Anna Sayburn Lane

Mystery and thriller author

Anna Sayburn Lane

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?’

***

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?

July newsletter: Walking, writing, and Christmas in July!

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When you get this, I’ll be on my annual Big Walk, with my great friends from the Refugee Tales community. Every July (except 2020) for the past 8 years, I’ve laced up my walking boots and hoisted my backpack for a 5-day walk across the English countryside, in solidarity with refugees and people in immigration detention.

I’ll be one of the leaders in a group of 120 walkers, some of whom have travelled thousands of miles to be with us. We’ll eat together, sleep on the floors of church and community halls together, walk together and in the evenings we’ll hear stories and music – and dance together. It’s a joyful celebration of community and stories.

Walking has always been an important part of my writing process. The 60-mile ‘pilgrim’ walk from London to Canterbury kickstarted the idea that became my first novel, Unlawful Things. Walking long distances is calming, meditative, and allows my screen-addled brain to relax. Whether it’s flaneur-ing around a city or hiking in the hills, walking is an essential part of my life.

Read on for recommendations and promotions, news on the next book, The Riviera Mystery – and find out why I’m thinking about Christmas in July!

The Riviera Mystery

Cover of book The Riviera MysteryWhile I’m away walking, my editor Alison will be poring over the first draft of The Riviera Mystery.

Marjorie Swallow and Mrs Jameson are hoping for a relaxing holiday on the shores of the Mediterranean, staying at the luxurious Villa Beau Rivage. But en route to the Cote d’Azur, Marjorie is caught up in a troubling break-in on the Blue Train – and the mysteries don’t end there.

Marjorie meets handsome artists, glamorous movie stars, rich diamond dealers and smooth art dealers – but is everything as it seems on the dazzling surface? Not long now until you can find out!

The Riviera Mystery is scheduled for release in October – but I think it’ll be ready a bit sooner than that. Look out for it in September – or pre-order here to be sure to get it as soon as it’s published.

 

Recommendations

Rosie Hunt has a new 1920s cozy mystery out, Murder At A Boarding School. I grew up devouring Mallory Towers books, so I’m intrigued to revisit boarding schools with a murderous twist!

At a sprawling Devonshire estate, surrounded by wealthy girls targeting excellent marriages, Lady Felicity Quick has abandoned her career in journalism to teach letter-writing and table manners at an exclusive finishing school… Except nothing is as it seems. Felicity is undercover, hunting a Great War spy who betrayed the British and cost countless lives. Between lessons in dance, French, and flower arranging, Felicity edges closer to unmasking her foe, but then a body is found. Are more sinister schemes afoot than first thought?

Order Murder At A Boarding School here.

Seaside Songs and Tidal Tales

I’m thrilled to be hosting a writing and singing workshop with my good friend Katie Rose, a composer, singer, writer and choirmaster. We’ve teamed up for an afternoon of creating songs and stories on the seashore, at the lovely Downs Sailing Club on the beach in my hometown of Deal.

No experience of writing or singing is needed! I’ve never thought of myself as singer, but Katie makes it so easy to find your voice. Singing in a group is great fun and we’re sure to find plenty of inspiration from the sea, the boats and the shore.

Why not join us? Book using the link to Katie’s website here.

Publishing news

Writing and publishing independently can be a bit of a lonely business, so one of the highlights of my year is the Self Publishing Show Live in London. I spent two days catching up with author friends like Rachel McLean, being inspired by multi-million-selling authors like EL James (yes, that EL James!) and learning about all the amazing things happening in the independent publishing world.

There was a particular focus on audiobooks, and I’m planning to make my first foray into audio later this year… stay tuned!

Christmas in July!

Now that The Riviera Mystery is on the way, it’s time to start thinking about the next book. Christmas and cozy mysteries go together like holly and ivy, so I’m planning a festive mystery to round off the year.

Trying to think of Christmassy plots in July reminds me of working for women’s magazines, which I did a bit in my health journalism days. They work so far ahead of publication date that you’re forever thinking about summer in January and autumn at Easter.

I’ll have to put on some Christmassy music and maybe read a few old favourites like Hercule Poirot’s Christmas to get me in the mood! What would you recommend?

Promotions

For UK readers only, Blackmail In Bloomsbury has been picked as a Kindle Deal by Amazon, lowering the price to £0.99 for the whole of July. If you’ve not read that one yet, why not give it a whirl?