The View from Here online literary magazine has published my article on 'The Frustrations of Plotting Crime Fiction.'
If you are interested in writing crime fiction, or who just wants to know how I wrote The Missing Heiress then please feel free to check it out... oh, and please leave a comment on the page.The View From Here Magazine
New Book Published!  I am delighted to announce that my latest book, Seeking Our Eagle, is now available to buy in paperback and eBook format.
Seeking Our Eagle is the second book I have written about Jamie Charlton and the Kirkley Hall robbery. This time it is the story behind the story. In Seeking Our Eagle, I explain how we uncovered a Regency convict in our family tree, and then turned his sorry tale of injustice into a historical novel.
After the book launch of Catching the Eagle in 2011, the interest in the background to the novel took me by surprise. Newspapers, radio, magazines and even a TV station all wanted to know how Chris and I had discovered our unusual skeleton in the closet. Genealogy groups, libraries and local historical societies invited me to appear as a guest speaker at their events. I soon realised that there might also be a wider audience for this extraordinary story and decided to write a complimentary factual book, called Seeking Our Eagle, which mapped our genealogical experience, the social history of our Charlton ancestors and my creative journey into fiction.
I like to think of Seeking the Eagle as a semi-autobiographical romp through the centuries. It explains how we chased Bad Granddad Jamie (four times removed) through the dusty records and the even dustier Northumberland lanes. It also shows how we learned about the devastating impact of World War One on our ancestors; the role they played in the Railway Boom of the Victorian era and how our family was torn apart by dissension in the late eighteenth century. The Charltons were ordinary people but many of them were caught up in extraordinary events.
I warmly invite you to join myself and Chris, as I take you back to the beginning and show you how we embarked on our remarkable journey of discovery.
'Seeking Our Eagle' is available from amazon as a kindle eBook Price: : £3.06. Please use the link below.'Seeking Our Eagle' on Kindle
* * * * *
Paperback: £8.99 20% savings! Ends Friday, 10 August 2012.
Buy a paperback copy of 'Seeking Our Eagle' from lulu.com @ a 20% discount.
Simply click on the link below and use the code: ASTOUND20 to claim your discount. (Code is case sensitive.)
But hurry, offer ends Friday, 10th August!
'Seeking Our Eagle' in paperback
SECOND NOVEL TO BE PUBLISHED BY KRP I am delighted to announce that my second novel, The Missing Heiress, will be published by Knox Robinson Publishing on December 6th 2012. It is the first in a new series of Regency mystery novels called The Detective Lavender Series.
 Set in Northumberland 1809, The Missing Heiress is a spin-off novel from my first book and features two of the minor characters: Detective Stephen Lavender and his good-natured sidekick, Constable Woods. Their first case in the series takes them back to Northumberland to investigate the mysterious disappearance of a beautiful heiress.
Detective Stephen Lavender was a real historical figure. One of the first principal officers with the Bow Street magistrates court in London, he became the Deputy Chief Constable of Manchester after the formation of the police force by Sir Robert Peel. Landowner, Nathanial Ogle, called Detective Lavender up from London to solve the mystery of the Kirkley Hall Robbery in 1809 (the subject of Catching the Eagle. ) Ultimately, Lavender was the man who placed our ancestor in the dock. But we don’t hold that against him.
I loved creating the characters of Lavender and the comical Constable Woods when I wrote my first novel, and I quickly decided that that I didn't want to let them go. The strong personality of the intelligent detective became one of my favourite characters and the dialogue and rapport which developed between him and his fictional assistant was great fun to write. I felt that I had created a winning duo of crime fighters.
I’ve always enjoyed a good mystery. In fact, many years ago I wrote ‘Murder Mystery Weekends’ for Raven Hall Hotel and won a Yorkshire Tourist Board award for them. Last year, the first seeds of a plot for a whodunit began to germinate in my head. Before I knew it, I had a Regency mystery to solve and as far as I was concerned there were only two policemen in England who could crack this case. I sat down at the computer and The Missing Heiress was born.
