of my favourite finds in the British Newspaper Archives.

Sunny books for rainy days

After my soggy adventure, I’m drawn to some sunny books! And coincidentally there are not one but two newly-published Egyptian adventures on my to-be-read pile.

Sara Rosett, author of the 1920s High Society Lady Detective series, has a new mystery featuring a Lady Traveller in Egypt, starting with Murder Among The Pyramids.

 

 

 

Meanwhile, Verity Bright’s next book, Murder On The Nile, sees Lady Eleanor Swift and butler cruising down the Nile on the SS Cleopatra – when the inevitable happens and the cruise is interrupted by murder.

At least none of my narrowboat adventures resulted in a corpse! (Although I wouldn’t bank against my experiences finding their way into fiction at some point.)

Promotion

Looking for a few more autumnal cozy mysteries to squeeze into your e-reader? Check out the Everything Nice Cozy Mystery promotion at Bookfunnel for free novels and novellas.

The Riviera Mystery: out now!

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Cover of book The Riviera MysteryThe fourth in the 1920s Murder Mystery Series, The Riviera Mystery, is published today. Marjorie is looking forward to some sunshine and relaxation when she heads to the French Riviera with Mrs Jameson for a late summer holiday. But from the journey on the Blue Train to a glamorous party at the luxurious Villa Beau Rivage, that doesn’t go according to plan.

A suspicious death, a close shave in a speedy sports car and a night in the cells await – but will Marjorie learn who to trust in time to unravel the mystery?

 

September newsletter: First travel overseas, excerpt from The Riviera Mystery, and a Posh Night Out!

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Do you remember your first trip overseas? Packing your case, the thrill of travelling by air or sea, the wonder as you stepped into a new world for the very first time, full of sunshine and colour?

For me, I was a ten-year-old on a day trip to Calais, France. We took the ferry from Dover – a mere 20 miles, but I was determined to feel ‘foreign’. I remember buying baguettes from a boulangerie, noticing schoolchildren chattering away in French, and looking at all the exotic-looking sweets in the shop windows.

It’s that sense of excitement that I wanted to capture in the new Marjorie Swallow adventure, The Riviera Mystery, out on September 19. A year ago, I stepped aboard the Eurostar train in London, bound for the south of France, then took the sleeper from Paris to Nice (pictures of that trip left). The journey sparked the idea for the new book, which begins with Marjorie lying awake in her compartment on the luxurious Blue Train… Read on for an excerpt from the new book to whet your appetite – and the chance to win a signed copy.

 

The Riviera Mystery

Cover of book The Riviera MysteryI was far too excited to sleep. The wheels rattled over the tracks, my toothbrush clinked in the glass on my nightstand and Mrs Jameson’s gentle snores vibrated rhythmically through the thin walls. Outside, the French countryside rushed past, fields and rivers and lakes and forests, an endlessly changing panorama of the first foreign country I had ever seen.

I reached from my bunk for the cord to pull up the blind. There might not be much to see in the dark, but I wanted to see it anyway. Ahead of me was the luxury of a September holiday, a whole month at a villa belonging to a friend of Mrs Jameson, my employer. Travelling as her secretary, I’d been promised turquoise seas, sunshine, white sailing boats and palm trees. I lapsed into a happy reverie.

Then someone screamed.

It was a woman’s scream, full of terror. I swung my feet to the floor, heart thumping, and wrenched open the sliding door to my compartment. All my parents’ warnings about the perils of Abroad, the danger of being robbed or murdered or worse on a sleeper train, rushed into my head. I’d hoped to get away from murders on this holiday, not be plunged straight into one before we even arrived.

Outside, the door to a compartment three down from mine stood open, light spilling into the corridor.

‘I say,’ I called, hurrying over. ‘Are you all right?’

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What happens next? You’ll have to read the book to find out! You can also see me read the first few pages on my YouTube channel, here.

 

A Posh Night Out!

An author’s life might sound glamorous, but mostly it involves sitting in front of a computer, tapping away. However, I do enjoy a spot of glamour – and it doesn’t get more glamorous than Glyndebourne. This very English affair involves getting dressed to the nines for a picnic in the grounds of a sumptuous stately home, followed by world-class opera in a private opera house. It was my first time, and I had a ball.

Here I am with friends Christina and George, and husband Phil, all dressed up and ready for our champagne and smoked salmon.

 

 

 

 

 

Book recommendations this month

The Shanghai Secret by Vanessa Lind

A new author to me, but a subject close to my heart as a former journalist. The Shanghai Secret, by Vanessa Lind, is a duel timeline historical mystery from 1880s America.

In a charming riverfront town, a maid goes missing on the eve of her scheduled court appearance against a notorious shanghaier. Budding Gilded Age newspaper woman Jo Felch is determined to uncover the truth. But Jo’s investigation takes a terrifying turn when her newspaper’s beloved publisher turns up dead. She soon discovers nothing is as certain as she thought—not even her own past.

