Murder In A Different Place is out today!

It's finally out! The ebook is published today, the print version will be out on May 15th. I've been having an online launch with virtual champagne and bacon rolls. At the last minute the copy editor found a mistake I'd made which would have brought Indignant of Tunbridge Wells out in spots, but he and my lovely editor corrected it immediately. See, this is why I like being traditionally rather than self published! So here is the link to the British Amazon site http://www.amazon.co.uk/Murder-Different-Sarjeant-Mystery-Series-ebook/dp/B00JLJFJ4S/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1397203167&sr=1-1&keywords=Murder+In+A+Different+Place
And here is the one for US readers: http://www.amazon.com/Murder-Different-Place-Sarjeant-Mystery-ebook/dp/B00JLJFJ4S/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1397225568&sr=1-1&keywords=Murder+in+a+different+place

I hope you all enjoy it. I've already started the next one, Murder Out of Tune, which will see the light of day in October.

A Different Place is very near - and I laid the ghost

Murder In A Different Place is very close to being unleashed onto the public. It will be out as an ebook at the beginning of April, with luck and a following wind, and is on schedule to be released in print at the beginning of May. It is the thirteenth in the Libby Sarjeant series, and you may or may not be pleased to know that the first chapter of the fourteenth (and possibly, even the cover) will be in the back.

The other part of the title of this post refers to a post from March 2008 in which I talked about having an old boyfriend find me on the internet. Laying The Ghost We emailed, talked on the telephone and eventually met up. And I remembered what a pain he'd been...

My Writing Process Blog Tour and a Happy New Year!

A very Happy New Year to all. Sorry I've not been around much, but Christmas, panto...lots on! However, last week I was asked by a friend, Jane Jackson,  to take part in a Writing Process Blog Tour, so here it is.

What am I working on?

Currently the thirteenth in the Libby Sarjeant series of mystery novels.

How does my work differ from others of its genre?

It fits very firmly into what the US dubbed "cosy" mystery series, which loosely follow in the footsteps of the Golden Age Amateur Detective novels. There is a proliferation of series in the US - Cat Mysteries, Quilting Mysteries, Coffee Shop Mysteries, Shopping Mall Mysteries - the list is endless. My Libby series is just about a nosy middle aged woman and her friends who somehow get involved in the odd murder - suspend disbelief here!

Why do I write what I do?

I started reading my parents' library of detective novels when I was nine, at the same time my mother bought me a copy of Jane Eyre which I read in three days. I was an only child of working parents - I didn't have much else to do! Detective fiction remained my favourite, apart from an excursion into writing romance, which was not my forte.

How does my writing process work?

Lordy, lordy - I have no idea! These days it's more finding another murder in a vaguely probable setting, then trying to fit my regular characters round it. I often don't know murderer or murderee when I start, which paints me into corners sometimes, but I manage to wriggle out of it - or Libby does. I write slowly at first, speeding up as the deadline approaches - which is right now! This is the book which will be out in spring: Murder In A Different Place

This is the link to Jane's blog last week:

 http://www.janejackson.net/2014/01/my-writing-process-blog-tour/

The Wedding Of The Year

Yesterday, Captain Elly Bailey, my younger daughter Phillipa's best friend since they were eleven, married her dashing Major Philip Carrotte, naturally known as The Carrot. My Philly was her only bridesmaid, and while sons Miles, Leo and I were waiting for the arrival of the bride, people kept coming up and telling me "Your daughter looks stunning." And she did, in a Marilyn Monroe inspired red dress and heels that made her taller than her six feet three inches brother. 

Eastling village church is a beautiful Norman building and still has box pews. We go every year for "The 9 lessons and carols" on Christmas Eve, so we all know the vicar. The service was lovely, and the happy couple left under the traditional guard of honour provided by their friends in dress uniforms, swords and all.

A wet and windy walk took us to the village hall, which had been converted into a cross between Narnia and a skiing lodge. We were welcomed by the White Witch, a professional stilt walker who is a friend and neighbour, and her two elves who dodged between the guests cackling and frightening the children. Gluewein and/or hot chocolate were handed round, and eventually, after all the photographs, we were ushered into a marquee converted into a Snow Palace, where we were served roast ham and vegetables, strudel and a lot of wine. Before the speeches the White Witch reappeared on a specially built sledge, with her two elves, now in eerie green leotards, who performed comedy acrobatics in front of the happy couple, eventually dragging the poor Carrot into it.

Then it was the speeches. Father of the bride Graham, known to us all as The Muzzle, although I've no idea why, embarked on his daughter's life, with so many references to our Philly that the uninitiated must have thought she was an adopted daughter. He even compared their GCSE Maths results and talked about my late husband Brian. Crowning moment, however, was when he asked us all to be upstanding and raise a glass to "Eleanor and Phillipa"! Cue uproarious laughter and applause. The Carrot took it exceptionally well, and even presented Philly with a Tiffany pendant. Tiffany - I ask you!

The party in the evening was entertained by Phillipa's band, up from Bristol for the occasion, although without Philly. However, towards the end, she and her fellow singer Charlotte, who had done the bride's make up, took over from the dep singer and brought the house down.

I haven't enjoyed a wedding so much in years, although my ears are still ringing (Philly's band are LOUD) and my feet hurt. Report from Miles, who was persuaded to stay (on a floor somewhere, I assume) is that the heads are Very Bad this morning. Could be in part because our military friends held a "Shots competition" in the middle of the evening. Every time the hooter sounded they had to down one. No wonder they ran out of Jegermeister in 20 minutes.

After that, Christmas seems like a rest.

To all my readers and friends, have a very merry Christmas and a happy New Year.

Love to all

Lesley x