Radio interview

I was interviewed by the lovely Caro Cook for BBC radio Somerset broadcasting across the South West. My fabulous agent has managed to get the audio file and it's now on the agency youtube channel for anyne who missed it and fancies a listen. There are tips for writers and a bit of behind the scenes things for the Miss Underhay mysteries! Click Here

Picture this!

I found this fabulous picture which captures Lucy at Enderley Hall in Murder at the Bell Tower so wonderfully I thought I'd share it with you all along with a tiny snippet.

Matt glanced around for Kitty. She was assisting Lucy while the craft table was full. He wanted to speak to her to tell her about his visit to the police station and to ask if she had seen her uncle. He excused himself from the group and carried his decoration over to Kitty. “Another one for your tree.” She studied it for a moment. “What is it?” “A robin, obviously.” He was a little disgruntled at her disparagement of his artistic endeavours. “Of course, I see it now,” she grinned and hung it on the tree next to a slightly malevolent looking cherub.

Guest Blog from Verity Bright

A very warm welcome to my fellow Bookouture authors who write together as Verity Bright. Their Lady Eleanor Swift series, set in the 1920's has a new Christmassy edition today with the release of Murder in the Snow available from Amazon! https://bit.ly/2GRtSyc An English Christmas has mince pies, cheerful carols, a twinkling tree… and a murder? Thank goodness Lady Swift is on the scene! Winter, 1920. Amateur sleuth Lady Eleanor Swift is feeling festive. She is playing host to the entire village at Henley Hall for gifts, games and gingerbread. She’s also purchased perfect presents for each of her household – not forgetting the biggest bone in the butcher’s shop for her partner in crime, Gladstone the bulldog – and is looking forward to celebrating her first English country Christmas. As snowflakes fall, Eleanor is cheering on contestants in the traditional Christmas fun run in the grounds of the Hall. But tragedy strikes when one of the runners drops dead at the finish line. Dashing Detective Seldon is convinced it’s just a heart attack, but Eleanor isn’t so sure. When she finds a rather distinctive key where the man fell, Eleanor knows she’ll never rest until she finds out the truth about what happened in her own home. Next the vicar is taken ill with what looks like poison and Eleanor starts to wonder if the two cases are linked. When someone tries to frame her by planting poisoned berries in her own kitchen, she knows speed is of the essence. But the entire village was at Henley Hall for the festivities and Eleanor has enough suspects to stuff a town full of turkeys. Can she nail the true killer and clear her name in time for Christmas?

Audio version of Murder in the Bell Tower

I'm thrilled to tell you that the fabulous Alex Tregear will be narrating the audiobook version of Murder in the Bell Tower. Alex has done such a wonderful job with the other titles and I know you will all be delighted to hear that she will be narrating Kitty and Matt's latest escapade.

Murder on the Dance Floor is out!

Murder on the Dance Floor is finally out! Yippee and the cover has also been released for Murder in the Bell Tower

Researching Kitty's car

I've spent quite a bit of the weekend researching for book 6. My very grateful thanks go to Julian Chair of Torbay Old Wheels club for generously giving up his time to give me a wonderfully informative socially distanced tour of his fabulous cars. Historical accuracy is very important to me and I spend a lot of time ensuring that I'm as accurate as possible with the period.

Almost time!

Murder on the Dance Floor will be out very soon - October 28th! Don't forget you can preorder now. Book 5, tentatively titled Murder in Midwinter is with my editor and I'm waiting to hear what she thinks! In the meantime I'm about to start writing book 6 Murder to Order so I'm busy with research in Torquay and Brixham.

Approaching October

A quick reminder that as Nell Dixon if you want a fun novella with a spooky twist you can get Lights, Camera poltergeist and Cue Me In from Amazon for just 99p

New Contract!

I'm so excited to share my news of a new 3 book contract with Bookouture to bring more stories about Kitty and Matt to the page. The fifth book, tentatively titled Murder in Midwinter is just being polished up now ready to send to my fabulous editor. Murder on the DanceFloor is out, as you know, for preorder and will be with you in just over a month.