Link here: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BV17DZ14

 

 

 

 

A Murder In Paris by Magda Alexander

And an old favourite returns!

A honeymoon in Paris. Idyllic days and nights. It couldn’t be more perfect. Until somebody dies.

After their magical wedding, Kitty Worthington and her husband, Inspector Robert Crawford Sinclair, head to Paris for their honeymoon. Art museums, haute couture, French cuisine. Wondrous nights. It’s everything Kitty has always dreamed of and more. But then a body drops, putting a damper on things.

At least this time, it’s a matter for the French police. There’s no need for Kitty and Robert to get involved. Things change, however, when a dear friend becomes the chief suspect, and she begs Kitty for help. Unable to walk away, she and Robert agree to investigate…

Link here: https://readerlinks.com/l/3887369

The Stories Behind the Story

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I’ve started a Substack newsletter for readers who want to know more about my research process for writing my historical novels. The free newsletter, The Stories Behind The Stories, will go out fortnightly, with a mixture of research findings, tips and favourite moments. If you’d like to sign up, you can do so here.

August newsletter: Sun, sea and books to read on the beach

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Where did July go? The month whizzed by. Between my Refugee Tales walk and my seaside creative writing day, I squeezed in a visit to the ancient university town of Oxford, a trip to Southwark in London to prepare for a guided history walk, and (somewhere in the middle) worked on editorial revisions to The Riviera Mystery.

Now I’m ready for a bit of beach time. In August, there’s nowhere I’d rather be than at home in Deal, maybe with a picnic lunch, a beach umbrella and a good book.

Read on for Oxford adventures, more on my history walk, and some special summer reading deals, promotions and recommendations.

An Oxford Adventure

Oxford, one of the two ancient universities in the UK, is a fascinating and beautiful place to visit.

Many of the colleges – established from about the twelfth century – back onto the River Thames, which meanders through the city. The Bodleian Library (centre photo) was founded in 1602 and holds an estimated 13 million printed items! When I visited it was hosting an excellent exhibition about how works of literature have been edited over the centuries. This was comforting, as I was wrestling with re-writing the end of my novel in progress.

I also took a trip to the Pitt Rivers ethnographic museum, a treasure trove of artefacts from all over the world. I was especially taken with the Japanese masks from Noh theatre, which were rather spooky en masse.

Like Venice, Oxford attracts a host of tourists. However, as I was house-sitting for a friend just outside the city centre, I was able to escape the crowds with walks along the riverside and visits to the local park, where I enjoyed my morning coffee in the neighbourhood cafe.

Playhouses, pubs and Winchester Geese

My first series of novels featured walking tour guide and literary researcher Helen Oddfellow, who got into all sorts of perilous adventures while digging up mysteries from the past.

I’m stepping back into Helen’s shoes for a while, by leading a walk around London’s historical Southwark district, in a charity event for the Refugee Tales project on August 10.

In a fine example of life imitating art, I’ll be recreating the tour that Helen took in the first book in the series, Unlawful Things. We’ll be visiting inns dating to the 12th century, the site of playhouses from the 15th century, a burial ground for London’s ‘outcast dead’ and the old palace of the Bishops of Winchester.

Books, books, books!

There’s nothing like lazing around in the garden or on the beach with a good book. A significant part of my travel luggage allowance used to be taken up with books, but (although I still love reading in print) I now fill up my e-reader instead, making my suitcase a bit easier to lug around.

If you’re off on vacation, here are a few offers, recommendations and promotions to make sure you don’t run out of reading material.

Firstly, The Soho Jazz Murders is reduced in price this month, both in the US, Canada and the UK. It’ll be just $1.99/£1.99, so if you’ve read Blackmail In Bloomsbury and are wondering what happens to Marjorie next, now’s the time to find out.

If you’re up to date with Marjorie’s adventures, The Riviera Mystery is due out next month. In the meantime, why not try one of these summery mysteries, both by authors I met at the Self Publishing Show?

Murder At Millar’s Hotel is the first in the Lady Ellen Investigates mysteries from Kelly Mason. Set in a British seaside town, it features the death of a satisfyingly unpleasant villain, and the unravelling of which of his many enemies got to him first.

Murder on the Côte d’Azur, by Colette Clark, features glamour, a little romance, a fiendish mystery involving a poisoned cocktail, and all the French Riviera locations I’ve been writing about for The Riviera Mystery.

Finally, I’ve been re-reading one of my favourite Agatha Christie novels, Evil Under The Sun. It’s set in a glamorous hotel on the south coast of England, supposedly based on Burgh Island in Devon, a favourite retreat of the author. When Hercule Poirot arrives at a hotel, can murder be far behind?