In my first post of 2020, I’m pleased to invite you to enter an exclusive prize draw to win an item that features in my new novella!
Happy New Year to you! To brighten up what can be a gloomy time of year in the English countryside where I live, I’ve decided to hold a prize draw to mark the launch of my imminent novella. The Natter of Knitters will be the first in my new Tales from Wendlebury Barrow series, featuring Sophie Sayers and friends, plus plenty of new and interesting characters.
The Natter of Knitters is about a village yarnbombing event that goes wrong. The plan is to wrap a tree on the village green in handknitted scarves to raise awareness of the plight of the homeless, before the scarves are sent to an appropriate charity for distribution.
As always, Sophie finds herself volunteering to take part, despite not knowing how to knit. – but as as Carol blithely tells her, “Everyone can knit once they know how.”
From the basket in Carol’s shop, Sophie chooses wool in four floral shades of blue: forget-me-not, bluebell, cornflower and hyacinth.
Forget-me-nots are a recurring motif in the Sophie Sayers series. In her fourth adventure, Murder by the Book, her bookseller boyfriend Hector, secretly a romantic novelist, presents her on Valentine’s Day with a book called The Girl with Forget-me-Not Eyes – the colour of Sophie’s eyes, of course!
And the prize is…
The scarf Sophie knits in the story, handcrafted in a luxury mix of fine merino, silk and cashmere – see the “before” picture of the raw materials at the top of this post.
If you’d like a chance to win the finished scarf, all you have to do is join my mailing list. When you subscribe, you’ll also have the option to download a free ebook of another Sophie Sayers novella, The Pride of Peacocks. Current members of my list will also be included in the draw.
The draw will take place on 14th February 2020. Romantic? Moi? 
The Natter of Knitters will be published on or before 14th February. (I’ll confirm the precise date shortly.)
A Valentine’s Day Mystery
In the meantime, if you fancy a topical read between now and then, the fourth Sophie Sayers Village Mystery, Murder by the Book,, runs from the beginning of January to Valentine’s Day, and is available as an ebook from Amazon and all other major ebook stores, and as a paperback either from Amazon or to order from your local neighbourhood bookshop (just quote ISBN 978-1911223269 and they’ll be able to order it in for you).
JOIN MY MAILING LIST HERE FOR A CHANCE TO WIN SOPHIE’S BEAUTIFUL SCARF
I’ve always loved novels set at boarding schools and I buy every one I can find. Secrets at St. Bride’s showed up in my list of recommendations on amazon.com. I’ve never been a fan of light British village genre novels or British cozy mysteries but I loved the Malory Tower books when I was young so I decided to give Secrets at St. Bride’s a try even though I have to admit I didn’t really expect to like it. Well, I just finished reading it and I loved it so much that I can’t wait to read Stranger at St. Bride’s. Could you tell me when it will be available to buy in the U.S.? Based on how much I enjoyed Gemma and the St. Bride’s gang, I’m looking forward to giving the Sophie Sayers Village Mysteries a try.
Thank you so much for telling me, Barb, I@m thrilled to hear that! I’m currently half way through writing “Stranger at St Bride’s” – the “Stranger” in the title is an American who turns up claiming to be a descendant of Lord Bunting! I@m hoping it will be out around May time, worldwide. In the meantime, I hope that the Sophie Sayers Village Mysteries will keep you going! The sixth of Sophie’s adventures, “Murder Your Darlings”, should be out in February. And if you haven’t yet joined my mailing list and downloaded your free copy of “The Pride of Peacocks”, a Sophie Sayers short novella (about 20% of the novels’ length), please help yourself! Here’s the link: https://authordebbieyoung.com/sign-up/ There’ll also be another story of similar length, “The Natter of Knittes”, out by the end of January. (As you can see, I’ve been busy!)
I wanted to thank you, Debbie, for the way the first three Sophie Sayers Novels cheered up my hot, dry, smoky, Australian Christmas. A generous dose of fictional English village life with no bushfires in sight was just what I needed. I’ll definitely be reading more. Love the colours for the scarf!
Thank you, Lyn, I’m so glad that my stories have provided you with a little respite from the awful conditions in Australia just now. My heart goes out to you and my many friends in Australia, and I hope there is some significant relief for you all soon.
Downloaded and really enjoyed The Pride of Peacocks, the plot certainly kept me guessing 🙂
I’m so glad to hear that! I hope that you’ll also enjoy “The Natter of Knitters”, a new novelette (short novella) of similar length to “The Pride of Peacocks”, which will be launched before the end of January. More news on that one soon!
What a wonderful idea, Debbie! You’re off to a flying start for 2020.
best wishes,
Bernadette