Liz Fielding's Blog

This is not on Amazon

Although both these books are available to download from Amazon, I’m aware that some readers prefer to buy from other online stores.

With that in mind I have put this two-in-one edition of two linked books on the Draft to Digital platform, which means that it’s available where ever you prefer to shop.

And because it’s a holiday weekend here in the UK, I’m giving it away free for a few days.

This link will give you all the options.

Free book

On Tuesday I had the thrilling news from my publisher,  Joffe Books that because my  Maybridge Mystery series has been so successful, they have turned it into a a box set.

It’s already a bestseller!

 

There’s thrilling news for you, too. It’s on sale at an introductory price of 99p/99c from Amazon.

Here’s the link

The Maybridge Mysteries Box Set

If you haven’t signed up for Joffe Books newsletter, then I urge you to do so. They don’t just publish crime, but romance and more general work and there are bargains and a free book on offer every Friday.

Have a wonderful weekend everyone.

…or three

Just a quick heads up that that anthology of three of my classic romances will be free to download from Amazon from today, Saturday 9th August until Tuesday, 12 August.

Here’s the link – which will take you to Amazon wherever you are in the world.

Fill your books, tell all your friends!

Liz Fielding’s Classics

 

An evening at The Actors’ Church

The highlight of this week was a joyful open-air production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream at The Actors’ Church, St Paul’s in Covent Garden, London.

We were already winning with the weather. The steamy heat of earlier in the week had been blown away by rain on Wednesday. The sky was a clear, bright blue, the temperature a very pleasant 25C – just perfect in fact.
I was taking my daughter and two granddaughters to see the play and everything dovetailed beautifully. Getting thereThe girls and I caught the train at East Grinstead, my daughter joined us at Hurst Green and we arrived in plenty of time to create a picnic in the M&S food hall at Victoria.

 

Theatre and a picnic – how much better could it get!

 

The taxi dropped us outside the church entrance in Bedford Street – where we saw this pretty little thing parked.Obviously a pink car with hearts cried out to  my romance writer heart (I left the crime writer at home!) and could not go unphotographed. I have cut  it so that the registration number isn’t showing.Inside The Actors’ Church garden

At the entrance to The Actors’ Church, I had my phone in my hand to show our ticket but I was asked my name and the young woman counting us with a welcoming smile said, “There are four of you? You’re all here? Great?” and she ticked us off on her list, then pointed the way. “Bar is on the left, seats on the right. Have a lovely evening.”

So civilised.

The garden

The church garden was full of roses and an impressive array of  hollyhocks – a flower that has always defied me.

We settled ourselves on a bench (maybe a cushion would be a good idea if you can carry one). The show was sold out but  there was plenty of room.

We had half an hour to visit the bar (the gets better bit) tuck into our picnic and then enjoy the lovely ambience as people arrived.

I have to confess that we had got rather carried away in M&S – it was, frankly, a carb fest. But very, very good.

A Midsummer Night’s Dream by William Shakespeare

Programmes were bought and the show commenced. It had a 1980s vibe with plenty of pop music, terrific moves from the men in the cast and some great acting.

The Dream is, frankly, crazy and the cast hammed it up wonderfully in an utterly joyful production.

They were completely unfazed when St Paul’s  clock struck the hours at eight and nine or, when whatever was happening in Covent Garden on the backside of the church , got a bit noisy.

(For any Rivers of London fans among you, this is the church where Peter Grant met the ghost!)

I can’t wait to go back when there’s something else I want to see.

Getting home

We’d had the foresight to book an AL cab to pick us up which was, frankly, the least successful part of the night. The driver sailed past the pick up point and had to be chased down the road and his route to the station was bizarre to say the least. There are entrances on either side of the station where a taxi can stop. He didn’t find either of them, leaving us to cross a busy road.

Despite his worst efforts  we made it  in plenty of time to catch our train, so no drama.

Last night felt like London at its best. People walking through the famous streets, happy and relaxed, French flags along the Mall to welcome Macron and everything set up for the Pride march today.

My independent bookshop…

I mentioned my visit to  my local indie bookshop  (oh, and by the way it’s Independent Bookshop Week) I was introduced to the author Jane Thynne/C J Carey (not in person – her books).

I was having a cup of coffee with the owner, and he was enthusing about her writing and bringing out copies of her books. When he described Widowland I picked it up and said. “This one. I’m taking this one home.”

Widowland is a dystopian tale set in 1953 at a time when England was in an “alliance” with Germany.

It’s an alternative history, a bit like Fatherland (Robert Harris) but set in the UK. It’s basically a police state with people categorized by status. Women, as is usually the case, come off worse. The lowest of the low are the widowed, childless, women who are not serving a man. They are banished to the edges of society with the smallest rations, the worst jobs, slum housing.

