New Book Release: Coming Soon!

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All things writing are definitely not going smoothly during Covid-19. For one, my laptop has been confiscated by my children. Welcome to homeschooling everyone!

Considering all that, I am VERY excited to announce that on June 15th the 4th book in The Dunnhill Mysteries is finally coming out! For now it will only be available in ebook format on Amazon, but hopefully the paperback version will follow soon. The Kindle version is ready for pre-order. Have a look!

A Dose of Deadly Intentions_eBook

Sara Eriksson is back in San Francisco to end the lease on her old apartment. This should be straightforward, but the moment she arrives, she is confronted with painful memories she’d rather not deal with. Her boyfriend David can’t be there to support her, and the handsome stranger she keeps running into isn’t helping either.

When Sara is offered a bunch of old letters inherited from her great-great-grandmother, she gratefully accepts—if anything, they are a welcome distraction. But there is more to the letters than meets the eye. Sara’s dreams return, plunging her into memories of a San Francisco she hardly recognizes: the Paris of the West, transformed overnight by a devastating earthquake.

Bit by bit, Sara’s dreams show her more of the city and her ancestors—including their secrets. Even after all these years, one of those secrets might be important enough to kill for. Sleeping has never been easy for Sara, but now? A dose of deadly intentions may ensure she never wakes up.

Creating A New Cozy Mystery Series

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This month, I am thrilled to post a guest blog written by my friend Jennifer S. Alderson, because she has a NEW series out! Do you like traveling and mystery? Look no further and read on!

For most of 2019, I kept a secret from pretty much everyone I know – including my family! Looking back, I don’t know why I was afraid to tell people that I was writing a new series of books that are lighter and funnier than my current ones.

The novels in my Zelda Richardson Mystery series are plot-heavy, art thrillers. I do love to write them, but wanted to create a second, character-driven series within the framework of a whodunit-style mystery. Because I love to travel, a cozy mystery series based around a tour guide turned amateur sleuth was ideal! Deciding on the series name – Travel Can Be Murder Cozy Mysteries – was surprisingly easy once I knew tour groups would feature in each story.

Making travel a central part of the series meant that the stories would be set in several locations, not just in one small town. I wanted to write about cities I had personally visited, in order to better describe them. Because I don’t want these novels to turn into travelogues, the confrontations, eavesdropping, and sleuthing take place during the group’s day tours, so readers get a mystery and trip in one.

Deciding on where Lana’s group will visit is quite challenging, but also part of the fun of writing the series. It gives me a chance to revisit my old photos, maps, and journals, as well as scan recent travel blogs, in search of the perfect tie-in to a setting.

To give myself and readers another point of reference, each story is set during a different holiday. Death on the Danube, the first book in the series, takes place in Budapest during New Year’s Eve. Because the city is famous for its fireworks shows and winter markets, I thought this would be a wonderful setting and holiday theme to start the series off with.

I wanted to give Book Two, Death by Baguette, a Valentine-theme, so Paris was the obvious choice or the location. Since the third book – Death by Windmill – has a Mother’s Day theme, I figured Amsterdam, the flower capital of the world, would be a good setting.

Whenever possible, the murder and storyline are related to the holiday theme. For example, in Death by Baguette, Lana is accused of murdering her boyfriend. In Death by Windmill, Lana’s mother is the prime suspect. I currently have nine books planned, though they are so much fun to write, I may extend the series!

For those who love my art mysteries – never fear. Book Four in the Zelda Richardson Mystery series will be out in April 2020. As for the Travel Can Be Murder Cozy Mystery series, Death on the Danube and Death by Baguette are available now, and Death by Windmill will be out in May 2020. Book Four will take readers to Edinburgh for a summer murder mystery. For now, I’m going to keep the title and cover a secret. You will have to check back in May to find out more!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Jennifer S. Alderson was born in San Francisco, raised in Seattle, and currently lives in Amsterdam. Her love of travel, art, and culture inspires her award-winning mystery series—the Zelda Richardson Mysteries and Travel Can Be Murder Cozy Mysteries—and standalone stories.

After traveling extensively around Asia, Oceania, and Central America, she moved to Darwin, Australia, before settling in the Netherlands. Her background in journalism, multimedia development,and art history enriches her novels. When not writing, she can be found in a museum, biking around Amsterdam, or enjoying a coffee along the canal while planning her next research trip.

