Anna Sayburn Lane

Mystery and thriller author

Marjorie Swallow

September newsletter: book news, pre-orders for The Midwinter Murder, and recommendations

by Leave a Comment

Anna Sayburn Lane and Grandpa Phil at St David's CathedralI’m writing with my windows open to enjoy the sound and scent of the first proper rainfall we’ve had for months. Outside, the green is more of a brown, with scorched grass and bare patches, the same colour as the stony beach beyond. We need plenty more, but I’m enjoying the cooler air and fresh scent of petrichor.

August was quite a month! I finished writing The Midwinter Murder, and sent it to my long-standing editor Alison Jack. It’s ready to pre-order from the Kindle Store now.

The audiobook of the previous mystery, Murder On The White Cliffs, went live on audiobook sites. This is the sixth book on which I’ve worked with actor Kim Bretton, who always does a lovely job. I like to keep her on her toes, so I threw in an epilogue set in Rome to test her Italian accents.

But all this activity was eclipsed by my highlight of the month: meeting my granddaughter, Minnie Penelope. She’s perfect: dark hair, blue eyes, clear skin, ten tiny fingers and toes.

Grandpa Phil and I travelled to Pembrokeshire in Wales, where my stepson Chris and his partner Amy were adjusting to the new arrival. We stayed in a picture-perfect holiday rental, a shepherd’s hut in a field with a view over St Bride’s Bay. A perfect weekend!

I’ve also spent a lot of time on my allotment (for non-UK readers, this is a patch of land I rent cheaply from the town council, where I can grow fruit and vegetables), which has produced a bumper crop of courgettes (zucchini) which turn into marrows the minute my back is turned, and lots of lovely tomatoes.

Read on for book news, audiobook news, offers and recommendations.

Book News

The Midwinter Murder will be published on November 12 and is ready to pre-order now on the Kindle Store.

Pre-orders are really helpful for indie authors like me. Plenty of pre-orders tell Amazon that people are interested in the book, so they suggest it to other readers. It’s also very encouraging for me!

A friend recently told me she’d recommended my audiobooks to a relative going through a difficult time, and that she’d found them a welcome escape. Knowing that someone has enjoyed my books is such a boost. After all, there’d be no point writing them if you didn’t read them!

I do hope you’ll enjoy Marjorie’s Christmas outing.

Do you know what a priest’s hole is?

That’s not a joke! In Elizabethan England, Catholic priests were outlawed and the families who held to the old faith of Roman Catholicism could be executed for harbouring a priest in their homes.

So many of the stately homes of England from that period, especially those belonging to Catholic families, have a ‘priest’s hole’ – a hidden chamber where priests could hide if the agents of the state came calling.

I found out about them as part of research for The Midwinter Murder. You can read more about them on my Substack publication, The Stories Behind The Story.

Recommendations

Verity Bright has a new book out! Lady Swift and her handsome husband are charmed when they visit Stratford-on-Avon. Everyone is abuzz with chatter about the upcoming production of Macbeth… But wait, is that a body backstage? Murder Stage Left is the 26th in the Lady Eleanor Swift series.

Other things I’ve enjoyed recently:

  • William Shaw’s Burning Tide. When temporarily-unemployed policeman Eden Driscoll is approached in his tiny Devon village by a man who says someone’s trying to kill him, he doesn’t want to get involved. But soon he is involved, deeper than he could possibly realise. And who’s taking care of his orphaned nephew Finn while Eden is off sleuthing? Shaw’s books are always well-constructed page-turners.
  • A little late to this, but the BBC TV comedy Ann Droid featuring Diane Morgan and Sue Johnson. Both actresses are terrific and I’ve loved Diane Morgan’s previous comedy. I found this wry and charming.

The Midwinter Murder: pre-order now for Christmas!

by

The seventh in the Marjorie Swallow series sees Marjorie and Frankie hop aboard the Flying Scotsman for a Christmas mystery adventure. They’re headed for remote Ashwick Castle, where the Earl of Ashwick was murdered on Midwinter Eve, 1925. The local police think they know the culprit, but Marjorie is pretty sure they’ve got it wrong. Can she save an innocent man – and discover the true murderer?

The Midwinter Murder will be published on November 12. Pre-order The Midwinter Murder on the Kindle Store.

 

August newsletter: books, babies, and more!

by

Well, August is only just upon us but the month has already delivered plenty of excitement! On August 3 my stepson Chris and his partner Amy welcomed their baby Minnie into the world. I’m beyond excited to be a grandmother. When you get this newsletter I’ll be visiting the family in Wales and I cannot wait to meet little Minnie.