Writing Heiress was fun. It slid off my keyboard like silk and I finished it in ten months. Because it is pure fiction, I never felt constrained by historical fact and it was an unfettered pleasure to write. I particularly enjoyed creating the female characters in The Missing Heiress. My first novel was dominated by men because the historical records decreed it so; they dominated the crime, the investigation and the ensuing court cases. In Heiress I created a diverse range of women from the delightful young maid, Anna; to the mysterious gypsy girl, Laurel Faa Geddes and the intelligent Katherine Armstrong. I loved breathing life into these women and hope that I gave them a significant voice in this book.
The Missing Heiress is already available to pre-order from amazon.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Missing-Heiress-Detective-Lavender-Series/dp/1908483709/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1339439394&sr=1-1
'Paperback Writer...'  'Paperback writer, paperback writer.
Dear Sir or Madam, will you read my book?
It took me years to write, will you take a look? '
Guess which Beatles song keeps running around my head this morning?
Yes, it's happened. The paperback edition of Catching the Eagle is now available to buy on amazon and from The Book Depository, The Guisborough Bookshop and selected branches of Waterstones. Price £12.99.
The Daily Mail gave it the thumbs up back in January....why not take a look yourself?
American Amazon jumps the gun... I feel I ought to let everyone know that amazon.com in the United States of America have been very, very naughty. They have ignored my publisher's embargo on releasing Catching the Eagle before 8th December. It is now available to buy in the USA on the Amazon.com website.
http://www.amazon.com/Catching-Eagle-Regency-Reivers-Charlton/dp/1908483032/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1319987765&sr=8-1...
If you live in the states and are interested in buying a copy of the hardback novel for Xmas presents or personal pleasure, then this is your chance to get in there before the Brits. We got the Harry Potter books before you did - but you can get Catching the Eagle first. Likewise if you have any American friends or family whom you think may be interested in purchasing a copy then please forward the news.
And please don't forget to leave a review on the Amazon website once you have read it... ;)
I am slightly bemused by all this and have been warned that Amazon.co.uk may follow suit. It is completely out of our control. We just have to go with the flow. Amazon seem to be a law unto themselves. Nothing changes at the UK end as far as I am concerned - the book launches etc. will commence as planned. I am hoping for a silver lining out of this confusion. Hopefully, we will get more sales as the next couple of months are the biggest book buying months of the year... :)
The Sweet and Sour Price of fame... I was really touched earlier this week by the excitement of the librarians in my local community about the forthcoming release of Catching the Eagle. I'm still recuperating from minor surgery and was getting a bit of cabin fever, so I decided to bimble into the village and call in at the library to ask a random question about Public Lending Rights. The next thing I knew, my details had been taken along with a handful of my promotional postcards.
Emails must have been flying around the county that afternoon because within 24 hours we had a phone call at the house, asking if I would talk to a readers' group in Skelton in January. There could be about 35 people present and they intend to sell tickets for the event. Naturally, I said 'yes' and just asked for my petrol expenses to be covered. However, as Skelton is the next village along, it is probably bit mean to be asking for even that. I am acutely aware that the library service the length and breadth of Britain is suffering dramatically under the government cutbacks; it feels right to try and help them in someway.
I love libraries and I am quite nostalgic about them. Mum and Dad used to take us every fortnight to Oakwood Library in Leeds to get an armful of books. This was a popular family outing, no one seemed to bother back then about a teenage girl helping herself to books from the adult section - even the racy ones. I usually came home with armfuls of historical fiction (especially Jean Plaidy) and I also remember a series of saucy historical romances about some heroine called 'Marianne' who had quite a thing for pirates. ;)
On a more sour note this week, I have noticed a new arrival on Catching the Eagle's Amazon book page. (Yes, I check it daily - the novelty has not worn off yet. :) Apart from Amazon, some bookseller in Florida is now also claiming that he has my novel in stock and for a cool £30+ he is offering to sell it. This of course, is a complete lie. The book is not available to buy yet (although it can be pre-ordered through Amazon or the Knox Robinson Publishing website) and any poor customer who is taken in by this add is going to be sadly disappointed; they won't get the book before anyone else.
