Anna Faversham's Blog

You can have a whole trilogy with romance, adventure, mystery and humour for 1.98 if you live in the US or the UK.

If you live anywhere else in the world then the first book in the trilogy is FREE and the others are at a reduced price too.



One Dark Night - Readers' Favorite Bronze Award
"Oh it was good"
Liked Poldark? Try One Dark Night
And it's FREE until 29th July



Liked book one? Here's book two. All the conflict points to one cruel and ruthless man but is he a match for Karl and Daniel?
Under a Dark Star
0.99 until 31st July



Meet a dark, wounded heart seeking revenge. "The series gets better and better"
One Dark Soul

0.99 until 31st July

I hope you won't miss this chance to get three books for less than the price of a cuppa and I hope you love them all

July 2025

I’ve taken some time off from writing my blog but I hope to be chatting away once again from now. I must follow the advice of Theodore Roosevelt: ‘With self-discipline most anything is possible.’ Of course, I doubt he had to fit in the washing, ironing, cooking, cleaning, shopping, repairing umpteen things, commuting, emailing, social media and all the other things in modern day life that we all end up doing.

Let me introduce you to Chris Horn. He is someone who is not only an accomplished author but also an inspirational help to many authors in his locality. Earlier in June, for instance, he had a bookstall in the grounds of Bleak House which is situated on the Kent coast and is where Charles Dickens wrote some of his books. He shared it with about 16 other local authors during a popular Dickens weekend. He kindly invited me and I was over the moon as Bleak House actually features in One Dark Soul (as Fort Lodge).

Hello Chris, good to have you on the blog. Tell us about yourself.

Why and when did you start writing?
I started writing in 2020, kind of by accident! I ended up following the Waterstones Swansea Twitter (X) account, due to them being funny and book related. In late 2020 they held a short story contest, which lead to Alice the Albino spider appearing in her first story, all of 500 words. In 2021, I decided that there was more to the story and 500 words turned into book 1. Five years later there are 7 books in the series, dozens of characters and adventures and has ended up with myself meeting some wonderful local authors and so much more.

Who do you write for?
My series "The Word Spider" is aimed at children aged 8 plus.

When did you publish your first book? What is it about?
My first book was published in 2021, as an indie/self published author. "The Word Spider" follows Alice the Albino spider as she ventures far from her home under the floorboards of the old bookshop. Once she is beyond the perpetual gloom of her home, she finds a world full of insects and secrets. Books 1 to 3 follow her and her friends as she travels further across the land, facing challenges, meeting new insects and discovering herself. Books 4 to 6 follows Kurt the slug, a fan favourite from the original trilogy, as he finds himself far from home and being pursued by Arthur the general of an army of ants. Arthur then stars in his own story (book 7) a chance for redemption, and a darker look at the world of The Word Spider.

What is your biggest source of inspiration for your writing?
I find inspiration everywhere, from news articles, to days out and a love of cultures.

Which genres do you like to read?
I am pretty poor at reading! Work, family and selling books takes up a lot of my time. I did go through a stage of reading genres that I wouldn’t normally try, Horror, Murder Mystery, but I am sad to say this year I have only read one book.

What is the biggest challenge you have faced in life and how did you overcome it?
Separation, but if it hadn't happened I wouldn't have been skimming through social media and probably wouldn't have found the Swansea Waterstones account, and Alice wouldn't have been created.
Writing has helped me get on with life, it has kept me busy, and now I run "The Pop-Up Bookshop" alongside my full-time job on the railway. Idol hands and all that.

If you could choose to be born again as a living or dead personality, who would it be and why?
I would put a famous writer, but that's a bit of a cliché! I think someone from Victorian times as the world was expanding and so much of it was new to the civilized world. Discovering new lands and writing new stories for the people would have been amazing.

What has been your favourite holiday?
I love the Netherlands, the people, the vegan food choices, the scenery. I love travelling there and seeing the country from their double-decker trains.

