Anna Sayburn Lane

Mystery and thriller author

Newsletter

October newsletter: Fall into Autumn with new books and a new book store

by

We’re into autumn proper now in the UK: the schools are back, the nights are getting dark earlier, and I get the urge to buy new stationery and start a new project! However, today’s a beautiful sunny day with just a nip in the air first thing in the morning. I’ve been enjoying dips in the sea and long coastal walks.

I do have a new project ready to unveil: my first online store! This gives me the chance to sell books directly to you, and means I can sell special editions that you won’t get on Amazon, such as the box set of Marjorie Swallow books and a paperback collection of short stories featuring Marjorie and Mrs Jameson.

The store is UK only for now while I figure out international shipping and taxes. But do take a look if you’re in the UK. I can’t sell my e-books on my store, because of Kindle Unlimited rules, but you can buy paperbacks and I’ll be adding audiobooks in future. Important note: if you would like to buy the box set, it is printed as a special order so takes several weeks. Check the store for details.

Read on for more about my upcoming book The Midwinter Murder, and for the usual recommendations and a couple of October events.

The Midwinter Murder: the first verdicts!

What can you expect from the new Marjorie Swallow book? Well, the beta readers have had a look and the first comments are in:

“I thought this was absolutely excellent and – this time – the killer took me TOTALLY by surprise. I’m usually very, very picky as you know, but this one’s a cracker.”

“It’s wonderful Anna! Gripping from start to finish. And I didn’t know it was [REDACTED] until it was revealed!”

“I think of all the Marjorie Swallow books, this one kept me most consistently engaged – and the snowy isolation of the setting all added to the cosy claustrophobia!”

As you can imagine, I’m thrilled with their reactions.

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

Ganning to Northumberland

The new book is set in Northumberland, in the north east of England just before it becomes Scotland. It’s a part of the world which I’ve visited often because my father’s family lives there.

The people of Northumberland have a very distinctive way of speaking, with lots of dialect words and phrases and a strong accent. For many southerners, it can be hard to understand. I wanted to use some of these turns of phrase in The Midwinter Murder, to underline how different Northumberland is from the London that Marjorie knows. Before television, she might never have heard a Northumbrian accent, especially as the BBC radio of the 1920s would only have broadcast voices speaking ‘correct’, or ‘received pronunciation’ English.

I enjoyed remembering some of the phrases my grandparents used, and combined this with research into how the dialect developed. You can read more about it on my Substack publication, The Stories Behind The Story.

Recommendations

Magda Alexander has a new book out, and it’s another wintery one!

Christmas 1926. Christmas in the Scottish Highlands promises skating on a frozen loch, holiday games, family festivities, and perhaps even a little romance. But when Kitty Worthington and her husband Robert discover a man bludgeoned to death in the snowy woods, the celebrations take a decidedly murderous turn. Now Kitty and Robert must uncover the secret someone was willing to kill to keep hidden—before the killer strikes again.

Murder In The Highlands is out now: find out more here.

October’s Mystery of the Month is A Matter of Love and Death, by Carmen Radtke.

1931. Telephone operator Frances Palmer knows the rules: every call is confidential. But do the rules still apply when it’s a call to murder?

When she accidentally overhears what sounds like plans for a murder, she tells herself she must be mistaken and to forget it. But what if she’s NOT mistaken? The only person she dares confide in is charismatic nightclub owner Jack Sullivan, a man with little patience for rules. Together, they dig deeper into Adelaide’s underworld. But now someone knows Frances was listening—and is determined to silence her. A Matter of Life And Death is out now: find out more here.

Rosie Hunt’s latest is still summery, however!

A Devonshire chapel packed with well-wishers. A bride in ivory silk and a pearl headband, standing before the man she loves. And a gunshot that sends the vicar diving behind the pulpit.

England, 1923. Celebrated sleuth Lady Felicity Quick and gallant reporter Mr Alexander Cooper are at last saying their vows. But when a bullet tears through the bridal bouquet, the message is clear — someone wants Felicity dead.

Murder At A Country Wedding is out now: find out more here.

October events

I’m already getting in gear to research the next Marjorie Swallow book. I want to lean into my sleuth Marjorie’s passion for fashion (she’s a draper’s daughter) and my own fondness for 1920s fashions.

I’m starting today, with a trip to the V&A Museum to see Schiaparelli: When Fashion Becomes Art, which runs until November. I’m also investigating the Vogue archive, and wondering if I can squeeze in a trip to Paris this autumn. I love the early days of planning a new book: the sense of possibility, the excitement of discovery as I start research.

Finally, a couple of events I’m doing this month, should you be interested:

Sunday 4 October, 10am to 2pm, I’ll be signing and selling books at the Astor Theatre in Deal, as part of the Deal Flea market.
Sunday 18 October, 11am, I’ll be leading a Murder And Mystery walk around Canterbury in Kent, as part of the Canterbury Festival.
I’d love to see readers at these events – do come and say hello if you’re planning to attend.

Have a wonderful October, and happy reading!

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

by

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.

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.

July newsletter: a new Marjorie Swallow book is on the way!

by

It’s been full steam ahead this month, after changing track to start work on a new 1920s murder mystery. The spy thriller is on hold while I write the next in my Marjorie Swallow series. I’d long wanted to write a Christmas mystery for the series, which meant a June start if I was to hit that pre-Christmas deadline.

So while we sweltered through the hottest June and July on record, I busied myself in researching Christmas in 1920s Northumberland. It’s rather disconcerting to emerge from a mental picture of a midwinter night, the moon glinting off the frost and the Salvation Army band cranking out Christmas carols, to find sunbathers stretched out on the beach and the sun blazing down!

