Book news!!

I'm thrilled to say that I've signed a new contract with Bookouture for 6 more books! You can read all about it HERE

It's a twofer!

Huge excitement today with the release of The Seaside Murders - the second in the Secret Detective Agency series - and the cover reveal for book 3 - Murdr most British!

Grab your preorder HERE And if you haven't yet got your mitts on this little beauty.

Then you can get it HERE In fact, you can get all three books for less than a fiver if you do it now!!!

Guest Blogger - Karen King

A warm welcome to the fabulous Karen King and her shiny fun new book,The Runaway Wives. Here is the back cover blurb: 'We’re leaving. And there’s nothing either of you can do about it!’ When the surprise holiday Dee thinks her husband has booked for her sixtieth birthday weekend turns out to be yet another solo golfing break – it’s the last straw. Meanwhile her best friend Babs’s other half has decided to move to Spain and is acting like he doesn’t need to consult anyone. Not even Babs! Well, if their husbands think they can do what they want, so can their wives. So, with that thought, the two best friends leap into Dee’s trusty car and head for the seaside, and an adventure they’ll never forget. Back home their furious husbands want them to return immediately. But – as they begin to enjoy their newfound freedom – will either of the runaway wives ever want to come back home again? An absolutely hilarious, uplifting, escapist story, perfect for fans of Maddie Please, Judy Leigh and Dawn French.

Doesn't that sound fun? I asked Karen to tell us the inspiration behind the book: As a ‘golden yearer’ myself, I love the present trend to base stories around older characters, to show them dealing with life’s problems, coping with relationships, having fun and just generally living their life. I’ve written a few romcoms where the main characters are in their twenties or thirties and I really wanted to change that so was delighted when Boldwood offered me a three book contract to write ‘golden years’ women’s fiction. The Runaway Wives is the first book in this contract. I really enjoyed writing this book. I had so much fun writing about Dee and Babs, the main characters, who set off for a week in Cornwall when both their husbands make selfish decisions without consulting them. I’ve always loved Cornwall, regularly holidaying there when my four daughters were young, and finally moving there in 1999. I lived in Cornwall for several years and have some wonderful memories. It’s the ideal place for getting away from it all and was perfect for Dee and Babs to ‘run away’ to and have some fun together. It was a nostalgic trip down memory lane to write about the cobbled streets, sandy beaches and picturesque harbour in the fictional village of Port Telwyn. As the week goes by Dee and Babs both have to come to terms with the fact that their long marriages might be over. People often stop in relationships that aren’t really working for many reasons, maybe they feel that they’re too old to start again or they feel a loyalty to their partner because they’ve been together so long, but then something happens and they have a tough decision to make. Do they trudge on miserably or go it alone? That’s what both Dee and Babs have to decide. I firmly believe that it’s never too late to have a second chance at life. I myself remarried at fifty-eight and moved to Spain with my husband Dave when we were both in our sixties. You’re never too old to start over and try something new. About Karen: Karen King writes psychological suspense and women's fiction and is celebrating her fortieth year of publication. She has also had 120 children’s books, two young adult novels, and several short stories for women’s magazines published. Her early writing career was spent writing for Jackie and other teenage and children's magazines including Winnie the Pooh and Barbie. Her suspense novels The Mother In Law, The Perfect Stepmother and The Stranger in my Bed and her romantic novel The Cornish Hotel by the Sea all became International Amazon bestsellers and several of her books have been translated into other languages. You can get your copy of The Runaway Wives HERE

Guest Blogger - Hannah Dennison

A warm welcome to my writerly friend Hannah Dennison. Hannah is the author of the fabulous Honeychurch Hall series and today sees the launch of book 11!! A Fatal Feast at HoneyChurch Hall. I asked Hannah to pop in to talk a bit about the story behind the series, what inspires her to write. Here's what she had to say:Thank you to Helena for hosting me today! Writers are often asked where we get our ideas—and whether we’re ever afraid we’ll run out of them. I think I can speak for my fellow scribes when I say: ideas are everywhere. What I do worry about is running out of time. I’ll never write all the stories I want to before I either drop dead or become completely senile. That said, writing a long-running series—A Fatal Feast at Honeychurch Hall is book 11—comes with challenges. It’s harder than you’d think to come up with new and inventive ways to bump someone off. I’ve had more than one idea only to remember, “Oh no, I already did that in book three.” And don’t get me started on cliff-hanger moments… there are only so many times my heroine can get lost on Dartmoor. The spark for this new mystery came with our village flyer announcing the annual safari supper fundraiser. Instead of traveling across the veld to spot exotic animals, guests would enjoy a progressive dinner party, to enjoy a different course at a different home. What an excellent setting for … murder. Still, the seed (no pun intended) of a new story is always out there. In fact, just this morning I stumbled across an article about rare snowdrops and the fierce rivalries between collectors— galanthophiles, as they’re known. Let’s just say... book twelve may involve something far more dangerous than a gardening trowel.