What is your favourite food?
I became vegan in 2020 and so love any plant-based food. This year I have tried to eat more healthily as well, cutting processed food and eating more fresh fruit and veg. But I do love a pizza and Pizza Hut do a cracking vegan one.

Tell us about the last book you have published and give us a Goodreads link please.
So the last one was Book 7 in "The Word Spider" series, following Arthur Artilious the disgraced general of the great colony of ants. Alone and far from his kind, he searches for a way forward. Will he find kinship with a band of warriors on their own quest, or will his distrust of other species be his downfall?

First book:

Latest book:


Chris Horn's Goodreads page: Chris Horn

Thank you for allowing us to get to know you a little better and I can honestly say that a thought went through my mind as I read what your books are about: I wish I’d had those books available when I was 8 years old.

From Friday 27th June,
Mistake in Time is on sale in the US and UK for 0.99 for 7 days. If you like Time Travel with some romance thrown in, you might like to pick it up while it is going cheap! You can also have the AI Audio Book for a bargain price (only available in the US at the moment).

Mistake in Time 0.99 until 3rd July

And another thought-provoking quotation to round off June’s blog:

A wise man lays a firm foundation with the bricks that others throw at him.’

Beware the Midnight Train
has been chugging along selling a few hundred ebooks and more print books than I expected since it was published in October last year. It’s also picking up speed so make sure you catch the train before it disappears. That’s giving away a bit of the plot. If you’ve ever fancied a trip on the Orient Express sit back and enjoy the extravagant comfort of the Midnight Train.

However, you’ll have to endure a little unease before you set off. Ellie was delighted at first…

CHAPTER ONE
The best revenge

1970s
From the outside Eleanor saw no discernible reason why Flint Cottage should be dirt cheap to rent. Roses climbed around the porch, tubs of colourful flowers adorned each corner and the symmetry was perfect including the slightly unusual feature of two front doors, both in need of a coat of paint. Either side of the cottage were two small gardens, fenced off from the lane. Eleanor put down her suitcase – why didn’t these things have wheels – and gazed at the cottage. A plaque above the doors announced it had been here since 1832. Finally, she smiled for the first time in weeks. “See if I care!” she announced. To be dumped and told she was boring was bad enough but to be replaced by a skinny, tarty, flirty… “Stop it!” She looked over her shoulder, nobody had heard, then glanced to her left where a row of Victorian cottages with neat fenced gardens stretched towards the steep grassy bank of the railway line. It’s all perfect, even close to the station to catch the train for London. “Home, sweet home,” she whispered as she picked up the suitcase and went towards her door. Hers, and hers alone. She rummaged in her handbag and triumphantly pulled out the keys.

Inside, to the right, she found her bedroom; she pushed the door open and gratefully put the suitcase down. A double bed faced the white sash window; a built-in wardrobe stood in the corner next to the door and an old arm chair of indeterminate colour hid in the dark far corner. What a strange smell? She sniffed, then shrugged before happily wandering past the telephone on the hall table and into the sitting room.

The room felt cold, really cold. Like the bedroom, it faced north so it was to be expected. She switched on the two-bar electric fire, closed the door as she left and took a quick look at the single bed in the second bedroom. “Guest bedroom,” she whispered with a smile. “Bit musty.” She smacked the mattress expecting dust to fly up. It didn’t.

The kitchen overlooked the dustbin but beyond was a garden. Her garden. She’d grow vegetables and with the rent so cheap, she’d finally be able to save. Still holding her keys, she opened the back door, moved the dustbin so it wasn’t so obvious and surveyed the overgrown, unkempt sight before her. Walking along the paving stones, she detected another strange smell: woody, herbal. Perhaps the previous occupant grew herbs. What a good idea. She grinned as her new life took shape. Quiet, with no rowdy neighbours to disturb her, not even birds singing in the trees. Odd that. Wrong time of the day, perhaps? Tomorrow morning the dawn chorus would confirm that she now lived in the countryside.

