KAREN CHARLTON
  • Home
  • Author
  • The York Ladies' Detective Agency Mysteries
    • The Mystery of Mad Alice Lane
    • Smoke & Cracked Mirrors
    • Dancing With Dusty Fossils
  • The Detective Lavender Mysteries
    • The Heiress of Linn Hagh
    • The Sans Pareil Mystery
    • The Sculthorpe Murder
    • Plauge Pits & River Bones
    • Murder on Park Lane
    • The Willow Marsh Murder
  • Detective Lavender Short Stories
    • Death At The Frost Fair
    • The Death of Irish Nell
    • The Piccadilly Pickpocket
    • The Mystery of the Skelton Diamonds
  • Catching the Eagle & February 1909
    • Catching the Eagle
    • February 1809
  • Seeking Our Eagle
  • Blog
  • Contact
  • Events
  • Genealogy
    • James Charlton Senior (1700-1770)
    • John Charlton (1746-1818)
    • 'Pious John' Charlton (1769-)
    • James 'Jamie' Charlton (1774- )
    • The mysterious William Charlton
    • The Family Tree: Ten generations
Welcome to the official website of historical novelist KAREN CHARLTON

PUBLICATION DAY!

15/4/2022

0 Comments

 

SMOKE & CRACKED MIRRORS

It's finally here!
'Smoke & Cracked Mirrors', my first new novel for two years, is finally published!
A new book, set in a new era with brand new characters!
I sincerely hope that everyone who takes a chance on this new series, thoroughly enjoys it.
Please let me know via a review what you think. xx
https://geni.us/TcUcZH9
Picture
0 Comments

Cover Reveal: Smoke & Cracked Mirrors

27/1/2022

0 Comments

 

Smoke & Cracked Mirrors

I'm delighted to reveal the book cover for my brand new novel, Smoke & Cracked Mirrors, the first full-length book in The York Ladies' Detective Agency Mysteries.
As usual it was created and designed by the lovely Lisa Horton - and the fabulous background image of The Shambles was taken by Yorkshire photographer, David Zdanowicz.
I stumbled across this photograph completely by accident. I was googling photographs of York earlier in the day...and then, Lo and Behold! this brilliant photo turned up in the middle of my Facebook newsfeed! I tracked down Dave and bought a licence from him to use it on my book cover.
I've heard a lot of rumours over the years that Mark Zuckerberg can read our minds through Facebook. If this is true, then yes, it's a bit spooky - but it definitely worked to my advantage this time!
The Shambles is York's most famous medieval street and normally it's heaving with tourists. I understand Dave went just after dawn to take this photograph while it was empty.
I absolutely love this book cover and I hope you do too. I think Lisa's done a great job.
https://geni.us/TcUcZH9 
Picture
0 Comments

News: 'Smoke & Cracked Mirrors' available for pre-order

4/12/2021

0 Comments

 
Picture
It's been a long time a-coming!
I'm excited to announce that the eBook of SMOKE & CRACKED MIRRORS, the first full-length novel in my York Ladies' Detective Agency Mystery Series, is now available for pre-order on Amazon.
It will be published on 15th April 2022 and the book cover will be uploaded in January.

York, England: 1940
‘An unsuitable job for a woman…’
When her husband goes ‘missing in action’, Jemma James returns to the city of her birth to set up a private detective agency with her best friend, Roberta ‘Bobbie’ Baker, with whom she shares a passionate love of Golden Age crime fiction.
These two enterprising young women soon find themselves embroiled in a series of mysterious cases, shadowing blackmailers and bigamists, and investigating the perplexing history of a wealthy young woman who seems determined to wipe out her past. And it’s not long before they stumble across an unsolved murder.
But the dead don’t stay dead for long in historic York.
As the ‘phoney war’ draws to a close, and the sky above the soaring twin towers of the twelfth century Minster darkens with menace, Jemma learns that even she is not above suspicion in wartime York.
Pre-order 'Smoke & Cracked Mirrors' here
0 Comments

News: My New Series...and Some adventures from Lockdown

13/8/2020

0 Comments

 
Picture

and some adventures from lockdown....

