Anna Sayburn Lane

Thriller author

Newsletter

October newsletter: reasons to smile: meeting readers, travel plans and cozy recommendations

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What makes you smile? Today is World Smile Day, so I’m thinking about all the things that make me smile. There are plenty of them – reader reviews of Murder On The White Cliffs, my new electric bike (a marvel!), meeting readers while selling books at fairs, my upcoming trip to Japan. I’m also thinking about how I can put a smile on readers’ faces, with the Very Secret Project (VSP) that I’ve been getting up early to write. I can’t tell you about that. Not yet, anyway. See if you can guess!

Read on to find out about these, plus a walking tour of Canterbury, an audiobook discount, and some autumn recommendations and promotions.

Cars, book sales and travel plans

I love vintage cars, and I couldn’t resist going along when I heard that the first Bloomsbury Classic Car Show was happening in Bedford Square, Bloomsbury – which in my fictional world is headquarters for Mrs Jameson and her detective agency.

I had a lovely time looking at all the glamorous cars and wondering which one Marjorie and Frankie would have picked out. I rather fancied this bright red sporty Sunbeam Alpine. However, I got there on my lovely new e-bike, which makes zipping around town much easier, and I don’t have to worry about parking!

Writing is a solitary business, so I love a chance to meet readers. I regularly set up stall in my home town in Kent. I now have the pleasure of readers coming back asking for the next in the series. It’s so nice to chat and find out what they thought about the books. And a big smile for the gentleman who bought the entire set of Marjorie Swallow books for his wife’s birthday present this month. Not long till Christmas, if you’re thinking of delighting the mystery fan in your life!

For people who can’t get to Kent to buy their books from me directly, there’s now an alternative to Amazon: The Great British Bookshop. All my books are listed on the site, which is run by the people who print my paperbacks. You order direct from them and I get a bigger slice of the price than from Amazon. Everyone wins!

Finally, I’m beyond excited to be packing for a trip to Japan next week. I’ve wanted to visit for years. There aren’t many countries with such a tantalising mixture of ancient tradition and cutting-edge new technology, tranquil countryside and hypermodern cities. I’ll tell you all about it next time, and see if I can find a way to set a story there!

A walk around Canterbury

1560 map of Canterbury
A 1560 map of Canterbury

I’ll be leading a Murder And Mystery historical walk around Canterbury in November, as part of the Canterbury Festival. Do sign up if you fancy walking the city with me and learning about the darker side of Canterbury history.

I got to know Canterbury while writing my Helen Oddfellow thrillers, because it was the birthplace of Elizabethan playwright Christopher Marlowe. I’ve written a bit about how the city shapes my writing, here on Substack.

Reviews

Murder On The White Cliffs, the most recent Marjorie Swallow book, has been garnering some lovely reviews. I’d like to share a few here – they certainly put a smile on my face. I hope the book made you smile too.

“This might be my favorite mystery in the whole series—absolutely gripping from start to finish! The pacing was spot-on, with just the right balance of suspense and emotion. Once I started reading, I couldn’t put it down. The mystery kept me guessing the whole way through. I suspected everyone at some point (so many clever red herrings!), and the ending was both surprising and satisfying.

“The historical details were woven in beautifully, and the epilogue tied everything together in a really thoughtful way. I’m sad the series is over, but this was the perfect send-off. I already want to start back at the beginning and read it all again! Highly recommend to fans of smart, engaging historical mysteries.”

“Whodunit? The most obvious person or the least? That’s the dilemma every reader will have as they attempt to unravel the fabric of this mystery! Marjorie and Frankie team up to try and solve the murder while Mrs. Jameson for unknown reasons goes silent. Loved this latest book in the series and enjoyed learning more about each character. All the answers are here! Highly recommend the series for every lover of a good mystery ~ and the series would make a perfect gift!”

“The author’s impeccable descriptions of time and place, the setting of the story on the Kent coast are pure delight; the pacing is spot on, perfectly balancing suspense and emotion. The characters, old and new, are vividly described.”

“One of my favourite books in the Marjorie Swallow series. A really excellent finale to the current series of Marjorie Swallow books. Lots of intrigue and red herrings. It was a real pleasure to read.”

Thank you so much to everyone who has read and reviewed Murder On The White Cliffs. Reviews make a big difference to independent authors, so please do drop a review on Amazon or Goodreads if you’ve enjoyed the book.