Despite the excitement, I managed to finish the first draft of A Midwinter Murder this morning. I know I have quite a few ‘fixes’ to come back to with this one, but it’s always good to get the first draft finished. I’ll have it up for pre-order soon.

It’s been a hot, dry month by the seaside. I’ve enjoyed the flowers that grow along the shore: yellow poppies, fennel and viper’s bugloss, to name a few. I’ve also spent time growing fruit and veg on my allotment. And if you’ve ever wondered what happens if you leave the courgettes (zucchini) alone too long, I can show you! I’ve been begging friends and family to take a few marrows off my hands, and dusting down my recipes for stuffed marrow.

Read on for book news, audiobook news, offers and recommendations.

A Midwinter Murder

Cover reveal! Donna Rogers of DLR Cover designs has worked her magic again. I hope you like the cover for The Midwinter Murder as much as I do.

Marjorie is preparing for Christmas in Bloomsbury, when the unexpected arrival of Frankie and her Auntie Clara sent them rushing for the next train heading north.

The trio set off for a snow-bound Northumbrian castle to find out who killed the Earl of Ashwick on Midwinter Eve. His Lordship’s feuding family are all home for the holidays, but suspicion has fallen on his chauffeur – who happens to be Frankie’s cousin Will.

With Mrs Jameson away in the south of France, it’s up to Marjorie to save the day.

The Midwinter Murder is set in Ashwick Castle, which isn’t a real place but was inspired by the castles of Northumberland, several of which I visited on a cycling trip last August.

You might recognise the magnificent Alnwick Castle, seat of the Dukes of Northumberland, from the Harry Potter films, where it stood in for Hogwarts, or from some episodes of Downton Abbey which were filmed there. The castle dates back 900 years as a stronghold against the Scots, and the seat of the Percy family, dukes of Northumberland since 1309. The family still lives there.

I was also inspired by Bamburgh Castle, which sits on a rocky headland above the sea, and by the haunting ruins of nearby Dunstanburgh Castle, further down the coast. So although you can’t visit Ashwick Castle, you can visit plenty of the castles I had in mind when I created it.

Audiobook news

The audiobook of Murder On The White Cliffs is available on Audible now, and should be on Spotify and the other audiobook channels very soon.

Did you know you can borrow audiobooks via your local library? Why not ask them about it? I enable distribution of all my audiobooks through library services, so all of the titles in the Marjorie Swallow series published so far should be available.

Check out the audiobooks and listen to samples here.

 

 

Recommendations

August’s Mystery of the Month is Losing Leonard, the free prequel to Kelly Mason’s rollicking Lady Ellen Investigates series. In this introduction to the series, the newly-widowed Lady Ellen has to find out who she can trust in 1920s Somerset.

Other books I’ve enjoyed recently:

  • Olga Tokarczuk’s murder mystery with a difference, Drive Your Plough Over the Bones of the Dead, translated by Antonia Lloyd-Jones. Set in the Polish plains, it tells a story of cruelty, friendship, and revenge.
  • LC Winter’s creepy Spider, Spider, a gothic Victorian story of witchcraft and revenge. I had the pleasure of meeting author Libby at an Arvon course a couple of years ago. I devoured the story in a couple of days.

June newsletter: Book news and recommendations

by

Anna at Walmer Castle
At Walmer Castle for the book fair

What a busy month May was! I began with a wonderful trip to Florence in Italy, where I enjoyed visiting museums, galleries, churches and palazzos, not to mention sipping wine in a Tuscan hill village. Lots of possibilities for a trip to Italy for Marjorie Swallow at some point in the future!

Back in London, I led a guided walk through Deptford for a group of American tourists who want to hear about the literary history of the area. It was a chance to revisit some of the places that inspired my first novel, Unlawful Things.

I enjoyed a study weekend exploring Hilary Mantel’s Wolf Hall trilogy – bliss for historical fiction fans, with talks by historians, authors and experts on all aspects of Tudor history. And I met with author friends including 1920s mystery luminaries like Benedict Brown, Lynne Morrison and Rosie Hunt at the Self Publishing Show Live 2026 conference, held opposite the Houses of Parliament at County Hall.

Mid-way through the month, my fifth Marjorie Swallow book, Death On Fleet Street, went live, so it’s now available as an audiobook. My wonderful narrator Kim Bretton is now hard at work on Murder On The White Cliffs, the last in the current series.