I also took time out to visit the Walmer Castle Book Fair, where I gave a short talk about the process behind my 1920s mysteries. Thanks to everyone who came along. You can see what I talked about in this article, How I Research And Write My 1920s Whodunnits.

All Aboard The Flying Scotsman

My first research challenge for the new book was to get Marjorie to Northumberland, which involved a deep dive into the history of the famous Flying Scotsman. If you missed it, you can read about in this article, All Aboard The Flying Scotsman.

In other transport news, I came across a rather fetching Rolls Royce at the Walmer Classic Car Show, which takes place handily close to my flat. The car dates from 1930, so only five years after the new book is set. The owners let me have a good look around. I didn’t tell them I was thinking about how you might sabotage it in order to surreptitiously bump off a nosy sleuth.

A writer’s get-together

One of the pleasures of June was meeting fellow authors at the Self Publishing Show Live conference in London. It was particularly fun to meet author Rosie Hunt, who has been an online friend since I started writing the Marjorie Swallow mysteries. We enjoyed a good catch-up over tea, and I enjoyed hearing what she has in store for her 1920s sleuth Lady Felicity Quick.

If you’ve yet to meet Lady Felicity, here’s a good place to start: her first adventure, Murder At Afternoon Tea. It’s free when you sign up to Rosie’s newsletter.

Rosie kindly answered my questions about her historical novel research process last year – you can catch up on her answers here.

I also caught up with Joanna Penn, a best-selling author of dark thrillers who has long been a legend on the indie author scene. I published my interview with JF Penn last week.

And I’ve also lined up a couple of historical mystery novelists I’m sure you’ll love, Benedict Brown and Lynn Morrison, to interview soon.

Recommendations

A few quick recommendations to round the month off. I’m:

  • Watching A Spy Among Friends, the ITV series that dramatised the defection of Kim Philby, on ITVX. The trio of leads (Guy Pearce, Damian Lewis and Anna Maxwell Martin) is top-notch. Pearce in particular is mesmerising as Philby, the oh-so-English spy who fooled the British establishment for decades before fleeing to Moscow when he was exposed as a spy.
  • Enjoying Dorothy Brande’s Becoming A Writer, on the grounds that it was Hilary Mantel’s favourite book about writing. If it’s good enough for Hilary, it’s more than good enough for me. It’s packed with good sense.
  • Loving 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, and I was so excited to come across the beautiful bookshop edition of her first novel in the British Library bookshop. I devoured the story in a couple of days.

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!

April newsletter: A new bookstore, two new cozy mysteries and all my news

by

I’m in my happy place this week – getting stuck into the first draft of the new book. After all the research and planning, there’s something very satisfying about starting to write. The first 10,000 words is written and I’ve submitted the two opening chapters to my writing group for their verdict next week.

March was busy month. I had fun meeting readers at Beckenham Book Fayre (hello again to everyone who came along!) and other members of the Alliance of Independent Authors as part of London Book Fair.

I even spent a day in the office! I work freelance as a medical editor, and for the first time in about 6 years I went into offices in Fitzrovia, London, to meet my colleagues in person. It was a bright, sunny day and I had fun afterwards wandering the streets around Soho, thinking about where to site the offices of my fictional spies. I even found time for a haircut (a good haircut makes me feel like a new woman!).

Read on for audiobook news, a new independent author bookstore, and some fantastic new book recommendations.

Indie Author Bookstore

April is Indie Author Month, and to help celebrate, the wonderful people at the Alliance of Independent Authors have launched a new online book shop.

The Alliance does great work to help independent authors bring their books into the world. I’ve found their advice invaluable and they are my first recommendation when friends ask me about independent publishing.

So it’s fitting that they are bringing together all the books by Alliance members in one place, the Indie Author Bookstore. You can have a good browse and buy from whichever outlet the author links to. All of my books are there, and you can browse by genre. You’re sure to find something different and interesting.

Recommendations

I have two new cozy mysteries to tell you about this month, from two favourite authors.

First up, A Very Irish Mystery is book 26 (!) in the Lady Eleanor Swift series, and (you’ve guessed it) takes us to Ireland, where Eleanor is having a grand time cosying up with her husband in Dublin’s traditional pubs, eating Irish stew and soaking up the craic… Until another body ruins all their plans!

A tour of a brewery making Ireland’s famous black stout results in the discovery of a body in a barrel – and it belongs to the owner of the brewery. Can Eleanor catch the killer? It’s published on April 10.

Next, it’s Ella Strike’s latest Kitty Goring novel, The Scarab Society Murders. When Kitty sets sail aboard the RMS Mooltan to Alexandria, what should be a glamorous adventure turns deadly. A guest is found murdered, and the killer is hiding among the glittering passengers.

Armed with her keen mind, a scrappy little dog named Scottie, and her circle of eccentric friends, Kitty must navigate high society and treacherous waters to uncover the culprit before they strike again.

Death At Chelsea

With spring around the corner, gardeners’ thoughts turn to the upcoming Chelsea Flower Show, held every May in London’s Chelsea Royal Hospital.

If you haven’t read Death At Chelsea, my Marjorie Swallow book set at the Chelsea show, it’s going to be on offer at 99p/99c with Kindle from Wednesday 15 to Sunday 19 April. It’s also available as an audiobook.

Talking of which, my narrator Kim is working on the next in the series, so Murder On Fleet Street should be available soon for those who prefer to read with their ears.