A coronation is about to take place – King Edward VIII and Queen Wallis are about to crowned. They have been waiting since 1940 so that Hitler can be present. Then words from  Mary Wollstencraft’s Vindication of the Rights of Woman, written in red paint, begin to appear on public buildings.

The widows are the prime suspects and Rose Ransom, in the highest category of womanhood, whose job is to rewrite the classics for schoolchildren — taking out the bits where were women find their own voice and challenge men — is sent undercover to find their leader.

I love this kind of dystopian fiction and I thoroughly enjoyed Jane Thynne’s writing.

I have just read her pre WW11 book, Midnight in Vienna and I’m about to start reading her Clara Vine series of thrillers.

I am so looking forward to her event at my local indie book shop later this year.

…eventually

I started Friday morning with a plan. Early rise, write, have my nails done, write, go out to lunch with a friend, write.

The alarm went off at six am. I lingered in the comfort of my bed until 6.30 but then forced myself into the shower, made tea and fired up the laptop. There was, inevitably, a delay while I checked emails, book sales and wasted time messing about on the internet. But not too much time because…nails.

I edited the scene I’d written the day before, havered over a plot point then – because the lovely lady who used to do my nails deserted me to have baby, I set off to grab an early spot at the nail bar.

So far so good

A last minute decision to take my umbrella proved sensible. I was only a couple of hundred yards up the road (yes it’s a hill) when it started to rain. And the nail bar was packed. There wasn’t even waiting room.

Clearly 9.30 on a Friday morning was when, having dropped off their infants at school, the mummies arrived en masse to have their nails gussied up for the weekend.

It was raining heavily by then and there was only one thing to do. Cross the road to The Bookshop – all nooks and crannies and ancient oak beams – for a cup of their very good coffee. They have delicious brownies and shortbread, too, but Saturday is weigh-in day at Slimming World so, with great strength of mind, I resisted.

Always a warm welcome

John, the proprietor and a huge supporter of my books, brought across his mug of tea to join me for a chat.

We talked about publishing, books and the author events he holds regularly. The next one is Marian Boswell and her book, The Kindest Garden – here’s the link should you be around East Grinstead on June 18.

 

He mentioned Jane Thynne (who also writes at C J Carey) who is coming to The Bookshop in September to talk about her latest Clara Vine WW11 set spy thriller

Jane Thynne

By this time the table was covered in books and John picked up a copy of her dystopian thriller, Widowland.

This is London in 1953. Thirteen years have passed since the Grand Alliance between Great Britain and Germany and the Coronation is for Edward VIII.

There are outbreaks of insurgency and suspicion has fallen on Widowland, the run-down slums to which, childless women over fifty have been banished.

Before for Leader arrives in England for the Coronation, Rose Ransom has been tasked with infiltrating Widowland to find the source of the rebellion and ensure that it is quashed.

Reader, I bought it… I am desperate to get started  but first I have to finish my book club choice for this month, The Glass Maker, bought when Tracy Chevalier came to the The Bookshop a couple of months ago.

Finally…

An hour later, with the sun finally making an appearance I went back to the nail bar. The pack had thinned, I took a seat and a little while later the job was done.

I’m ready for my trip into London week.

A crime book convention!

I will soon  be heading off to the historic city of Bristol for this year’s CrimeFest, The International Crime Fiction Festival – Where the Pen is bloodier than the Sword.

Who will be there?

The line up this year is spectacular with a featured guests including Andrew and Lee Child.

Mark Gatiss (who created Sherlock with Steven Moffat, and appeared as Mycroft Holmes) will be appearing on a panel to talk about Bookish, a soon to be released crime drama set in 1946 London.

Mark Gatiss is starring as the whip-smart and debonair Gabriel Book: a maverick consultant detective to the local police. The thousands of books that line the shelves of his shop provide him with all the knowledge he needs to solve even the most puzzling of crimes. Oh, and joy, there is  a book!

Chris Chibnall, creator of landmark crime drama Broadchurch will be at the convention. His debut crime novel, Death at the White Hart, has just been published, and he will be joining moderator Lee Child (Reacher), Barbara Nadel (The Turkish Detective), Barry Ryan (Agatha Raisin) and Matthew Sweet (Bookish) for Sunday’s ‘Lights! Camera! Murder: Adapting For and From Film and TV’.

The Ghost of Honour

This year’s Ghost of Honour is John le Carre and his sons Simon Cornwell and Nicholas Cornwell (under his author name Nick Harkaway) will be there. Nick will be talking about his new Smiley novel, Karla’s Choice. 

