I hope you’ve had a good festive break, whether you’ve been celebrating Christmas, Hanukka, Diwali or simply pausing in the depths of mid-winter. I enjoyed a cozy Christmas in Deal with my husband and parents, after a wonderful week’s writing retreat in Devon.
The course was tutored by historical novelists Anna Mazzola and Natasha Pulley. They helped eight of us work on our novels, from my 1920s murder mysteries to Regency romances and sea-faring adventures from the age of sail.
The staff at the 14th century farmhouse where we stayed pulled out all the stops for a celebratory Medieval Christmas Banquet, complete with music. Some of us made impromptu medieval costumes (see my attempt left) – it was a lot of fun!
On the last night we all read pieces from our work in progress and I’m pleased that the sneak preview of Death On Fleet Street went down very well. I’m working on edits this month, and hope to have it with you in February or March.
Thanks to everyone who wrote to say they enjoyed my Christmas short story, A Venetian Masquerade. If you’d like to know more about the inspiration for the story, including more about Venetian masks, take a look at my Substack post here.
Read on for recommendations, book news, a Creative January workshop, and a New Year promotion.
Stepping out: travels through words and song
Exciting news! Following the success of our summer seaside workshop, musician Katie Rose and I are back to offer a creative boost for January.
The singing and writing workshop is themed around travel and journeys, as we take our first steps into 2025. Expect travellers’ tales and songs, creative soundscapes and signposts for your own creative journey.
Stepping Out will be held upstairs at the Brown & Green Life Cafe in Crystal Palace Park, London SE20 8DS.
It takes place on Sunday January 26, from 10.30am to 4pm. Tickets are £50 (£40 concessions).
Death On Fleet Street
Death On Fleet Street is the fifth Marjorie Swallow book and it might just be my favourite yet. I began my journalism career in the 1990s, by which time most of the British newspapers had already left London’s Fleet Street, which was the hub of the newspaper industry for centuries. So it was wonderful to research the heyday of Fleet Street, when media barons like Lord Beaverbrook set up newspapers like the Daily Mirror, and the newspapers themselves were printed using linotype machines and hot metal.
I took a trip to the St Bride Institute’s printing workshop by Fleet Street (pictured) to talk to retired Fleet Street printers about how it all worked, and read some hair-raising memoirs and autobiographies of journalists from the street. I particularly enjoyed the autobiography of Lord Beaverbrook’s daughter Janet, which gave me plenty of ideas for my fictional media baron, the loathsome Lord Ravensbourne. I’ll share more about the research when the book is published.
That should be quite soon now – my copyeditor will be working on it this month and I’ll be sending it to beta readers very soon. You can pre-order here. You won’t be charged until the book is published.
Reading recommendations
Spring and flowers might seem a long way off, but Rosie Hunt’s new mystery, Murder At A Flower Show, will have you feeling spring-like in no time.
Lady Felicity Quick receives a peculiar invitation. A prestigious competition between British rose growers seeks celebrity judges, and Felicity is top of their list.
Despite a lack of interest in flowers, and after a spot of meddling by her beloved grandmother, Felicity finds herself surrounded by sweet-smelling blooms in the charming Devonshire village of Bickleford. And as romance blossoms, judging the flower show proves surprisingly enjoyable…
Until Britain’s most notorious rose breeder is found murdered behind the floral marquee — with Felicity’s own grandma as the prime suspect! Can Felicity unearth Bickleford’s secrets in time to save her grandmother? Find out here!
I’m also recommending two excellent novels by my lovely Arvon tutors:
- Anna Mazzola‘s The Unseeing, about a lawyer drawn into investigating a murder in 1837 London. It’s based on a true life case, the Edgware Road murder, and asks why a convicted woman might not tell the secret that could free her…
- Natasha Pulley‘s The Watchmaker of Filigree Street, a magical tale of clockwork, friendship and love in Victorian London. Who could resist a tale with a clockwork octopus and a replica Japanese village in Knightsbridge (astonishingly a real place)?
Free e-books for January
I’m taking part in the New Year Cozy Mystery giveaway promotion on Bookfunnel throughout January, where you can find dozens of mysteries to download.