Recommendations

The next Verity Bright novel is out, and it sounds like a cracker. Lady Eleanor Swift is called to Buckingham Palace to solve a right royal mystery! Murder At The Royal Palace is out now.

Talking of royalty, I’m excited to see the third Downton Abbey movie, Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale. I admit that I started watching Downton as ‘research’ for the 1920s, but was quickly gripped by the upstairs/downstairs plot, the glorious fashions and the amazing setting of Highclere Castle in Hampshire. I haven’t managed to see the film at the cinema yet, but I’m sure it’ll put a smile on my face.

Promotions

US and Canadian readers! Blackmail In Bloomsbury has been selected for a Chirp deal, which means it’s available for just $3.99 from October 8 to November 5, a big saving on the usual price in the US.

 

September newsletter: Castles, coastlines and audiobooks

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I’m back at my desk after a holiday a few hundred miles north up the coast, in beautiful Northumberland. My father is from the county and I still have family there, so I enjoyed a week of cycling along the wild and wonderful coastline, visiting castles and dropping in on my cousins (not at the same time; sadly I have no castle-dwelling cousins.) I even took a dip in the North Sea, and can report that it’s even chillier than the sea back home in Kent.

It was just the tonic I needed to send me back to my desk for September, which always has a ‘back to school’ feel for me. Much as I love the summer, there’s something about crisp mornings, blackberries in the hedgerows and earlier dusks that makes me want to sharpen my pencils and start a new notebook.

So I’m starting work on my next writing project, which will remain secret until I’m ready to share it! In the meantime, read on for news about my travels, the latest audiobooks, and other news and recommendations.

Audiobook news

I’m pleased to say the latest Marjorie Swallow audiobook, Death At Chelsea, is now available on Audible or wherever you get your podcasts. That means the first three in the Marjorie Swallow series are now audio-friendly, for those of you who prefer to read with your ears.

You can find links to all the audiobooks, listen to samples and download the free audiobook of Murder At The Ritz on the new audiobooks page of my website.

Did you know you can get the audiobook at a reduced price if you already own the Kindle version of a book? Not only that, but using the Whispersync feature, the book can magically tell what page you’re on, so you can swap between listening and reading without getting in a muddle. Go to the Kindle page for the book on Amazon and check the right hand column – it should show you a reduced price for the audiobook (note, I don’t set the prices for Audible books so I don’t know exactly what it will be).

If you don’t want to buy or subscribe through Audible, Spotify or the other providers, you can always ask your library to get my audiobooks for you. They can buy a library license and you can listen for free!

Castles and coastlines

The far north of England has a special place in my heart. My father grew up just outside Newcastle, and many of my childhood holidays were spent at the seaside town of Whitley Bay, where my grandparents lived.

Northumberland is the furthest northerly point of England before it becomes Scotland, and for centuries it was the site of battles and border skirmishes between the English and Scots. Then there were the Viking raiders from across the sea in Denmark, and the ancient families who rebelled against Elizabeth I, and an important role in the civil war… for much of its history, Northumberland was far from the peaceful place it is now.

The coastline is mostly flat, with sand dunes fringing white beaches where seals bask and colonies of seabirds breed on the islands offshore. There’s the holy island of Lindesfarne, where Saints Aidan and Cuthbert brought Christianity to Britain. I spent time on Holy Island after walking St Cuthbert’s Way ten years ago, and it has a very special, otherworldly atmosphere.

This summer we stayed at Alnmouth, where the Aln river estuary meanders into the sea. As you might expect from its history, this stretch of coastline is rich in castles. We cycled past Dunstanburgh , now little more than a ruin on the headland above the fishing village of Craster, Warkworth perched above the delightful River Coquet, and the impressive Bamburgh Castle, which dominates the northern stretch of coast overlooking the Farne Islands.

But you can’t visit Northumberland without visiting the magnificent Alnwick Castle, the seat of the Dukes of Northumberland since the thirteenth century. The twelfth duke and his family still live there – but it’s now most famous as a stand-in for Hogwarts in the Harry Potter films.

We toured the state rooms (some of which were used for filming Downton Abbey, more my sort of entertainment!), dodged children doing ‘broomstick practice’, stood on the battlements and imagined facing a Viking raiding party surging in from the coast. The castle also has a very informative area demonstrating medieval arts and crafts, and I was fascinated to find out about the process of making parchment, ink and colours for producing book illustrations, such as those made for the Lindesfarne Gospels.