Fortunately, this seller has had a lot of poor feedback and anyone who bothers to check this out before ordering should be warned off. I spent sometime trying to work out how to leave a cross message but yet again was baffled by the technology and backed off.
Beware: there's some wrong un's out there. :(
THE EAGLE HAS LANDED... I am absolutely delighted.
Last week we recieved the first pre-publication copy of Catching the Eagle. I have actually held my novel in my hands and it is a wonderful, wonderful feeling.
The book is longer and slimmer than I imagined and the pages feel lovely and smooth. Everything about it from the cover to the font looks enticing and professional. Even my photo on the fly sheet is not too frightening for small children.
At the moment, we have only the one precious copy and it is sitting up on my bookshelf where I can see it at all times when I am working at my desk.
I cannot put into words how delighted I am - and as soon as I find where the kids have hidden the ruddy camera, I will photograph it and post pictures on here. :)
P.S. The camera finally turned up - in a safe place. ;)
 One happy lady with her novel
Launched on the Publisher's Website... Yeeey! I'm officially launched on the publisher's website.....happy dance. :) Click on the link below to see my profile, mug shot and a sample chapter of Catching the Eagle.
http://www.knoxrobinsonpublishing.com/authordetail.php?id=45
Very exciting. Strangely enough, the thing that gives me the greatest thrill is seeing the ISBN number of my forthcoming book.....how unreal is that? Little, old me has got an ISBN number!
Happy dance again..... :)
Publishing Deal Fantastic News!
The contracts have now been exchanged, and Catching the Eagle will be published by Knox Robinson Publishing later this year. The skeleton will finally fall out of the family cupboard into full public glare, on December 8th, 2011. The hardback version of the book will be out first (priced £19.99) and the paperback version and the eBook will follow a few months later.
Chris and I are absolutely delighted.
I am looking forward to a very exciting time ahead working with Knox Robinson, and can still hardly believe that this is happening to me.
Lucky number thirteen... On Monday the 13th of June 2011, I received a reply back from the London-based Publishing House who had asked to read the full manuscript. They have made me an offer for Catching the Eagle and the next two books in the series. They are also really interested in the Detective Lavender spin off series. This was the thirteenth submission I had made since Christmas. Guess what my new lucky number is?
I am absolutely over the moon and can still barely believe it. Apparently, they want to go with a December release. Catching the Eagle could be in the shops by Christmas. We are still sorting out the details of the agreement at the moment and getting to know each other; they seem a really decent firm.
It is the strangest feeling in the world when you have a dream come true. I first announced that I was going to be a writer when I was eight years old. I can still vividly remember my Mum and Aunt Maureen being rather startled at the time. I wrote an embarrassing poem about this writing ambition when I was thirteen. (It's funny how this number keeps cropping up.) I am very tempted to post the poem on here, but holding the attention of you blog readers is hard enough, without subjecting you to the ramblings of a dreamy adolescent.
It is going to be a lot of hard work for the next year; I will be continuing with the demanding teaching job, writing a second book and publicising the first one all at the same time. There is no going back to my 'comfort zone' now but I have no doubt that parts of the marketing will be fun. I have always enjoyed meeting new people and never baulked at appearing in the paper or on TV. Yes, I was once on TV - and it wasn't on Crimewatch either. ;)
The best thing of all, though, is that I will be able to concentrate on my beloved writing. No more worry that I am wasting my time. No more fretting about finding a publisher.
It is amazing and very, very motivating.
Thirteen is a lucky number.
|
RSS Feed