Website: http://www.jennifersalderson.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/jenniferSAldersonauthor
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/JSAauthor
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/JenniferSAldersonDeathbyBaguette_300w
BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/jennifer-s-alderson

Death by Baguette: A Valentine’s Day Murder in Paris
Book Two of the Travel Can Be Murder Mystery Series
By Jennifer S. Alderson

Paris—the city of love, lights … and murder? Join tour guide Lana Hansen as she escorts five couples on an unforgettable Valentine-themed vacation to France! Unfortunately it will be the last trip for one passenger…

Lana Hansen’s future is looking bright. She has money in her bank account, a babysitter for her cat, and even a boyfriend. Regrettably she won’t get to celebrate Valentine’s Day with her new beau, Chad. Instead, she will be leading a lovers-only tour in France. Luckily for Lana, her best friend, Willow, and her partner, Jane, will be joining her.

Things go downhill when Lana’s new boyfriend shows up in Paris for her tour—with his wife. Chad is not the website developer he claimed to be, but a famous restaurant critic whose love of women rivals his passion for food.

After Chad drops dead during a picnic under the Eiffel Tower, a persistent French detective becomes convinced that he was poisoned. And the inspector’s sights are set on several members of the tour—including Lana!

While escorting her group through the cobblestone streets of Montmartre, the grand gardens of Versailles, and the historic Marché des Enfants Rouges market, Lana must figure out who really killed Chad before she has to say bonjour to prison and adieu to her freedom.

The Travel Can Be Murder Cozy Mysteries are heartwarming stories about making friends, traveling, and celebrating new experiences. Join Lana as she leads tourists and readers to fascinating cities around the globe on intriguing adventures that, unfortunately for Lana, often turn deadly.

eBook (also in Kindle Unlimited) http://getbook.at/DeathbyBaguette
Paperback https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0849YJD9Y/

When Bilingualism Creates Confusion

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Raising a child bilingually is not easy—especially when only one of the parents speaks the other language. I have tried and so far, when it comes to producing bilingual offspring, I’ve not been as successful as I’d like. The older two understand the basics, but speaking it is a whole different story. So now, I’m trying to be a better Dutch parent for the third one.

Being able to use two languages is a wonderful gift. I find it stimulates me to think more about words: their meaning, their etymology, and how I use them. Sometimes the way I express myself in one language is not appropriate in the other. Other times, I say something—unintentionally—very funny (according to my husband). On and off I find there simply is no accurate translation for a specific word, and no matter how hard I try, everything I come up with falls short.

I speak mostly Dutch to my youngest, and she seems to switch between English and Dutch almost seamlessly. It’s amazing how the brain of a child works. She has already figured out that speaking Dutch to other people besides me is not particularly useful. And for the most part she is able to name the things she knows in two languages—but it can get confusing.

For instance, the Dutch word for “squirrel” is “eekhoorn,” which sounds very similar to “acorn”. But an acorn falls from the oak tree and is something the squirrel eats.  In the Netherlands however, the “eekhoorn” eats an “eikel” from the “eikenboom.” Anyway, my point is that keeping the acorns and eekhoorns apart is tricky business.

And not just for my daughter. There are pages of discussion on the internet dedicated to the etymology of these words. I am no etymologist, but I’ll try to break it down. “Squirrel” comes from French through a Latinisation of the Greek word “skíouros”, meaning “shadow-tailed.” How appropriate! However, there used to be an Old English word for squirrel, “ácweorna,” which resembles the Dutch “eekhoorn” much better. “Acorn” stems from Old English as well (æcern), and for some reason the English decided to keep that one but do away with “ácweorna.”  Why? Was the French word for acorn not appealing enough? Because it would have been a lot more convenient if they’d kept the ácweorna and dropped the acorn. Just saying, my two-year-old would love to have a word with whomever was responsible for this linguistic inconvenience.

Besides squirrels, we also see a lot of deer in our yard. The Dutch word “dier” is pronounced very similarly, but it means animal. So when I mentioned the word “dieren” to my two-year-old, she immediately ran to the window. After not finding what she was looking for, she asked me, a little offended, where the deer were—like I duped her in some way. Also, in the “dierentuin” (zoo, literally: animal-garden), you will find many animals, but where I live, no deer.

When she needs to go to her chair at the table, I tell her to go sit on her “stoel,” which is not the same as a stool, but it definitely sounds the same. In this case, it’s usually the context that clarifies what I mean—as it often is in language. But again, it’s confusing.