Annoyingly, the word ‘boring’ invaded her head. How could he have described her as boring? Her job was exciting: she met famous people. Though often they were too full of their own self-importance even to notice she existed. A creeping feeling of ‘not being noticed’ and ‘unworthy’ unsettled her. She pulled out one of the chairs at the kitchen table and put her head in her hands. For the first time she knew what heartbroken felt like. She almost felt sick. Fear followed. He had stung her like a bee, leaving only pain behind. She knew, of a certainty, that the best revenge was to be happy. “And,” she announced to the wall, “I’ll have time to read my Agatha Christie. A good murder mystery.”

But other people live in this country cottage, more than expected…

Here’s where to find the secrets that lie behind those walls:

Tomorrow, Monday, at 3 p.m. US eastern time, Hank will be interviewing me about my new book: Beware the Midnight Train

He'll be asking what problems I had, why I wrote it, what was the idea that triggered the book etc.

Hank is the author of several books about the art of writing and I shall endeavour to answer his questions as to how and why I started writing and my journey towards writing my 7th book.

It will be taking place at 3 p.m. GMT/UTC and Australian time will be Tuesday at 2 a.m! I'll leave you to work out any other times that might be necessary in case I make a mess of it.

Here's the link sent to me by Hank:

https://us06web.zoom.us/j/81515778850...

Hank says you'll be able to ask questions! I hope I'll be able to answer them!

In lieu of a wrapped gift in a box, here’s something completely different:

Immortality This Is Probably a Novel by Anna Faversham

Immortality: This is Probably a Novel will be free worldwide on Amazon as an eBook from 14th November until 18th.

“The two most important days in your life are the day you are born and the day you find out why.” —Mark Twain

If a stranger said to you, “Let me take you to the world’s best kept secret,” would you go? Chester, a successful investigative reporter, is not given the choice. He prefers to think about Kate, the woman he loves and has left behind. In fear of his life, he is hiding in a remote cabin in New Zealand. So who is this stranger and what is this secret? You are invited into a mystery: intriguing, exciting and deadly. ‘Powerful, moving and thought provoking.’ ‘Packed such a punch…You’ll love watching Chester’s world slowly unravel.’

Sorry it’s so early! My diary is full of ‘stuff’! Yours too perhaps as Christmas approaches. Sorry, also, if you have already got this book. If you have then perhaps you can tell a friend and say it’s an early present from you! Oh groan, I’ve been reading ‘marketing’ ideas…

Forgive, forgive... please

Anna

I didn’t intend to launch this spooky book close to Halloween – it was meant to be finished in July or August. ‘Things’ got in the way. Ghosts will be ghosts and it seems I was overuled, so late October it is then.



If you’ve been following my other blog posts in the past couple of months, you’ll know something about this time travel book (with a slow-burning romance bumbling along). But did I mention that the ghosts want Ellie to do something for them? The dishy vicar cautions Ellie. The loveable, zany, almost famous neighbour cautions her too. Does she take any notice? Okay, you can guess the answer – but would you? And when you find out the worrying consequences of time travel, would you still be determined to seek justice?

Beware the Midnight Train will be at a reduced price until 14th November so please take a look soon.

The paperback will be published on 25th October.

★ Time travel? Ever done that? Of course not.
★ Seen a ghost? Well I haven’t.
★ Like ghost stories? I didn’t. Charles Dickens’ ‘A Christmas Carol’ is the exception and the only one I’ve read – as far as I remember.

So why did I write this one? Like all the other books I’ve written, it took shape in my mind and then wouldn’t shut up until I started telling the tale. The fact that I remember practically everything that happened helped shape it.

