KAREN CHARLTON
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Welcome to the official website of historical novelist KAREN CHARLTON

Podcast Interview

26/9/2011

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Podcast Interview on KRP Website

Well, you've seen the mug shot - now hear the voice!
My podcast interview with Dana Robinson is now available to hear for FREE on the Knox Robinson Publishing website.

I hope that you enjoy it.

http://www.knoxrobinsonpublishing.com/

In the interview I talk about how I researched and wrote Catching the Eagle.

It's quite startling to hear how you really sound.  I had no idea that my Yorkshire accent was still so strong.  After twenty years of living in Teesside, I'd assumed that my accent had virtually disappeared.  Perhaps it was just the nerves.  ;)
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BBC History Magazine - November

26/9/2011

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BBC History Magazine - November

Just had some fabulous news from Dana at Knox Robinson Publishing.
Catching the Eagle is to be featured in an advert in the November edition of the BBC History magazine.
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The Missing Heiress...

19/9/2011

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The Missing Heiress....

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Northumberland, November 1809: When heiress, Helen Carnaby, vanishes into the night. Detective Stephen Lavender and Constable Woods are summoned from London to find her.

‘Oh it's nothing I’m sure you can’t handle, Stephen. Apparently, the girl vanished from a locked bed chamber. Shouldn't take you long to fathom that one out, should it? You’ll be back in Bow Street within a fortnight.’

Convinced, at first, that this is just a simple case of a young girl eloping with a lover, Lavender and Woods are alarmed to discover a sinister, murderous world of madness, violence and secrets lurking behind the closed doors of an ancient and respected family home. Why did Helen Carnaby flee on that wintry October night? How did she get out of her locked bed chamber? And where is she now?

Hindered by Helen's uncooperative half-brother and sister, distracted by gypsies, rebellious farmers, highwaymen and an attractive and feisty spanish senora, Helen Carnaby's disappearance is to prove one of the most perplexing mysteries of Lavender's career.

Set in the beautiful market town of Bellingham, Lavender and Woods eventually strip away the facade and discover the grim truth which lies behind the closed doors of Linn Hagh, the Carnaby family's pele tower.

The Missing Heiress is the first in a series of Regency whodunits featuring Detective Lavender and Constable Woods.

This series is not subject to a publishing agreement. The opening chapters are available to read free in 'Works in Progress.'
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February 1809

15/9/2011

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February 1809...

The FREE short story I wrote for Knox Robinson Publishing is now available to download from their website:

http://www.knoxrobinsonpublishing.com/product_info.php?products_id=104 

Set in Northumberland, February 1809 by Karen Charlton, it is a prequel to my main novel Catching the Eagle.  It introduces the main characters and is based on some real events in the lives of Jamie and William Charlton. 

You can download it for FREE from the website above.  Please feel free to leave a review on the site.

Synopsis
February 1809:  The rural community in Ponteland, Northumberland begins to stir after one of the harshest winters on record.

As the land is slowly brought back to life, impoverished farm labourer, Jamie Charlton, desperately seeks work.

Jamie has more problems than most.  With a wife and four hungry children to feed, a mountain of debt and creditors baying for payment, he lurches from one crisis to another, stubbornly refusing help from his anxious brother, William.

Based on real events, February 1809 is a day in the life of real people and is a prequel to the novel, Catching the Eagle.
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Catherine Cookson meets Downton Abbey meets John Grisham...

14/9/2011

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'Catherine Cookson meets Downton Abbey meets John Grisham...'

WoW!  It is all happening today!

Mike Kelly, a reporter with the Newcastle paper, 'The Journal' contacted me on Monday and did a telephone interview.  You can read the full article he has written about Catching the Eagle and the research behind it, on the link below.  It might take you some time, though - it is three pages long!

I absolutely love this quote: 

'And not surprisingly. With its Northumberland roots, upper class versus commoner intrigue and hint of a miscarriage of justice, it was like Catherine Cookson meets Downton Abbey meets John Grisham.'

Thanks Mike.  :)

http://www.journallive.co.uk/lifestyle-news/newcastle-features/2011/09/14/interview-author-karen-charlton-61634-29416839/2/#ixzz1Xvdhejrm
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A busy, busy summer...

10/9/2011

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A busy, busy summer...

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The front and back of my new postcards
I did not get much chance to notice the blistering heat and balmy evenings of summer 2011. During the six week school holiday, I was so busy with marketing, writing and researching book two in the Regency Reiver series, that I forgot to nip into the back garden and top up my tan.  What's that?  I would probably have caught pneumonia if I had tried to sunbathe this year?  Oh well, maybe next year.  ;)

Marketing Catching the Eagle
 
This is going well.  I have read the tomes which were recommended to me about how to market your book.  Following this, I had some fantastic  postcards printed with the book cover on the front and the blurb and other details on the back (see above.)  Armed with these, I jumped into the car and set off for Northumberland.  As you can see from the forthcoming events column, I managed to interest four Waterstones managers in book signings.  The Northumberland Book Launch is organised at Kirkley Hall and the guest list seems to be getting larger all the time.  I am also investigating the beautiful Middlesbrough Reference Library for my Teesside Book Launch.  Thanks to help from my friend Jill Boulton, I have put a press pack together and we are about to start approaching the media.
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The Missing Heiress
A Detective Lavender Mystery

I had hoped to have had this nearly finished by now but it is only half way through.  However, the writing is going smoothly and I am thoroughly enjoying myself.  I have decided that 30,000 words is not bad for four months work.
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Is this our James Charlton?
Researching Book Two in the Regency Reivers Series

We have taken two trips to The National Archives in Kew this summer, and spent four very long and tiring days pouring over 200 year old, dusty manuscripts, searching for further details about Jamie Charlton's fascinating life.  He has never been an easy character to pin down in the archives but we have now got some very tantalising leads.   Of course, most of his escapades were because he was in the wrong place at the wrong time - he should have been awarded a medal for this skill - he definitely was a born  survivor when it came to dealing with the curved balls which fate dealt him.  Quite frankly, I think that people are going to be very surprised about what happened next.  Book Two in the series is already an amazing journey for me - and hopefully it will for the readers, as well...  :)
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