About the book! When Eric Pugsley, who runs the unsightly scrapyard on the Honeychurch Hall estate, brings home his Turkish fiancée, everyone is delighted - even if the marriage does seem to include her outrageously feisty mother. A Safari Supper at the Hall is held in their honour, but trouble begins when, somewhere between the first course and dessert, one of the villagers goes missing and is later found drowned in the estate's ornamental lake. Rumours of foul play abound, given that competition is fierce to clinch a trophy at the upcoming Flower and Produce Festival, where sabotage had already come into play when someone released a herd of goats into the village allotments and one of the planned entries was eaten. But things take an even more sinister turn when Eric asks our heroine, Kat Stanford, to value the bride-to-be's 19th century Etruscan engagement ring, only to be told that historically it was used to carry poison - hardly an appropriate choice for love, but Eric is adamant it's what his fiancée wants. And then a second body is found... unearthing a hotbed of sabotage, blackmail, and old grudges. Grab a copy Kindle or order HERE with free shipping! Hannah Dennison is the author of the Honeychurch Hall Mysteries, the Vicky Hill Mysteries, and the Island Sisters Mysteries. You can find Hannah on Facebook Instagram and on her website

Verity Bright is back!

A wam welcome back to Verity Bright and their wonderful new book, A Recipe For Murder. You can get your copy HERE

Cream cakes, cucumber sandwiches, apple tarts and… poison? Lady Swift is trying to plan the menu for her wedding, until murder strikes in kitchens across the village! Lady Eleanor Swift’s marriage to dashing Chief Inspector Hugh Seldon is just days away. There’s a lot to organise from the dress to the catering, including, of course, the all-important wedding cake. But Eleanor is heartbroken when their chef, apple-cheeked Annie Tibetts, dies of poisoning. And as the doctor confirms her death wasn’t an accident, accusations fly around the whole community. With more of the village struck down by the poison, Eleanor must unmask a killer who seems intent on spreading chaos amongst her nearest and dearest. Everyone is accusing their neighbour… and Eleanor is in a pickle as the seating plans for the wedding fall apart. But she soon has bigger fish to fry when the source of the poison is traced to a trusted establishment in town. Eleanor is certain they are being framed and that sabotage is afoot… And when a sample of poisoned wedding cake is delivered anonymously to Hugh working at his station miles away in Oxford, Eleanor realises that while she has been planning for the future, her past has been catching up with her. Eleanor must race across the countryside to save her love from certain death. Can Eleanor find the proof in the pudding and save Hugh in time? And will the poisoner finally get their just desserts?

Release day for The Secret Detective Agency!

Release day at last for the first book in the Secret Detective Agency series. Book 2, The Seaside Murders is out at the end of next month. So, if you like Agatha Christie type twisty plots, world war 2 settings and quirky characters then this is the book for you. Includes added catitude with Marmaduke the one eyed ginger cat.

Meet Miss Jane Treen – the coffee-drinking cat lover dressed head to toe in tweed, who just happens to be a secret super sleuth! London, 1941: Miss Jane Treen is at her desk, strong black coffee in hand and fluffy ginger cat by her side, when her top-secret government work is interrupted by an urgent call to Devon. A woman has been found dead in a lake in a place where she shouldn’t have been. Jane needs to gather the clues and find the killer before someone else from the agency gets hurt… Shy and handsome code-breaker Arthur Cilento is bewildered by the arrival of the efficient Miss Treen and her cat Marmaduke. She bursts into his life unexpectedly, forcing him out of his comfort zone. The reluctant colleagues huddle near the warmth of a crackling fire in Arthur's country home, working to piece together the murderous puzzle at hand. In the sleepy Devon village, someone is hiding something: but is it the busybody vicar and his sister, the dutiful housekeeper and her secretive son, the stern librarian, or someone else altogether? And who were the people with the woman in the lake on the day she died? No sooner have Arthur and Jane have drawn up a list of suspects, than a parcel reveals a clue that sends them in hot pursuit of a coded diary stashed in a village church. But as the heavy wooden door slams behind them and a key turns in the lock, one thing is sure: they need to unravel the truth and crack this code before the killer decides their number is up… But if they can catch the culprit in time, might this unusual pair become the finest crime-solving partnership since Holmes and Watson hung up their hats…? If you love twisty crime novels, top-secret intrigue and the very best of Golden Age mysteries, then you will adore Helena Dixon’s totally gripping cozy novel, perfect for fans of Agatha Christie, T E Kinsey and Verity Bright! You can get your copy HERE Tomorrow I have a big launch party planned here in Devon and I'll pop some pics up afterwards!

London Book Fair

This week is London Book Fair, a massive trade gathering for publishers and overseas buyers. I cannot begin to tell you how thrilled I was when my agent sent me this pic of the Hachette stand. (Bookouture, my publisher are part of Hachette)For years my dream has been to see a book of mine on a big poster in a railway station or on the Underground. I used to joke that was when I would know I had made it. Getting this pic today made me cry good tears. It's been a dream for so long and London Book Fair is such a huge thing. To have my title selected for this kind of attention is incredible. When I signed my last contract I never even got a mention in the Bookseller - the book trade magazine. It was a six book contract for Miss Underhay and then a 3 book contract for The Secret Detectives so you know you would have thought... So this is just fantastic

Not long now till it's released and you can read it for yourself on March 27th!!!!!