There are a few Dutch words I don’t use when I talk to my kids. The word for “cat” in Dutch is poes, which, not surprisingly, sounds quite a bit like “puss.” Dutch also has the word “kat” but it’s used less frequently. Still, I’m sticking to “kat.” Having my two-year-old enthusiastically screaming “POES!” through the neighborhood when she spots the neighbor’s cat, would probably raise a few eyebrows. Especially since she is prone to add a “-y” to her nouns, like doggy…

The word that always cracks my daughter up is the Dutch word for skunk. The Netherlands doesn’t have skunks. A skunk is a North-American animal, and the word “skunk” has Native American roots (from “to urinate” and “fox”…in case you were wondering). In Dutch, the skunk is aptly named a “stinkdier,” which basically means…Stink animal! And if there’s anything a two-year-old can relate to, it’s being stinky.

So far, the skunk has only made an appearance in our bedtime books and not in our yard. I like wildlife, but I hope it stays that way. After all, a skunk is a cute, furry animal. Throw an inquisitive two-year-old in the mix, and she may just find out why a skunk is called a stinkdier.

 

 

 

Author Interview – Daniella Bernett

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This month I talked to Daniella Bernett, the author of the Emmeline Kirby/Gregory Longdon Mysteries. I read number four in the series, A Checkered Past, and enjoyed it very much. Even though it’s a series, I jumped right in, without any difficulty. It’s a fast-paced mystery with sharp and often witty dialogues, and the adventure was compelling. Book 5, When Blood Runs Cold,  has just been released—all the more reason to hear more about this author!

Welcome Daniella! Could you tell us a bit about yourself?

I am a member of the Mystery Writers of America New York Chapter. I graduated summa cum laude from St. John’s University with a B.S. in Journalism. I am the author of a mystery series featuring journalist Emmeline Kirby and jewel thief Gregory Longdon. They are former lovers. Both are British and my series takes place in the United Kingdom and Europe. The first four books are Lead Me Into Danger, Deadly Legacy, From Beyond The Grave and A Checkered Past.

Lead Me Into Danger is set in Venice and London, my two most favorite cities in the world. In this book, Emmeline and Gregory haven’t seen each other in two years, but she literally runs into him in Venice after witnessing two men try to murder her colleague. Then, Emmeline and Gregory become ensnared in a hunt for a Russian spy in the British Foreign Office. Deadly Legacy, Book 2, is about $100 million in stolen diamonds, revenge and murder. It takes place in London. From Beyond The Grave, Book 3, is set in the seaside resort of Torquay along the English Riviera in Devon. It’s about the deep, dark secrets of Gregory’s past, love, betrayal and, of course, murder. A Checkered Past, Book 4, is back in London and deals with a looted Nazi painting, an IRA collaborator and, alas, a murder or two.

I’m also the author of two poetry collections, Timeless Allure and Silken Reflections.

You live in New York City. Your books take place (mostly) in England. Why?

Since I was little, I’ve been an Anglophile. I devoured any book that was set in England and I’m a devoted Masterpiece Theater and Mystery fan. I’ve visited London and other parts of the United Kingdom several times. Therefore, when I started writing my own books my characters had to be British.

Would you trade in NYC for London?

As much as I love London, I can’t imagine living anywhere else but New York. It’s home. My family is here. I would be lost without them.

What’s your favorite thing to do in London?

Walk and walk and walk. London is a city that is best appreciated on foot. As one ambles along the pavements, there is much to admire. The first thing that comes to mind is the grandeur of Buckingham Palace and the pomp of the Changing of the Guard, a dazzling spectacle steeped in tradition, respect and duty. One can travel down the centuries simply by tilting one’s head toward the heavens and gazing at the intricate carvings and columns of such structures as Parliament, Whitehall’s buildings, the Tower of London, Tower Bridge and St. Paul’s Cathedral.

I also enjoy visiting the plethora of parks, royal and otherwise, scattered throughout the city. Regent’s Park is lush and romantic with winding paths, where the long, flowing tresses of the willow trees dandle on the breeze, and swans send ripples shivering across the surface of the lake. One of my favorite spots is Queen Mary’s Rose Garden. In June and July, the air there is redolent with the intoxicating scent of full-blown blossoms with velvety smooth or ruffled petals. Treasures also abound in Hyde, St. James’s, Green and Holland parks, ranging from palaces and Italian Gardens to preening peacocks out for a daily constitutional.