We also enjoyed tea and cake and a browse around Barter Books in Alnwick, the tremendously popular and huge second hand bookshop in what used to be Alnwick Station.

I came home with the spark of an idea for the next book… but I won’t say any more for now! More about that when it’s ready.

Recommendations

While we’re talking about audiobooks, I thought I’d recommend some of the audio content that I’ve been listening to and enjoying recently.

The Books And Travel podcast by JF Penn, who writes the ARKANE novels. Jo Penn talks to writers about the places that shape their writing and what we learn from our travels. I was a guest on the podcast a couple of years ago, talking about Canterbury. More recently, I loved this episode on Lindesfarne.

For sheer silliness and fun, the complete PG Wodehouse Jeeves And Wooster radio dramas, read by a full cast including Michael Horden and Richard Briers.

Juliet Stevenson reading Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice is a thing of beauty and was recommended to me by lots of people. Pretty much anything she reads is lovely!

Caroline Crampton’s Shedunnit podcast takes a dive into classic crime fiction, including all my favourites. She recently talked about ‘rediscovering’ Miss Marple, my favourite of Agatha Christie’s detectives.

The audiobooks in Mick Herron’s Slow Horses series about hapless British spies. Narrator Sean Barrett really conveys the world-weariness of the characters.

Finally, I discovered my narrator Kim Bretton through Magda Alexander’s 1920s murder mysteries starring Kitty Worthington, so a big thumbs up for Magda and Kim!

I hope you enjoy them and please do let me know if you have favourite audiobooks or podcasts to recommend.

August newsletter: What’s next for Marjorie Swallow?

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Thank you for the kind comments about Murder On The White Cliffs, the sixth Marjorie Swallow mystery. I’m delighted that it’s gone down so well.

To celebrate publication, I enjoyed a tea at an old-fashioned hotel near Broadstairs, the Walpole Bay Hotel. It had a lot of the original 1920s fixtures and fittings, and I think Marjorie would have felt very much at home there!

Congratulations to Lalita, who won a signed copy of the book for her heatwave suggestions.

If you’ve read the book, you’ll know that this is the last Marjorie Swallow book for a while. Why? Well, after six books in two years, I need a break. I don’t want to get stale, or write a book that you won’t enjoy as much as the others.

I think Marjorie will be back (I’m too fond of her to say goodbye forever!) but I’m having a little break from writing fiction, while I work on another project. I’ll let you know how that goes.

In the meantime, I would be so grateful if you would leave a review of Murder On The White Cliffs online – for example on GoodReads or Amazon. Reviews make a big difference to independent authors and help other readers to find my books.

Read on for all my news, reading recommendations and promotions.

How to find your readers!

In September I’m teaming up with best-selling author and Instagram star Jess Bolton, for a workshop on marketing for authors. This came about after Jess and I were asked to speak about marketing to the Writers In Oxford group in March. We had a great session with lots of questions and realised that between us we have a lot of expertise!

We decided to create a full day’s workshop for any authors who want to find the readers who will love their books. The event will cover the basics of marketing for authors, and take a look at newsletters, paid advertising and social media. It will be held in London on 14 September.

Lots of writers say the marketing is the hardest part of being an author – but it doesn’t have to be!

News

I’ve been interviewed and written guest posts for a couple of excellent mystery writer blogs this month, as part of publicity for the new book. Sarah Zama, who writes 1920s mysteries set in Italy, interviewed me and reviewed Murder On The White Cliffs on her blog. You can read the interview here and her review here.

Kate Jackson, a prolific Golden Age crime reviewer whose hilarious book How To Survive A Classic Crime Novel is published by the British Library, invited me to write a guest post on why I write 1920s mysteries. The post is here.

Meanwhile, I’ve signed off the latest Marjorie Swallow audiobook, Death At Chelsea, so the first three books in the Marjorie Swallow series are now available to listen, as well as the prequel Murder At The Ritz. Do let me know what you think of the audiobooks; I hope to get the rest recorded later this year.