I also took part in the Walmer Castle Book Fair in the delightful surroundings of Walmer Castle gardens, just down the road from me.

And in between all the activity, I got some writing done. More on that next month. Read on for all the usual news, recommendations and offers.

Summer reading recommendations

Is there anything more relaxing than a book on a beach? It’s my favourite way to wind down, and you can’t beat a mystery for a spot of relaxation. Here are two books I’ve enjoyed recently.

Have you read the Augusta Peel mysteries? Emily Organ’s series set in 1920s London is very much up my street. I like her reluctant sleuth, Augusta, who would prefer to be left to a quiet life mending books in a Bloomsbury cellar, but keeps getting dragged into murder investigations. Death In Soho, the first in the series, sees her act as chaperone to a young woman intent on visiting a Soho nightclub – but she soon wishes she’d stayed at home with her books.

Death In Soho is June’s Mystery of the Month. The book is just 99p/99c from June 24 to 30. Find it here.

Jane Thynne’s Midnight In Vienna is set on the brink of World War Two, as all Europe holds its breath. Stella Fry, a young woman in search of employment, meets mystery author Hubert Newman, who is looking for a secretary to type up his latest book. But Hubert is not long for this world, and when he’s discovered dead in Westminster Abbey just hours after their lunch in his London club, she begins to suspect his death was not an accident. And what ‘mistakes’ did he want her to spot in his manuscript?

It’s an atmospheric and gripping book, and even has a walk-on role for my favourite mystery writer Dorothy L Sayers!

 

Event: Walmer Castle Book Fair

by

Walmer Castle
Walmer Castle

I’m excited to be taking part in the 2026 Walmer Castle Book Fair next weekend. I’ll be on the author’s pop-up stage on the lawn at 1pm on Sunday June 14, talking about how I write my historical mystery books, and answering audience questions. I’ll also be signing books during the rest of the fair on Sunday. If you’re in the area, why not come and say hello?
Walmer Castle is managed by English Heritage.

 

May newsletter: 📚Book news, recommendations and travels✈️

by

I’ve been off on my travels this month and I’m packing the suitcase again for a trip to beautiful Florence next week. I’ve also been enjoying some lovely spring weather in the UK, including a gorgeous walk with friends in the Kent countryside.

I also took a trip to see family in Wales, which is right on the other side of the country. I have a step-granddaughter on the way, so I was very excited to spend time with the parents-to-be ahead of the happy event this summer.

I’ve managed to squeeze in a bit of writing, too. The new book is well underway at 30,000 words. Now, if I was writing a Marjorie Swallow book, I’d say I was halfway through, but this one is going to be longer. I’m aiming for 90,000 words, which seems like a good length for a thriller.

Read on for all the usual news, recommendations and offers.

 

Cozy mystery recommendations

Rosie Hunt has a new mystery out, Murder on the Motor Track.

England, 1923. Celebrated sleuth Lady Felicity Quick has never shied away from scandal. But becoming a racing driver? With her wedding fast approaching, Felicity should be choosing flowers, not flying around hairpin bends.

But a bereaved brother’s plea for justice summons her to the notorious Tor Vale circuit, where former flying aces risk their lives at every turn. Someone sabotaged the last fatal crash — and as the racers strive for the trophy, the killer is poised to strike again.

Can Felicity unmask the killer before the championship race? Or will a wrong turn send her off the track — permanently?

May’s Mystery of the Month is a new author to me, Cassie Rush, with The Secret Society.

A stolen artefact. A murdered archaeologist. A secret society that will stop at nothing.

London, 1925. Lady Barbara ‘Bundle’ Ridgewell is carving out a new life in Mayfair while her husband, Lord Edmund Ridgewell, reluctantly takes his seat in the House of Lords. When a party invitation introduces Bundle to Dr Samuel Cunningham — a charming archaeologist with a mysterious Egyptian relic and tales of ancient curses — she’s intrigued. When she finds him murdered in his Soho flat, she’s appalled. Where will the investigation take her?

Audiobook news

Murder On Fleet Street should be available soon for those who prefer to read with their ears. I signed it off at Audible this morning, and I have to say, Kim has done a brilliant job. Whisper it, but this might be my favourite of the Marjorie Swallow books, and Kim’s narration is spot on. She even made me laugh at my own jokes while I did the quality assurance check!

You should be able to find it on Audible and Spotify very soon.

Promotion

Finally, I’m taking part in the Mayday Giveaway on Bookfunnel this month, where you can find plenty of new reading matter to fill up your e-reader. Check them out here.

Have a marvellous May, and happy reading!