BLURB – If you were offered a dream cottage in an English country village and it was dirt cheap, would you jump in without viewing it? Perhaps you would if you had walked out on a no-good two-timing whatsit and had nowhere else to go? Even the neighbours are great, bit strange perhaps. And the dishy local vicar declares himself willing to help day or night. Night? And what’s this talk about a mysterious Midnight Train…are you sure you’re doing the right thing?
It's the 1970s and Ellie attempts to make a new life for herself, ignoring the gossip about ghosts and disappearing people. Boring? She’ll never be called that again and I think you’ll agree with her.
From an award winning, Amazon #1 Time Travel Romance author comes this treat for the imagination – based on truth. Yes, really. Go on, travel in style on the Midnight Train and see where it takes you.

Here’s a short excerpt:

From the outside Eleanor saw no discernible reason why Flint Cottage should be dirt cheap to rent. Roses climbed around the porch, tubs of colourful flowers adorned each corner and the symmetry was perfect including the slightly unusual feature of two front doors, both in need of a coat of paint. Either side of the cottage were two small gardens, fenced off from the lane. Eleanor put down her suitcase – why didn’t these things have wheels – and gazed at the cottage. A plaque above the doors announced it had been here since 1832. Finally, she smiled for the first time in weeks. “See if I care!” she announced. To be dumped and told she was boring was bad enough but to be replaced by a skinny, tarty, flirty… “Stop it!” She looked over her shoulder, nobody had heard, then glanced to her left where a row of Victorian cottages with neat fenced gardens stretched towards the steep grassy bank of the railway line. It’s all perfect, even close to the station to catch the train for London. “Home, sweet home,” she whispered as she picked up the suitcase and went towards her door. Hers, and hers alone.

Here’s another quotation from Beware the Midnight Train:

‘Training him to be normal is more difficult than teaching a hippopotamus to fly.’

Who could this refer to? I’ll give you a clue (which you probably won’t need once you start reading). A wife says it about…

Not long to go now.

Flint Cottage, my latest book – soon to be published (October 22nd) has a new title: Beware the Midnight Train. I tried the new title out on a friend, known to me surreptitiously as Mr TDH – Mr tall, dark and handsome. I sincerely hope he doesn’t read my blog! ‘What do you think?’ I asked hopefully. He furrowed his brow but said nothing. Oh… I took a deep breath, this was a blow. Several mouthfuls of fried egg and bacon later (brunch on the promenade) he lifted his revitalised head and said, ‘I like it.’ Not a phrase I hear very often from him so my eyes opened wide and I tried a mini-smile and waited. More? Anything more? My patience was rewarded when he said, ‘It makes me want to find out why I should beware.’ Oh good.

Ellie, the young lady who features in the book (she isn’t me, I promise you) is also curious. And bored. And called boring. She should have known better, of course, but sometimes curiosity (which killed the cat) gets the better of us, doesn’t it?

Here’s a few chapter titles:

Chapter One – The best revenge. What would you suggest?

Chapter Two – Closing the door. Good idea or bad?

Chapter Three – Gifts from the gods. Food raining down from Heaven? Be careful what you wish for!

The theme of the book, well one of the themes (I get carried away) is ‘the error of revenge’. Interesting? I hope you will love the time you spend with it.

You might remember that I try to remember (!) to end my blog posts with interesting quotations from around the world. This one hasn’t even got out into the big, wide world yet but soon…

“Giving a sermon, however, was his forte: no deluge of gabbled garbage but trickles of tantalizing tips delivered in a masterful manner.”

Presumably, not many of us are called upon to give sermons but someone’s gotta do it if we want to have some wise, Godly guidance from time to time.

What no bargains? I usually include one, I know but not today. Sorry

I’m getting a little nervous – it’s not something I often do. I’m nearly ready to publish my latest book, well six weeks away perhaps. However, I don’t even have the definitive title yet. I have a working title that has served me well – Flint Cottage.