Recommendations

Rosie Hunt has a new book out in her Lady Felicity Quick series, Murder In The Castle. Here’s the juice:

A remote English castle. A decades-old family rift. And a deadly apple crumble. Can a bold young sleuth uncover the truth to heal the past and protect her future with the man she loves? England, 1922. Celebrated detective Lady Felicity Quick dreams of marrying gallant journalist Mr Alexander Cooper. But before they can make their courtship official, there’s a family tradition to fulfil — and a long-held grudge to unravel… As a step towards upholding the ancient custom, Felicity must meet her Great-Aunt Winnifred for the first time. Rumoured to commune with spirits, the estranged aunt inhabits a foreboding fortress surrounded by peculiar pets and even odder people. The welcome Felicity and Alex receive at the castle is surprisingly warm — until death arrives with dessert! Racing against time, Felicity must investigate old grievances, expose murderous motives, and decode the testimony of an animal witness — before she and Alex are framed as the wrong-doers!

Wishing you an amazing August, and happy reading!

May newsletter: news, offers and a spot of history

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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!

Marjorie Swaddling
Anna and Marjorie
Henrietta and William

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.

February newsletter: Who murdered the media mogul? Extract from my new novel.

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Congratulations – you made it through January! I admit, I find the first month of the year a challenge. I love the cosiness of Christmas, but once the year has turned it feels like a long haul until spring. I’ve spent the month revising my new novel, making plans and doing a lot of reading. I’ve also indulged my love of flowers with some narcissi for my study, and enjoyed seeing these little cyclamen while out on a brisk, chilly walk in my 1920s-style cloche hat! What’s your top tip for keeping cheerful in gloomy weather?

Read on for more about my plans for audio books, recommendations for books, podcasts and television, and firstly, an exclusive extract from my new book, Death On Fleet Street, which will be published next month.

 

 

DEATH ON FLEET STREET: chapter one

Miss Beatrice Waddon breezed into the room like the figurehead of a ship, her noble brow and wide blue-grey eyes conveying a tremendous air of forward motion.

I jumped up from my desk to greet her. The young woman was the first proper client to have made an appointment at Mrs Jameson’s detective agency since Christmas, and I was keen to see what new adventure her arrival might bring.

‘Good morning. I’m Marjorie Swallow, Mrs Jameson’s secretary. Please, take a seat. I’ll let Mrs Jameson know you’re here.’

Miss Waddon shook my hand with a firm grip. ‘I appreciate you fitting me in at short notice, Miss Swallow. The matter is rather urgent.’

She wore a smart walking suit of tobacco-brown French serge, with jet beading at the collar and cuffs, and a rather chic black velvet hat. I felt rumpled by comparison, and pulled down my jacket sleeve to cover an ink splodge on the cuff of my blouse.

I ran to fetch Mrs Jameson from the drawing room, where she was reading The Times with a despondent air.

‘There you are, Marjorie. Has Miss Waddon arrived? Thank heavens. I am in severe need of distraction. The newspapers never have anything cheerful to report.’ Like me, Mrs Jameson thrived on a knotty investigation and got fretful between cases.

Unlike me, she looked as regal as Queen Mary as she entered the office, in a day dress of bottle-green cashmere with a matching turban.

‘Good morning, Miss Waddon. Marjorie, please ring for coffee. Now, how may we be of assistence?’

Miss Waddon picked up her handbag, snapped it open and withdrew a piece of paper, which she handed to my employer.

‘Please tell me what you think of this.’

Mrs Jameson read quickly, her fine grey eyes scanning the paper. She compressed her lips and handed it to me. ‘Marjorie?’

It was newspaper cutting, the ink slightly smudged on the soft paper. The headline read: ‘An unfortunate accident.’

‘Fleet Street was today plunged into mourning by the death of the popular newspaper proprietor Lord Ravensbourne, at the age of fifty one,’ I read. ‘The first Baron Ravensbourne is said to have suffered an unfortunate accident. His death, we understand, was instantaneous. He is survived by his second wife, Lady Ravensbourne (formerly Miss Annabel Quick) and his four children.’

I frowned. ‘It doesn’t say what the accident was.’ I raised my eyes to our visitor, puzzled. ‘I didn’t know Lord Ravensbourne was ead.’

‘He’s not,’ said Miss Waddon, crisply. ‘He’s my father. And that notice is dated one week from today.’

I checked. Monday, the twenty-fifth of February, 1924. As Miss Waddon said, a week away. A prickle ran up my neck. A death notice, one week early, of a man who was still very much alive…

Want to know what happens next? Death On Fleet Street will be published in March. Why not pre-order now?