What is your writing routine?

I have a full-time job, so trying to squeeze in the time to write is an ongoing struggle. I can only write in the evenings when I come from work and on the weekends. I try to be disciplined about it.

What is one place you still would like to write about (and why)?

I have never visited New Zealand. It’s on my bucket list. I’ve seen documentaries and read articles about the country. The landscape is absolutely stunning: rugged coastline; the mountains; lush rainforests and more. I would love to come up with an adventure for Emmeline and Gregory set in New Zealand.

What do you think is the hardest part of writing a series?

Devising trouble in which to embroil Emmeline and Gregory. I chose to write a series because I wanted to take time to develop my characters—their flaws, admirable qualities, likes and dislikes. Each book provides another nugget of information to peel back the curtain on Emmeline and Gregory, while also leaving something dangling. After all, the human species is full of contradictions that are begging to be explored. At this stage, I don’t have any idea how many books will be in the series. If, and when, I reach the point where I can’t come up with anymore juicy plots for Emmeline and Gregory, perhaps I’ll have conceived a new series and off I’ll go in a new direction.

Do you travel to the places in your books to research them?

I don’t travel specifically to the places where my books are set to conduct research. Rather, when I’m there the ideas spring to mind because a particular area has made a strong impression on me. That’s why I’m able to give readers a taste of the sights and sounds of the cities to make them feel as if they’re walking in my shadow.

What can you tell us about your new book (When Blood Runs Cold)?

The book, which is set in London, explores how one can never escape the past. Emmeline is reeling from the recent discovery that her parents were murdered while on assignment when she was five. She’s determined to find their killer. At the same time, she’s working on a story about the suspicious death of Russian national Pavel Melnikov, a man who tried to double cross Putin and Russian mafia boss Igor Bronowski. Her probing questions have attracted unwanted attention from those on the wrong side of the law. Along the way, two men are poisoned to prevent them from exposing these ugly machinations. If this wasn’t enough, Emmeline learns that everything she believed about her life has been a lie and she becomes a murder suspect.

Gregory Longdon, her dashing fiancé and jewel thief-cum-insurance investigator, has grave problems of his own. His past has caught up with him in the form of ruthless entrepreneur Alastair Swanbeck. Swanbeck has ties to the underworld and Putin. He has been waiting years to exact his revenge for Gregory’s meddling in things that should have been left alone. And now, he has found his perfect tool: Emmeline.

To add a bit more tension, I’ve included a Sotheby’s auction of the Blue Angel, a flawless 12-carat blue diamond that men are willing to kill to possess.

Thank you, Daniella!

Daniella Bernett Author PhotoYou can find Daniella on her website and follow her on Facebook and Goodreads.

Elementary, my dear Watson

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Even though I love reading—I do watch my fair share of television. One of my favorite shows is Elementary. What’s not to like: Sherlock Holmes, Lucy Liu and murder mystery all in one neat package. But what I like most about it is that at least once per episode I have to look up a word Sherlock uses. The man is British you see, with a vast vocabulary. But then, it’s a TV show, so it’s possible the screen-writers are assisting.

The other day (I confess I’m a bit behind with watching) Sherlock used the word “quisling.” The guy he was talking to didn’t blink—obviously, he belonged the quisling-is-part-of-my-vocabulary cohort of the population. I guess it’s just me and my husband who have been under-educated.

Every time this happens I am a little annoyed. It’s nothing but envy really; I’d love to be able to string sentences together like Sherlock. Still, the question remained: what on earth is a quisling? Turns out, it’s not something you want to be called.

Vidkun Quisling was a Norwegian politician, who founded the fascist party in Norway in 1933. He was the prime minister of a pro-Nazi government from 1942-1945. After the war, he was sentenced to death for high treason, amongst other charges. A quisling therefore, is a traitor—a collaborator with the enemy.

“Quisling” is an eponym: a person, thing or place after whom/which something is named. Our language has many of them. If you’re lucky, and you invented something cool, your name may live on forever. Like the Diesel engine, the Jacuzzi, a leotard, or pasteurization.

Back in the day, a physician could describe some terrible affliction and lend his/her name to it. Like Parkinson’s or Alzheimer’s disease. Even though these people did important work, it’s not the most pleasant way to be remembered. When you’re suffering from a bout of salmonella, you won’t be interested in knowing it was named after a vet called Dr. Salmon. Actually, according to Wikipedia it was his assistant who discovered the bacteria, but Smithella doesn’t quite have the same ring to it.

