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Ann's War Books and Background Mini Mystery Sam Smith Mystery Series

Books and Background #6

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Published today, Invasion, book two in the Ann’s War Mystery Series. Invasion is a novella set in July 1944, at the time of the D-Day landings. The story centres on an American army camp located on a stretch of South Wales sand dunes. The soldiers have been at the camp for nine months, preparing for the landings. Ann becomes involved when a colleague at the Women’s Institute is concerned about Adeline, the colleague’s daughter. Adeline has been walking out with Sergeant Glenn Henley, an American soldier. But what has become of them? Meanwhile, Ann is concerned about her husband, Emrys, who is missing in action. When news of Emrys arrives on Ann’s doorstep, will it be bad or good? Invasion is priced at $0.99, £0.99 and €0.99, and is available as an eBook and paperback from all major retail outlets. Betrayal, book one in this series, is currently available FREE. Audio book versions of these stories will follow later this month.

A Parcel of Rogues has been added to my store. Brand new, mint condition paperbacks from only £0.99 😃 https://hannah-howe.com/mystore/

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Streams. When I started promoting only one stream seemed viable – social media to Amazon. While that stream still plays an important part, it is just one of many options open to my books. My promotional goal for 2018 is to increase my streams, so that they lead to iBooks, Kobo, Smashwords, Barnes and Noble, the Welsh Books Council, local outlets, independent bookstores, my website and Amazon. To achieve this, I already have partnerships in place with local and national businesses, cultural groups and more. These streams will augment twenty-five promotional streams already in place, and I’m currently in discussion with businesses and individuals to add more. Many of these streams are based on partnerships, which makes this the most exciting phase of my writing career to date.

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A sneak preview of my first article for the Seaside News. Plus, a five-star review for Sam’s Song. “Fantastic read! I would recommend this book to anyone who loves plot twists, with characters you can identify with. Love this book.” 😃

 

 

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Ann's War Books and Background Sam Smith Mystery Series Saving Grace

Books and Background #2

FACEBOOK HEADER SAM AND ANN

A Parcel of Rogues, Sam Smith Mystery Series book thirteen, was published on 1st January. You can read full details about the book here

The River Wye plays a crucial role in A Parcel of Rogues. This painting of the River Wye was created by Thomas Jones, 1742 – 1803, a highly respected Welsh landscape painter. He was the son of Thomas Jones and Hannah 😃

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The writing of Saving Grace, my forthcoming Victorian novel, has reached the courtroom stage of the story. This is a scene from the Balham Inquest, the true story my novel is based on. As you can see, the courtroom is crowded. Indeed, interest in the case was so great that people were bribing police officers to get in.

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Saving Grace and Professor Vernon Pennington gives evidence on the first day of the inquest into the poisoning of banker Charles Petrie. This is an amazing chapter to write because it contains a dramatic incident that goes beyond the realms of fiction, yet it is true. For an author, true satisfaction comes from a successful writing session 😃

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This morning, while writing my 1944-5 mini-series, I had an idea to take a character forward ten years into the mid-1950s. The story would be a mystery, influenced by classics such as Tiger Bay.

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Sam’s Song began the year in the top ten of the private investigator’s chart and, I’m pleased to say, the book ends the year in the top ten of that chart, with five #1 positions in between. Many thanks to everyone who made this possible.

 

 

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Sam Smith Mystery Series

Sam’s Sunday Supplement #1

Welcome to Sam’s Sunday Supplement, #1, a weekly digest of news from Sam’s world.

We published Stardust this week, book ten in the Sam Smith Mystery Series, and I’m delighted to say that the book smashed my pre-order record and was included in the Amazon America and Amazon France top fifty hot new releases. Also, this weekend, Smoke and Mirrors, a number three book in France, broke into the Amazon.com top one hundred. Meanwhile, Sam’s Song continues to hold a place in the Amazon top twenty.

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This week, I made a start on Mind Games, book eleven in the series. Mind Games is a love story, ‘of sorts’. If you read the book you will see what I mean. Mind Games centres on Sasha, a young chess player. The book also develops Faye’s story.
I’m delighted to say that Suzan Lynn Lorraine has agreed to narrate Secrets and Lies, her sixth Sam Smith narration. Suzan is a very talented narrator who brings her acting and radio experience to the characters and it’s always a thrill to work with her. We hope to have Secrets and Lies ready for an early summer release.

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Along with a number of experts, we are looking into the prospect of producing a Sam Smith Mystery card game, along with other associated Sam projects. Discussions are at an early stage, but if we can make it happen it would be fun to do. Watch this space.
When you write from life, as I do, you hope to capture a moment of authenticity, to present a situation that people will recognize as true. That’s why I was delighted to receive this five-star review on Amazon: “Super Sleuth. Her (Sam’s) dealings with an abusive ex husband were spot on. Can’t wait to read more.” If you have read a Sam Smith book and enjoyed it, please consider leaving a short, one line, review. It would make a big difference to potential readers, and make my day.
As ever, thank you for your interest and support. More news next week. Meanwhile, remember this 😃

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Sam Smith Mystery Series

Sam’s Song Five Star Review

A five-star review for Sam’s Song, the 72nd review of the book

Sam is a Private Detective with a lot of baggage. Others have done well to describe the storyline so I want to focus on content and quality. For me, this was a solid five star read. The character development is amazing and by the end of the first chapter the reader has a pretty good idea of just how messed up Sam’s life really is. Add in the constant drama of self-indulgent, sometimes crazy supporting characters that make it difficult to discern fact from fiction, bad guys that you instantly dislike and an ex-husband that needs a good throat punch and you have a novel that you just can’t help but enjoy.

The book is professionally edited with few if any errors, the plot is suspenseful and the overall story is truly engaging. Sam’s Song has it all – suspense, drama and hope. Throughout the novel the author navigates the reader through a suspenseful investigation while experiencing a rollercoaster ride of humor, frustration, anger and love. For me, the characters made the plot realistic… each character had flaws, which made their story even more genuine and enjoyable. Even lovable, caring Dr. Storey had some baggage he was struggling to overcome. I would definitely recommend it to others and look forward to reading the next book in this series.

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Sam Smith Mystery Series

Here, There and Everywhere

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The idea of setting the Sam Smith Mystery Series in my home city of Cardiff seemed a logical and natural one. Initially, I thought that most of my readers would come from Cardiff. However, two years later, I’ve discovered that they are in a minority because the Sam Smith Mystery Series is now being read in America, Australia, Canada, England, France, Germany, Italy, Ireland, the Netherlands, Scotland, Spain, Wales and the West Indies. Most of the stories will continue to be set in Cardiff, though following the example of book five, The Hermit of Hisarya, other books in the series will be set in Europe, with America and Australia as further possibilities.