Guest blogger - Morton S Gray

I know that Helena Dixon loves Devon and doesn’t need much excuse to disappear there. She always says it is about research for her books though ;-). When she invited me to feature on her blog to celebrate the launch of my fourth novel for Choc Lit, Sunny Days at the Beach, I started to think about my favourite places by the coast. I couldn’t live further from the sea if I tried, but always love a walk on a beach to recharge my batteries and my soul. I’ve limited myself to listing four favourite seaside places ... 1. Woolacombe, Devon – My eldest son and I always had an annual holiday in Woolacombe. We didn’t like the main beach, but loved Barricane beach with its rock pools and streams. We loved it so much that at one time I was considering relocating to the seaside town. 2. Llandanawg, North Wales – When my best friend had a caravan at Llandanawg, my youngest son and I used to go and stay with her. The beach is lovely with a bonus view of Snowdon. The guy at the little café writes very amusing Facebook posts about the weather each day, check out Y Maes Café. I have fond memories of beachcombing. 3. Bamburgh, Northumberland – We have had some of our all-time favourite family holidays at Bamburgh. We love the town, love the beach and having a castle to look at makes it even more special. Can’t beat a meal at The Lord Crewe Arms either! 4. Llanbedrog, North Wales – This is our new favourite place! We have only been here once last year, but will return. The beach isn’t as big as Bamburgh’s, but still great for beachcombing and collecting seaglass. The café at the art gallery Plas Glyn Y Weddw is fantastic and the gallery worth a visit or two. We loved wandering across the headland to Abersoch, which has another fantastic beach and town. One of the questions I get asked quite often is where my fictional seaside town of Borteen, where all of my published novels for Choc Lit are set, is located. The honest answer is that it is purely fictional, set on the east coast of England, but a genuine mix of all of the seaside places I have loved over the years. About the Author – Morton S Gray Morton lives with her husband, two sons and Lily, the tiny white dog, in Worcestershire, U.K. She has been reading and writing fiction for as long as she can remember, penning her first attempt at a novel aged fourteen. She is a member of the Romantic Novelists’ Association and The Society of Authors. Her debut novel The Girl on the Beach was published after she won the Choc Lit Publishing Search for a Star competition in 2016. This story follows a woman with a troubled past as she tries to unravel the mystery surrounding her son’s new headteacher, Harry Dixon.​ Morton’s second book for Choc Lit The Truth Lies Buried is another romantic suspense novel, The story of Jenny Simpson and Carver Rodgers as they uncover secrets from their past. Christmas at Borteen Bayis Morton’s first Christmas novella. It is set in her fictional seaside town of Borteen and follows the story of Pippa Freeman, who runs the Rose Court Guest House with her mother, and local policeman Ethan Gibson, as they unravel a family secret as Christmas approaches. Morton previously worked in the electricity industry in committee services, staff development and training. She has a Business Studies degree and is a fully qualified Clinical Hypnotherapist and Reiki Master. She also has diplomas in Tuina acupressure massage and energy field therapy. She enjoys crafts, history and loves tracing family trees. Having a hunger for learning new things is a bonus for the research behind her books. You can catch up with Morton with the following links:- Website and blog at www.mortonsgray.com Twitter @MortonSGray Facebook page – Morton S. Gray Author - https://www.facebook.com/mortonsgray/ Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/morton_s_gray/ About the Book – Sunny Days at the Beach From party nights at the pub to sunny days at the beach ... Craft shop owner Mandy Vanes has always enjoyed a commitment-free singleton lifestyle — in fact, she’s well-known for her wild ways in her small seaside town on the coast. But when local teenager, Nick Crossten, turns to her for help, Mandy has the opportunity to prove she can be a responsible adult. Although things get tricky when gin distillery owner Graham Frankley comes to town with some unexpected news. Could this mean that Mandy the party girl is finally ready to grow up? Buying Link for Sunny Days at the Beach - https://www.choc-lit.com/dd-product/sunny- days-at-the-beach/

Murder on the Dance Floor

I'm excited to share my cover reveal for Murder on the Dance Floor https://t.co/lJhccqAfTb

Murder At The Playhouse is out!