I couldn’t find many examples of words like “quisling” – where the name itself becomes the type of person you’re referring to. (And to answer your question, yes, I actually waste time thinking about stuff like this…). One can be a Don Juan, or a Casanova—or a Sherlock for that matter. It must be pretty awesome to have written a book that’s so well-known, one of your characters becomes the eponym. Like Jekyll and Hyde, or a Scrooge. We refer to an Odyssey, a Faustian bargain, or Big Brother, and even though we may not have read the books in question, the meaning of the words is ingrained in our language.

Not many writers will accomplish this, but don’t let that keep you from trying. Your next literary work could provide us with a new addition to our language—and as a writer, I think there are very few things as cool as that!

 

 

 

Do You Believe in Ghosts?

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One question I get regularly, as a writer of stories with a paranormal slant, is whether I believe in ghosts. My children are particularly obsessed with this. Even though I think having a sixth sense would be tremendously interesting—or immensely terrifying, depending how the experience would turn out—I can’t say I have ever actually seen a ghost.

That said, I think many of us have had, at some point in time, an experience that defied a rational explanation. I don’t necessarily always need a rational explanation; sometimes things just happen. Maybe it’s just intuition kicking in at the right moment. A gut-feeling. Or maybe we do all have a sixth sense, somewhere deep down, only to stir and warn us when “something” triggers it.  I like to keep an open mind—the brain is after all a fabulous thing. Then again, it’s also very much capable of deluding us.

Many years ago, I visited a friend in Edinburgh, Scotland, and we went on a ghost-tour. Edinburgh is a really good place for things like that; Scotland is riddled with ghosts apparently, if you believe the rumors.  My friend and I signed up for a tour that went underground, through Mary King’s Close. It’s an area that used to have very narrow streets, called closes, lined by high buildings. Back in the day the poorest people would live on ground level (where all the sewage and waste was piled up), and the richest people would live on the top floor, as far away from the stench as possible.

In 1753 this area was covered up for the construction of the Royal Exchange.  The ground level of the buildings was used as foundation, and the closes were covered up. But they are still there.  It’s eery alright, being down there in the near-darkness, with a guide whispering spooky stories.

One of stories we were told was about when the plague visited Mary King’s Close in 1644. To quarantine the people living there, the close was completely sealed off, essentially leaving the people within to perish without food or water. For days the people screamed, begging to be let out, until finally the screaming subsided. It is said that a little girl, named Annie, who died of the plague, still roams the place, looking for her doll.

A story like this is enough to curdle your blood, morphing any shadow into a little girl searching for her doll. Or worse.

Did I see a ghost? No. And neither did my friend. But we were certainly creeped out.

If you dig around on the internet, there are several websites stating that this story is not true. The people were provided with food and water, even a doctor. Healthy people may have been sequestered elsewhere. I truly hope so, cause otherwise they were imprisoned in a plague-infested area. And the flees didn’t stop biting.

Whether the story is true or not, the tour was well done. And very memorable. If you like to be spooked, I would highly recommend doing a ghost tour in Edinburgh; there are plenty to choose from!

Funny thing is, I did have a “strange” experience in Edinburgh. My friend and I stayed at a large house that was completely empty, aside from the two of us. She mentioned that some people, who had stayed in this house, had eerie, frightening experiences while sleeping in one of the guest rooms. She did not tell me which room, but instead dared me to walk around the house—on my own—and see if I could identify the room. I did (highly skeptically), but to my surprise there was one room that stood out. It was identical to any of the other rooms I’d seen thus far. However, when I entered, the temperature seemed to drop several degrees. The room felt “different,” for a lack of a better word. It wasn’t like there was something evil present, or like I suddenly had unwanted company. But I remember feeling so uncomfortable that I wanted to leave the room. I didn’t finish my tour of the house. I knew this was THE ROOM, and it was.

But of course, I had been looking for this room, with heightened perception. The question is, if I had been assigned this room for the night, unaware of the stories, would I have noticed the same discomfort?

I firmly believe in science—I’d like to think everything has an explanation. It’s just that we haven’t figured out everything quite yet. And for some things, maybe we’re not supposed to either. Because when it comes down to it, we all need a little bit of mystery every now and then.