Plans for 2025

I’ve wanted to make the Marjorie Swallow books available as audiobooks for a while, and I’m finally underway. My chosen narrator, Kim Bretton, is immensely experienced in audiobooks and loves cozy mysteries. Kim narrates Magda Alexander’s popular Kitty Worthington books, so she knows the 1920s period well. I hope to release Blackmail In Bloomsbury as an audiobook in March or April, with the others following on.

I’m starting research for the next Marjorie Swallow mystery now. I plan to publish three this year: Death On Fleet Street in March, then one in the summer and another just before Christmas.

I also plan to start work on a new short series of mysteries this year, set in a different historical period. I’m interested in the Regency, a short decade where a lot changed – a bit like the 1920s. I’m doing my research now, so I’ll let you know how I get on.

Recommendations

I was thrilled to be asked to join London tour guides Fiona and Alex on their Ladies Who London podcast. Ladies Who London takes a light-hearted look at some of the lesser known histories of the capital – I’m a big fan and recommend it to anyone who loves London and history. I was wearing another of my hats on this episode, as walk leader for the Refugee Tales walking project. This year we are walking around London on the Capital Ring route, so that was the focus of our talk – but we talked about writing, too! You can listen in here.

The book I’ve enjoyed most this year so far is also about London history. London Clay by Tom Chivers is a fascinating blend of geology, deep history, memoir and exploration. Tom tracks the routes of lost rivers, descends into the sewers, pokes around in the remains of London’s woodland and wetlands and communes with the spirits of Roman and medieval Londoners. It’s rather brilliant.

I’ve also enjoyed the second series of Lucy Worsley Investigates, where the historian takes a closer look at some of the better-known episodes of British history, from the Norman Conquest of 1066 to the Whitechapel murders attributed to ‘Jack the Ripper’. She uses modern historical techniques to question some of the myths about the subjects. I particularly liked her focus on the sensational reporting of the new mass media newspapers at the time of the Whitechapel murders, and how they fuelled the first ‘true crime’ obsession.

The big question!

What are your top tips for keeping cheerful when the weather (and the news) is gloomy? Hit reply and let me know! I’ll include a selection of ideas in my next newsletter.

Wishing you a fabulous February, and happy reading!

The Stories Behind the Story: Venice

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If you enjoyed my Christmas story for newsletter subscribers, A  Venetian Masquerade, you might like to hear about the research behind it. The story was prompted by my favourite trip of 2024, a visit to the magical floating city of Venice. As the city shimmered from the waters of the lagoon and the vaporetto ferried us to the city, I fell under enchantment. I already knew I’d want to write about Venice one day.

Lots of details from that trip stayed with me and made it into the story. We ate chichetti and drank Campari spritz at a bar on the corner of Campo S. Toma, right next to a mask and carnival costume shop. I marvelled at the ornate costumes and masks, so beautiful and colourful. The idea of donning a mask and gliding through the city incognito immediately lodged in my mind.

I didn’t fix on the story I wanted to tell until I discovered that carnival season starts right after Christmas, on December 26, or St Stephen’s Day. Online research then told me that masks and gambling were associated with carnival, and masked gambling in ‘ridotto’ entertainments were only allowed during the carnival season.

I immediately wanted to see my redoubtable sleuth Mrs Jameson, newly married, unmask a card cheat. I knew she would learn something about her husband, perhaps something she didn’t want to know. And I liked the idea that masks came into it somehow, so decided to learn more about Venetian masks.

I remembered the close-fitting Volto masks, the classic full-faced masks, at the little shop in Campo San Toma, and the white Bauta masks, flared at the bottom to allow the wearer to eat and drink. The pretty Columbina masks are familiar from the Commedia dell’Arte , and I’d seen the sinister Medico della Peste, or plague doctor masks, with their long beaked nose.

But there was one mask I’d only seen in paintings of carnival – the Moretta. I found it shocking and rather horrible. It’s an oval mask, made of black velvet, with holes for eyes but no mouth. It has no ribbon, but it held in place by the woman (they are only worn by women) holding a button on the back in their teeth. Speak, and the mask falls.

The Moretta mask

To find out more about Venetian masks and see photographs from my trip, have a look at my Substack, The Stories Behind the Story.

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