Flint Cottage is the setting for the story which is based on truth. I usually include true experiences of my own in each of my books – bet you can’t guess which bits are true though! At least I hope not. However, the opening chapter of Flint Cottage is sort of true. I did move into Flint Cottage, I did experience strange happenings and I did have an upstairs neighbour who asked me “Have you seen them?” Her husband did become famous and that’s only one of the reasons why the story becomes fictionalized.

Here's the opening sentence: “From the outside Eleanor saw no discernible reason why Flint Cottage should be dirt cheap to rent.”

If you were offered somewhere that looked like a dream cottage in an English country village and it was dirt cheap, would you take it without viewing it? Perhaps you would if there was usually very little available to rent at a price you could afford? Perhaps you would if you had walked out on a no-good two-timing whatsit and had nowhere else to go? Might it seem like a dream come true?

The story becomes fictionalized in the very first chapter but truth drops in here, there and not quite everywhere! I knew that what happened in Flint Cottage was beyond belief but an idea began to take shape though I was reluctant to tell the tale. Maybe, I thought, maybe one day… Then strangely (!) I was contacted by someone I hadn’t heard from in over 30 years. He’d learnt that I am now an author and he wondered why I hadn’t told the tale of Flint Cottage. Well, apart from Charles Dickens’ ‘A Christmas Carol’ I don’t remember ever reading a ghost story and writing one was definitely not my thing. Then a story took shape in my head and I had to get writing.

Flint Cottage is almost ready to be released into the big, wide world. Of course, I hope you will love it. I also hope you will not be coerced into catching any late-night trains.
~

The first time travel I wrote is now available on a Kindle Countdown Deal.

Amazon US #1 Best Seller in Books>Romance>Time Travel. If you like a romance with a little bit of mystery, a touch of humour and something of the thriller, then please grab a copy and visit another time, another place and find a love that never died.

0.99 from 25th to 31st August Hide in Time

Also on Kindle Unlimited so sort of FREE!

And to end with a quotation – I have taken one from the soon-to-be-published book:

"A dog has lots of friends because it wags its tail and not its tongue."

True?

In the US on 4th July you are celebrating: here in the UK we have a General Election. On 5th July, the UK will be reeling from the results – whatever they are.

Many people are worried about the future. I found on my travels earlier this year that our friends in New Zealand and Australia have similar worries to us. Friends in the US and Canada say the same. Thousands of miles away, yet we face similar worries and threats.

Many writers and health practitioners over the years have given us tips on how to cope with worries. As a reader and writer, I would say: read a good book. And it’s true, isn’t it? If you get lost in a book, you’re in another world.

Of course, there are many other ways: keep busy, decide if it is worth worrying – can you directly influence the cause of the worry? If so, do something positive maybe. If not, what’s the point of worrying? Again do something positive. I haven’t a clue who wrote the hymn ‘Count Your Blessings’ but I do know that if we did, we would probably realize our lives are so much better than those of our ancestors.

So let’s not rage when the ‘wrong’ party forms the government or the ‘wrong’ person is elected President, or the world is creaking under our poor management in one way or another. Let’s create happy environments for those around us. If we all try, little by little, we can change the world for the better.

All I have to do now is follow my own advice.

If you have any tips, please do share them.

One person who found he was up to his ears in trouble is Chester. Chester manages to get through some horrendous situations but eventually he helps others on the way. As an investigative journalist, he’s come up against a crime gang. And when he gets to New Zealand, he finds life is not quite what he imagined and he narrowly misses… well, I’d better not give out any spoilers.



It's on a Kindle Countdown Deal from Thursday 27th June, through until 3rd July 2024. For 0.99 if you live in the UK or US, or not much more if you’re unable to get the deal. And, of course it is FREE on Kindle Unlimited.

Immortality: This Is Probably a Novel

“Courage isn’t having the strength to go on – it’s going on when you don’t have the strength.” Napoleon Bonaparte said something similar and Theodore Roosevelt also has a claim. Or so I’ve read on Google. And oh boy am I glad someone invented Google – now there’s a blessing recently dropped on us.