Author Interview – Harriet Steel

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This month I interviewed Harriet Steel, the author of  The Inspector de Silva Mysteries. The series takes place in Sri Lanka, when it was still called Ceylon, during the late-colonial era. I recently read the first book: “Trouble in Nuala,” which is a wonderful, slower paced, classic-feel mystery novel. The main character, Inspector de Silva, is Sinhalese; his wife, a former governess, is English. The characters and the setting, including the Ceylon culture and the British domination, occupy the center of the story; the mystery itself moves along almost quietly. All combined, this provided a very rewarding read. I knew little about Sri Lanka, but Harriet made the island come alive. 

Welcome Harriet. Can you tell us a little about yourself?

I’m married with two grown-up daughters and three grandchildren. My husband and I live in Surrey in the UK. It’s near London but very rural in parts, and we both enjoy walking in the countryside near home. Apart from walking, I like to spend time with family and friends, go to the theatre, visit art galleries, and of course, write.
Originally, I qualified as a lawyer and worked in that field before my writing became more than a hobby. I started with short stories, many of which were published in magazines and anthologies, but I didn’t really plan to be more ambitious. That changed when I was a finalist in a national short story competition run by BBC television.
Part of the prize was a day spent with bestselling UK author, Joanne Harris. It was an inspiring experience. At one point, she was asked what advice she’d give to aspiring writers, and her answer was succinct: drop the word “aspiring” and just write. I decided to take her advice and embark on a novel. I wasn’t sure what to write about though, only that I wanted it to be something historical as I’m a great fan of historical novels as well as mysteries. Then I came across the remarkable story of the notorious, but today little known, Victorian adventuress and dancer, Lola Montez, and knew I’d found the perfect subject. I wrote three more historical novels before turning to crime with The Inspector de Silva Mysteries.

Trouble in Nuala takes place in Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) in the 1930s; why Sri Lanka and why the specific time period?

It’s the perfect combination of a country I love and the Golden Age of detective fiction.

How did you prepare yourself to feel confident writing about the 1930s AND about a country you don’t live in (in the 1930s!)?

A high-risk choice I admit! But having written several historical novels beforehand, I was used to carrying out research and immersing myself in times past. I think it’s something that gets easier as you gain experience. I read whatever I could lay my hands on, whether it was fiction or non-fiction. I also watched films and looked at images from those times. Google is a wonderful resource!

Can you tell us a little about the main character, Inspector de Silva?

Shanti de Silva is pragmatic but principled with a dry sense of humor. A happily married man, he likes books and gardens as I do. There are so many murder mysteries around that feature detectives with messy private lives. I wanted Shanti to be a normal kind of man who must deal with abnormal situations as part of his job.

What/who is your favorite book/author?

What a difficult question! I read widely and in a variety of moods, so I find it very hard to choose only one book or author. I think we’re incredibly lucky to have such an enormous choice of reading these days. I recently visited an ancient house that’s in the early stages of restoration. A nineteenth-century owner was an avid book collector and in the process of cataloguing the contents of his library, someone found a book of poems that had belonged to King Charles I. From the inscription on the flyleaf, they realised it must have been in his possession while he was waiting in the Tower of London to be executed. The rest of the inscription read Dum respiro spero – While I breathe, I hope. The book was obviously well used. I found it an incredibly moving reminder of how rare and precious books were in the days when only the privileged few had the chance to own them. Indeed, most people couldn’t even read.

However, to make some attempt at answering your question more specifically, in the historical genre, some of my favorite authors are Elizabeth Chadwick and Hilary Mantel. Blending history and mystery, I like S J Paris and C J Sansom. With other mysteries, I’m not fond of anything with a lot of graphic violence; I prefer writers of the Golden Age like Agatha Christie and Dorothy Sayers, also contemporary authors such as Elly Griffiths or Will Dean. I love it when a writer conjures up a strong sense of place as they do. I also read a fair few cozy mysteries to keep up with what’s happening in the genre I write in. In the classics, it has to be Jane Austen. I have an enduring weakness for Mr Darcy!

Yes, me too… although in my mind he will always look like Colin Firth.

What’s your writing routine?

I don’t have a rigid one, but I try to write each day, even if I only achieve a few hundred words. You can’t edit what’s not on the page. Ideally, I prefer to write in the morning when I’m at my most alert!

Are you working on anything at the moment?

I’m working on the seventh book in The Inspector de Silva Mysteries: working title Rough Time in Nuala. The story centers around the machinations of the members of the Royal Nuala Golf Club. It’s a world de Silva has had very little previous contact with. I like to take him out of his comfort zone from time to time.

