Category: Dear Reader

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Dear Reader

Dear Reader #16

Dear Reader,

This week, I made good progress with the first draft of Snow in August, Sam Smith Mystery Series book sixteen. I write the first draft of every story at a fast pace before slowing down with the second draft. The second draft is basically the story you read, after minor adjustments during two rounds of editing. Once the second draft is complete I never make radical changes. When I write, the book is about word selection, not story building. The story building takes place during the planning and storyboarding stages. Watching a documentary this week I noticed that Alfred Hitchcock used to meticulously storyboard his movies. Personally, I think it’s a great way of storytelling, whether through the medium of movies or books.

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Alfred Hitchcock

Delighted that Sam has found new readers, in Sweden 🙂

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Pictured, a view of the Stora Sjöfallet National Park

Suzan is recording audiobook versions of Escape and Victory, to complete the series. I just listened to chapter one of Escape and Suzan’s narration is excellent. Normally, I don’t like rereading or listening to my words, but Suzan‘s narration drew me into the story.

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Here’s an example of Suzan’s narration https://hannah-howe.com/audio-books/

My latest translation, the Spanish version of Victory. Irene translated all five books in this series and it was a great pleasure working with her.

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Earlier this week, I watched North By Northwest for the first time. I will write a review of the movie on another occasion, but for now would like to mention Eva Marie Saint who, in her nineties, I am pleased to say is still with us. Eva Marie Saint offered an elegant performance in North By Northwest and is the main reason for watching this movie. She also excelled in 36 Hours, a James Garner World War Two noir movie. That movie relied on a simple, but highly effective, plot device to knit the drama together. Without giving the plot away, it relied on fingers and thumbs. I love old movies and, in all truth, the old stars were a mixed bunch. Some of the stories about them would make your toes curl. But I’ve read no such stories about Eva Marie Saint. On and off screen, she exuded class.

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Eva Marie Saint with Cary Grant in North by Northwest, 1959

As ever, thank you for your interest and support.

Hannah xxx

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Dear Reader

Dear Reader #15

Dear Reader,

Most of my writing is planned, but occasionally you have to go with the flow, and the flow at the moment is taking me towards Spain and the Spanish language.

I’m delighted to say that soon sixteen of my books will be available in Spanish, with more to follow. Thank you to my wonderful translators for making this possible.

Also, I’m absorbing Spanish culture and history through my research for The Olive Tree: A Spanish Civil War saga.

Maybe Sam will visit Spain, or a Spanish speaking country one day. That’s a lovely thought.

I’ve just completed the storyboard for Snow in August, Sam Smith Mystery Series book sixteen. For Sam, this will be an emotional story, the most emotional story since Sam’s Song.

Bernie Taupin once compared one of his later lyrics, I think it was I Want Love, to Your Song, contrasting writing with youthful exuberance to writing with experience. Snow in August covers some of the same themes as Sam’s Song, but through the filters of fifteen previous novels and Sam being older. This offers a fresh perspective on those themes. I’m very pleased with the story, and hope readers will enjoy catching up with Sam again.

A shame Boris Johnson doesn’t believe in this.

Some exciting personal news. My eldest son has been identified as ’one of Wales’ brightest students‘ and has been invited to join The Seren (Star) Network for high achievers. The Seren Network connects students with staff from leading universities to offer guidance as the students make their way through school and on to university.

This is a nice feature from Smashwords that shows where my books have sold over the past ninety days. My top five are:

America

Bulgaria

Canada

Australia

Britain

My books have also sold in:

Ireland

New Zealand

Norway

Mexico

Germany

Spain

Zimbabwe

South Africa

France

Netherlands

Italy

Greece

Singapore

Philippines

Dominican Republic

Brazil

Maths Made Simple

Lesson One: Family Finance

If your wife has £100 and you have £400 how much money does your wife have? The answer is, of course, £500. Award yourself ten points!

Ever looked at your laugh lines and thought, nothing’s THAT funny?! 😆

As ever, thank you for your interest and support.

Hannah xxx

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Dear Reader

Dear Reader #14

Dear Reader,

I took a break from my Spanish Civil War research this week to research classic movies of the Golden Age. I intend to write a mini-series about the Golden Age, but I will use a pen name because it will be different in style to my mystery series.

My main writing activity over the past week was centred on translations. During the week, I received fifteen offers to translate my books. Unfortunately, I couldn’t accept all the offers because some were duplicates. Also, I have a team of translators already in place and some of the titles have been promised to them. The standard of the applications was high and it was a shame to disappoint some people, but I hope we will find a way to work together in the future.

Also this week, I’m back in audiobook mode. Suzan Lynn Lorraine, who has narrated twelve of my books to date, started work on Escape and Victory. I am looking forward to hearing Suzan’s interpretation of these stories and to making them available to listeners sometime in the autumn.