2020 has been a dreadful year for everyone across the globe, and I sincerely hope that all my readers and their families have stayed safe during this horrible pandemic.
Of course, us authors have been self-isolating since 4000 B.C., however, this little gad-about has had her wings well and truly clipped in 2020. So, with no social life or travel to distract me, I've quietly got on with my research for my new series of Gemma James Mysteries, the first book of which I've decided to call: 
Smoke & Cracked Mirrors.
I trawled through 1940's newspapers online; ordered and read a couple of obscure 1920's books from an antiquarian bookshop in the US; watched WW2 documentaries on TV and underwent a massive reading programme to re-acquaint myself with the 'Golden Age of Crime Fiction'. Most of the books I've read have been eBooks but the photo below shows a selection of the paperbacks/hardbacks I've acquired.
Picture
Unbelievably, I've also had a couple of adventures during lockdown while trying to research for my novel.
I made email contact with the staff at York Central Library, who have been incredibly helpful - but unknown to them, I also managed to get myself locked in their grounds during one of my visits to the deserted streets of this historic city.
The library was shut but I decided to take a few photos of the outside of the 1930s building. I found an open gate and wandered off down a path. There's a Roman wall at the bottom of their garden (as so often happens in York) and I was distracted by this for a while. When I returned, the 6 ft high, spiked gate had been locked. There was no way I was getting over that. I had to hail a passing electrician who went and fetched out a male librarian to release me. He gave me a funny look but thankfully, didn't ask for my name. York Library has several of my novels on their shelves and I really don't want them to know what a daft idiot I can be.
I also bought three non-fiction books about wartime York from a masked bookshop owner while standing outside the shop in the historic, cobbled street. This enterprising lady had opened her business but was serving everyone from over a tressle table blocking the door. She wouldn't let anyone handle the books so I told her what I wanted and she read out the blurb from the back covers and the chapter headings. I bought three. It was an interesting and unusual form of customer service but those books were incredibly helpful and as you can see from the photo below of my planning, I'm now ready to start writing.
Picture
Each of the postcards in the first three columns is 'scene' in my new novel. Each of the different colours represents a different 'case' my two lady detectives are investigating. Of course there's computer software available which would do this for me if I wanted to use it - but I love the tactile feel of writing a scene and then screwing up the postcard and tossing it into the wastepaper bin. I find it very satisfying to watch them disappear from the board.
Those postcards only represent HALF of the novel (I got bored of writing them out at this point). But I know from experience that once I get going, I may be able to finish the story without postcards.
Anyway, wish me luck. I aim to write 20,000 words a month, which should still give me plenty of time to potter in my garden and play with my grandson, Little Bruce. 
Hopefully, the first draft of Smoke & Cracked Mirrorsshould be finished by Xmas.
Best wishes - and stay safe.
Karen Charlton x
0 Comments
    For an occasional newsletter containing news, events and other information from historical novelist, Karen Charlton, please subscribe to the mailing list below.

    Archives

    April 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    November 2018
    June 2018
    April 2018
    November 2017
    October 2017
    August 2017
    June 2017
    April 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    October 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    June 2014
    February 2014
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012
    May 2012
    March 2012
    January 2012
    December 2011
    November 2011
    October 2011
    September 2011
    August 2011
    July 2011
    June 2011
    May 2011

    Categories

    All
    Articles
    Book Reviews
    Catching The Eagle
    Crime Fiction
    Dancing With Dusty Fossils
    Death At The Frost Fair
    Events
    Favourite Authors
    February 1809
    Genealogy
    Getting Published
    Guests
    Having Fun
    Historical Fiction
    Literary Awards
    Marketing
    Murder In Park Lane
    Musings On Life
    News
    Non Fiction
    Non-Fiction
    Northumberland
    Plague Pits & River Bones
    Reading For Pleasure
    Research
    Sales News
    Seeking Our Eagle
    Smoke & Cracked Mirrors
    Stephen Lavender
    Talks And Workshops
    The Border Reivers
    The Death Of Irish Nell
    The Detective Lavender Series
    The Gemma James Mysteries
    The Golden Age Of Crime Fiction
    The Heiress Of Linn Hagh
    The Missing Heiress
    The Mystery Of Mad Alice Lane
    The Mystery Of The Skelton Diamonds
    The Piccadilly Pickpocket
    The Sans Pareil Mystery
    The Sculthorpe Murder
    The Willow Marsh Murder
    The York Ladies' Detective Agency Mysteries
    Writing In General

    RSS Feed