I look forward to reading it. Thank you, Harriet!

 

You caHarriet Steel Publicity Photon find Harriet Steel on her website, her Amazon Author Page and on Facebook. 

How big is your TBR pile?

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Apparently, the Japanese language has a word for the TBR pile: Tsundoku—buying books and not reading them. I love the word, but what I don’t know is if “tsundoku” also implies the intent to read those books. After all, the idea of  a to-be-read pile is that the books will be read at some point, so just having them sit there is not that useful. Besides, I don’t have enough space for a tsundoku.

I am always looking for new books, but the trick is to remember which books I wanted to read. Before I had children, I would spend hours just browsing the bookstore and return with a bag full of new treasures. I would write down the names of books I still wanted to read—a list that invariably would get lost somewhere in a pile of other lists. These days, if I have an afternoon to spare—but seriously, who am I kidding. I really do not have any afternoons to spare.

Fortunately, there’s technology. I find the Goodreads site is an excellent resource to keep track of which books I still want to read, and a great way to discover new books. Reviews are right there, which makes the choice a lot easier. With one click I can add those books to my TBR list: a most efficient way to never forget a good book (and it takes up a lot less physical space in my house). Compared to some other people on Goodreads my TBR pile is a light-weight. Right now I have about 130 books on there. I sometimes run across people who have over 30,000.

I have always wondered about TBR lists that big—I would never get through a list comprised of so many books. Even if I would read a book a day (which I don’t) it would be impossible. A list that huge would give me stress and reading is supposed to be fun. My TBR list is meant for books I actually intend to read (someday). I can see the appeal though; I suppose it’s like having a virtual, pre-selected bookstore at your fingertips and any book you’d choose would be one you’re interested in. I just don’t think it would work for me. But, even though I strive to cross off at least ten books a year from my TBR list, it’s growing faster than I chip away at it. Still, I try to keep it manageable.

The thing is, my choice of books is not solely based on my TBR list and plenty books I read never make it on there. Goodreads is a site where popular books will create a buzz and therefor become more even more popular. It also depends on how many contacts you have or how many people you follow, since this determines part of the exposure; you see which books they read and whether they liked it or not. If I would just stick to Goodreads to find new books, I think it would restrict my reading experience; I’d miss out on a lot of other good reads that way.

Sometimes I wander (it’s really not wandering, more like a quick stroll) through the library and will just randomly select a book, which can lead to an interesting evening—or not so much—but I like the potential of surprise it holds. There’s something sentimental about it—it’s how I picked books when I was a child. Our library was small, but for me the children’s section was a gift that kept on giving; it always promised something unexpected and exciting: an escape from dreary, rainy afternoons, new adventures in uncharted lands, and a vast supply of imaginary friends. Nowadays, I still dig through my son’s stack of library books for the occasional read, since I have never quite lost my inner middle grade reader.  His books are less complicated, yet have plenty of excitement. What’s not to like?

Then there are books from other indie authors, which I’d never find on my own on Goodreads because they often don’t have that many reviews and don’t create the same amount of buzz—yet can be as enjoyable as the more conventional published novels. I always try to read a fair number of these every year.

Do you keep a tsundoku? How do you manage your TBR list? I’d love to hear other people’s experiences!

 

 

Book Release: The Secrets of Sinclair Lodge

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The third book in the Dunnhill Mystery Series is available for pre-order!!

Can you tell I am excited?

SecretsSinclair

Release date: December 17!!!

Click here to order!

In Sinclair Lodge, you are never alone…

Sara Eriksson has moved to Dunnhill, a charming, small mountain village tucked in the Northern Cascades, to be closer to her boyfriend David. The start of the winter season has transformed the town into a snow-lover’s paradise—but perhaps not the paradise Sara had in mind.

Sara’s bank account is a disaster. Work is hard to come by. David, who is mourning the loss of his grandfather, has withdrawn into an obsession for skiing—an obsession he desperately wants to share with Sara. She doesn’t know how to ski, but David is determined to teach her. And if that wasn’t enough to deal with, she stumbles upon a dead body.

When an unexpected job offer comes her way—tutoring a young girl in the famed Sinclair Lodge—her problems seem to be solved. However, she quickly finds out they are only getting started. As she mingles with the rich, powerful and disturbing members of the Sinclair household, she becomes entangled in a web of secrets, lies and intrigue. Before long, her haunting dreams and visions return, slowly exposing the terrifying truth.