When an author writes a book, he or she has no idea what the reader will make of the story or the characters. Sometimes, in Saving Grace for example, my characters are based on real people. However, most of the time they are totally fictitious. So it was interesting this week when I received a message from someone along with a request to meet Sam. To this reader, Sam is real, and I can think of no higher compliment.

For entertainment, and research purposes, I’m working my way through the entire series of M*A*S*H on DVD. Is this the best television series ever made? It’s hard to think of a better one.

As ever, thank you for your interest and support.

Hannah xxx

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Dear Reader

Dear Reader #13

Dear Reader,

A very busy week with translations again this week. More translations were published while others were confirmed. Along with my English language titles this means I now have 74 books published or in production.

When talking about his album, Sailing to Philadelphia, Mark Knopfler mentioned that he often creates songs when two separate ideas come together. I agree with him. My books are often a marriage of ideas. This week, I had ideas for another mini-series when two totally separate thoughts came together. I might write this mini-series under a pen-name to give readers a break from Hannah Howe, and because the subject matter is different from my mysteries. This morning, while gardening, I created a storyline. If I have a strength as a novelist it’s that ideas for stories come easy to me.

Mark Knopfler

I have received great help this week from experts with a detailed knowledge of the Spanish Civil War. In these mean-spirited times when some people are interested only in themselves and are prepared to see others suffer in the pursuit of their selfish goals it is life-affirming when kind people go out of their way to help you.

My Spanish Civil War Saga, The Olive Tree, will feature six main characters and follow their lives over the five books. Heini Hopkins, my nurse, is the main character. Heini is a rare name. It means “fit” in the Welsh language and is both female and male.

In Roots, book one, Heini is in Wales nursing her sick mother, debating whether to marry her childhood sweetheart, coal miner Deiniol Price, while collecting food, clothing and medical supplies for the people of Spain. Then the fascists bomb Guernica, killing hundreds of innocent people and, even in Wales, everything changes…

Heini’s home, Cleavis Cottage, Lamb Row, South Corneli, Glamorgan

I mentioned Mark Knopfler earlier, and here’s his classic album Sailing to Philadelphia.

As ever, thank you for your interest and support.

Hannah xxx

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Dear Reader

Dear Reader #12

Dear Reader,

Books sixteen, seventeen and eighteen in the Sam Smith Mystery Series will be Snow in August, a story about childhood trauma; Looking For Rosanna Mee, a story about how the Powers That Be abuse vulnerable people; Stormy Weather, a story about climate change. The storyboarding of Snow in August is progressing well and I intend to finish it next week.

Another busy week with my translators with three books published, all in Spanish. We also started two new translations taking the total to forty-three books in ten languages.

This week, my Spanish Civil War research focused on Lily Margaret Powell, a remarkable woman, a true heroine who volunteered to nurse in Spain during the war and was the last International Brigades nurse to leave the conflict. You can read Margaret’s remarkable story here

Margaret Powell, second left, and her medical team in Spain

My film of the week is Fallen Angel, a noir movie made in 1945. The movie reunites director Otto Preminger with Dana Andrews, who had worked together on Laura the previous year. The movie also features Alice Faye, Linda Darnell and a host of fine character actors.

While the movie doesn’t quite touch the heights of Laura – few movies do – it’s still an excellent story. Like Laura, it’s a film of two halves. In Laura, the title character didn’t appear until the second half of the film while in Fallen Angel Linda Darnell dominates the first half with a sultry performance as the femme fatale and Alice Faye blossoms in the second half; Dana Andrews links the whole piece together.

Playing a bookish, reserved woman, Alice Faye had the toughest role – noir movies are basically designed around the femme fatale and Linda Darnell shone in this part. Initially, Fallen Angel was intended to showcase Alice Faye’s talents. However, many of her scenes ended up on the cutting room floor. Some suggest that film producer Darryl F. Zanuck decided to use the film to promote Linda Darnell, his new protégé, instead of Alice Faye. Certainly, Alice Faye’s characterisation suffers from the cuts and she wasn’t pleased about it. Indeed, she retired from movies until 1962 when she made State Fair.

Alice Faye

In 1987, Alice Faye told an interviewer, “When I stopped making pictures, it didn’t bother me because there were so many things I hadn’t done. I had never learned to run a house. I didn’t know how to cook. I didn’t know how to shop. So all these things filled all those gaps.”

Linda Darnell

As a mystery author, usually I unravel a movie plot early on. And while I identified the murderer during the early scenes of Fallen Angel the movie is well crafted and until the closing scenes all the principal characters remain in the frame.

Dana Andrews

Fallen Angel is also worth watching for Alice Faye reciting the following poetic lines:

We are born to tread the Earth as angels 

to seek out Heaven this side of the sky.

But they who race alone shall stumble,

in the dark and fall from grace.

Then love alone can make the fallen angel rise,

for only two together can enter paradise.

As ever, thank you for your interest and support.

Hannah xxx