And “The Daggers”

To add to the excitement, the Crime Writer’s Association will be announcing the short list for this year’s Dagger awards.

Author Panels

But that isn’t all. There will be dozens of panels of crime writers during the four days of the convention. Big names, international names and debut authors will be on panels talking about their books and happily answering questions from the audience.

I will be fan-girling Lindsay Davis of the fabulous Roman era “Falco” books. Here’s the full list of authors who will be attending.

What will I be doing?

My panel is  called The Gifted Amateur: When Murder is Your Hobby where I’ll be chatting about my own  gifted amateur sleuth, Abby Finch.

The panel will be moderated by T E Kinsey, author of the Lady Hardcastle Mysteries which are set in Edwardian Gloucestershire and star Lady Hardcastle and her lady’s maid, Florence Armstrong – former spies and now amateur sleuths

Also on the panel will be J M Hall and Alison O’Leary, whose sleuths are ably assisted by their feline companions and Leigh Russell, who has a vast backlist of titles, but will, in this instance be focussing on her Poppy mysteries, a small but highly intelligent dog who had her first outing in Barking Up the Right Tree.

CrimeFest, takes place from Thursday May 15 to Sunday May 19 at the Mercure Bristol Grand Hotel. Book weekend or day tickets on their website.

 

Happy Easter!

Free book

A quick heads up that one of my Classics collections is #free on Amazon from today until Thursday.

It contain three of my favourite books, The Bridesmaid’s Reward, Flirting With Italian and The Secret Life of Lady Gabriella.

Fill your boots, tell your friends!

Here’s the link – Liz Fielding’s Classics

 

 

Aunts

I’m also blogging today over at Liberta Books, my second home , on the usefulness of aunts – and other interfering females of a certain age – in fiction.

Come over and tell us what your aunts did for you! Here’s a link

Aunts, Godmothers and Other Interfering Females – Liberta Books

It’s been busy

It’s Friday evening here in Fielding Towers. It began with a hard frost but it was sunny enough to go out to lunch – crispy beef salad and a large glass of Merlot – with just a jacket although I was very happy to be wearing the new scarf I bought this week.

I have a huge scarf collection, but no matter how many I have there is always a time when I’m looking for a colour and it’s not there.

Shopping

On Tuesday my daughter and I went on a shopping trip to Tunbridge Wells. I didn’t need anything but my daughter and her family are going somewhere exotic during the Easter holidays and she had a list.

We did the ecological thing and caught the bus. It’s about an hour but it’s a ride through the prettiest countryside. There were signs of spring everywhere. Catkins in the hedgerows, a touch of green appearing here and there and lambs…

First tea…

The first thing we did when we arrived at the shopping centre was go for a cup of tea in Fenwick, which is a really lovely department store.

Fully restored we wandered through the store. I saw a lamp that would look perfect on a small table… Too big to carry, but I will be looking it up online.

There was a lot of cooing over clothes and gasping at the prices — it’s that sort of store. My daughter was seduced by a very lovely jacket and I bought – you’ve guessed it – a scarf.

This one, because, honestly, I really needed just that shade of pink. It’s from 100 stars, one of my favourite shopping hangouts. I love their kimonos.

I also have a new t-shirt in the shade of peach that is my go-to colour.

More shopping Crimefest panel with from left to right, Liz Fielding, Alex Stone, Felix Francis, Alex Shaw, Michael Stanley

The rest of the week has mostly been about buying books. I’m on an author panel at CRIMEfest in Bristol in May (this is me last year) and I’ve been downloading books by my fellow panellists to read before the event.

Alison O’Leary, J M Hall, and Leigh Russell  – subject, The Gifted Amateur: When Murder is Your Hobby.

T E Kinsey is the panel moderator. His latest Lady Hardcastle mystery isn’t published until after the conference so he kindly sent me an ARC.

And yet more books

I spotted Helena Dixon’s new series and pre-ordered The Secret Detective Agency. and a book by Australian, Dave Warner, After the Flood.

On a roll I added One Deadly Take by D B Borton, A Lively Midwinter Murder by Katy Watson and I still have Elly Griffiths new book, The Frozen People which I’m desperate to start.

Then there’s gardening

Indoor gardening in this case.

When I arrived home after my Friday lunch date I found a box of baby plants I’d ordered waiting for me. These are a few of additions to my African Violet collection.

They (and some Begonia Rex plants) needed instant potting, so that was the rest of my afternoon taken care of.

And, finally, books

I have been getting words down on paper, if rather more slowly than I’d like. (It’s been a busy week!) Murder in the Vineyard is progressing….

In the meantime a couple of my romances are now available in audio on Apple Books  That’s the US link but they are available in the UK and Australia.