But what is the truth? Whom can she trust? And who might be coming for her? The journey ahead is a treacherous one. She soon realizes she has to watch her step, for there is danger hiding in every corner…

 

 

A Hundred Years to Never Forget…(Let’s read some books about the Great War)

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It’s been a hundred years since the end of World War I—an appropriate time to highlight some books I read this year on this subject. The books are all different—the main characters have different nationalities and the books are set in different locations—providing an interesting perspective.

World War I has always appeared as a messy affair to me. First, the Austro-Hungarian Empire declared war on Serbia, and based on alliances, other countries joined in; with Britain, France, Russia, Italy and the US on one side and Germany, Austria-Hungary and the Ottoman Empire on the other. Eight and half million soldiers and seven million civilians lost their lives in the span of four years.

But a book usually focuses on one region. Let’s start with The Alice Network by Kate Quinn. It’s set in France during World War I (and World War II) and embraces the role women played in it. The book has two closely connected storylines. In 1947, we get to know Charlie, an American girl trying to locate her French cousin, who is presumed dead. In 1915, we follow Eve, who works as a spy for the Alice Network in France during World War I.

I liked the story set in 1915 the best. The danger of Eve’s job, the double standards she had to deal with as a woman in her profession, her resourcefulness and bravery, all made it impossible for me to put the book down. I don’t know as much about World War I as I would like, and I certainly didn’t know about the Alice Network. The afterword by Kate Quinn is a wonderful addition; much of the book is based on true events.

It’s so easy to ignore women in history who did amazing things. Because, let’s face it, back in the beginning of the 20th century women weren’t supposed to do “amazing things.” The women who were part of The Alice Network, lived in a time in which they were still not allowed to vote, yet they showed themselves capable enough to spy on the enemy and put their lives at risk. For me, Eve’s story alone made this book an excellent read.

As Kate Quinn explains in the afterword, the Alice Network and Alice Dubois, or Louise de Bettingies, really existed. She organized a vast and highly effective network of informants in the area of Lille. Louise was captured by the Germans in 1915, and died in prison in 1918, before the end of the war.

My interest wsparked by reading The Alice Network, led me to pick up a classic describing life in the trenches: All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque (written in 1927). Mr. Remarque himself was a soldier on the German side. Instead of glorifying the war, his descriptions of the carnage and total despair these men faced, paint a vivid picture of the utter madness of war. In a few passages, he flat-out taunts the people in power, questioning why the common men always end up fighting a war that was not theirs to begin with. Not surprisingly, the book was forbidden by the Nazi regime. Mr. Remarque had to flee Germany soon after publishing it and in 1938 his German citizenship was revoked.

Some of the areas of fighting in West-Europe, initially nothing but scarred fields of mud and craters, were cordoned off after the war and have since then developed into lush forests, but unfortunately, some are still littered with (unexploded) shells. Other areas apparently are still toxic, containing high levels of arsenic. For reference, check out this article in the Atlantic.

I have never visited any of the battlefields in West-Europe, but this summer we went to Slovenia and Italy, where there was extensive fighting as well. Triglav National Park, in Slovenia, is a beautiful mountainous area—you can hardly imagine its bloody history while enjoying the amazing views of emerald rivers, pristine waterfalls and rocky mountain tops. My daughter decided that if there are fairies, they’d be sure to live in this place.

The fairies may have thought differently a hundred years ago. An estimated 300,000 soldiers died and 700,000 were wounded on the Soča Front. The Italians invaded this part of Slovenia to open up the way to Vienna, but instead faced years of fighting the Austro-Hungarian army uphill.  Then, in 1917, a German offensive blew right through the Italian defenses. The battle of Kobarid (Coparetto) and the following retreat has been well described  in A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway, who himself was an ambulance driver in this area during the war.

I read A Farewell to Arms during high school, but I will admit it was kind of lost on me at that time, and I discarded it as a depressing love story. Having reread the book after our visit to Slovenia and Italy, I can say I appreciate his writing style and tone a lot more than I did when I was younger. The love story was still very sad, but having a better sense of the places he described deepened the reading experience.

It’s been a hundred years—how easy it would be to stop remembering. But if we let time erase the memories of the horrors of war, who is to stop us from making the same mistakes over and over again? These three books are all poignant tales that will ensure you won’t forget.