Grab your copy!

Not long now!

Murder at The Playhouse releases on June 30th! I'm so excited to be sharing this story with you all. Book 4, Murder on The Dance Floor has just had it's first round of edits and I'm looking forward to seeing the cover art. Kitty and Matt fans will love this one! I'm just starting book 5 which will be Murder at Christmas with a return to Enderley Hall! So lots going on.

Murder At Enderley Hall is a best seller!

Lovely to see Murder at Enderley Hall gaining orange best seller flags in the USA and Canada lately. Thank you too for all the lovely letters and emails I've had from readers saying how much they are enjoying Matt and Kitty's adventures. Lots of you asking if they will get together! You'll have to wait and see on that one. I've just completed the first draft of book 4. No fixed title yet. As soon as I know I'll post about it for you.

Celebration!

I'm thrilled to announce that I've signed a new 2 book contract with Bookouture for my historical cozy crime mystery series!

Special Offer

With Murder at Enderley Hall now available and Murder at The Playhouse available for preorder my lovely publishers are offering my UK readers the chance to grab the ebook version of Murder At The Dolphin Hotel for just 99p for a limited time!

Murder at The Playhouse

The scene is set for murder… and Kitty Underhay’s partner has been cast as the killer. Woohoo! We’re delighted to reveal the cover for @NellDixon's MURDER AT THE PLAYHOUSE (A Miss Underhay Mystery)! Out June 30th but you can pre order your copy here: geni.us/B085QNNFWHCover

Life and things

Well, a lot has happened since my last post. I finally had my left hip replaced a week ago so am busy mastering the elbow crutches at the moment. Many thanks to everyone who has bought and reviewed Murder at The Dolphin Hotel and preordered Murder at Enderley Hall. Your support and love for Miss Kitty Underhay is hugely appreciated. I'm thrilled to be able to confirm that the title of the 3rd book is Murder at the Playhouse. I can't wait to be able to share the cover as it's fabulous! In the meantime, I did an interview with lovely Clare https://clarerhoden.com/2020/02/28/murder-is-a-cosy-treat-with-helena-dixon/

February Already!

Structural edits are back with my lovely editor for book three. The title is still to be confirmed. I've been calling it Murder on the Eleventh Tee but we're considering Murder at The Play House since a lot of the action is centered around the Pavillion Theatre in Torquay. It's very sad these days to see such a beautiful building all closed up. I really hope they will find a new purpose for it and return it to it's former glory. This shows the interior in the late 1920's

Who remembers these?

Structural edits have arrived for book 3, but I found these little beauties for my research. Who remembers collecting cigarette cards and putting them in albums? I remember them from the seventies but these are from Kitty and Matt's era.

PLR

Huge thanks to everyone who has borrowed any of my books from the library. Libraries are so important and it made me so happy to see that so many of you are able to read my books or listen on audio through them. Don't forget you can ask the library to order them in if you can't find them there. Many are available in large print too.

Audio book news!

I'm very excited to say that the wonderful Alex Tregear is going to narrate the audio book for Murder at Enderley Hall. She did such a brilliant job with Murder at The Dolphin Hotel so I know this is going to be fab. If you like audio books but haven't tried it yet click one of these links. UK: zpr.io/taWwH US: zpr.io/taWwf Happy Listening!

Milestones

I always believe that it's important to celebrate the small achievements in life. When I signed my contract for Bookouture my lovely daughters got me a pandora bracelet with a bead that says 'a dream is a wish your heart makes'. This is a quote from one of my favourite Disney films, Sleeping Beauty. Today I added this lovely blue 'wave' bead to mark Murder at The Dolphin Hotel's successful release.