Q. What’s a literary Easter egg?
A. It’s a little surprise tucked away in a story to amuse readers smart enough to spot it.
Today I’m going to tell you about some of the Easter eggs hidden in my books, how some of my author friends like to play the same game, and how to get a free Kindle ebook of my fun little novelette, The Clutch of Eggs – the perfect read for Easter weekend.
Usually my last blog post of each month is a conversation with a fellow author, often about their new book. But this month, as I’ve just launched my latest cosy mystery novel, The Importance of Being Murdered, I’ll be talking to myself!
So, here’s a quick Q&A to whet you appetite for my new story.
Keep reading through to the end, you’ll find not only a buying link to The Importance of Being Murdered, but also a link to a FREE prequel short story that sets the scene, Overture and Beginnners.
“There is no sin except stupidity” is the provocative Oscar Wilde epigram I chose for my page in my high school yearbook. I’ve always loved Wilde’s way with words, so last year, when writing a murder mystery playscript about an amateur dramatic society, I set it around their rehearsals for Wilde’s comedy play, The Importance of Being Earnest. Cheekily, I named my playscript The Importance of Being Murdered, and later turned it into a novel, which will be published next month.
As I plan my writing and speaking schedule for 2026, I share my top tip for how to convince yourself you’re making the most of your time – and in the postscript share my completed temperature blanket for 2025.
In 1812, when John Letts, founder of the printing, bookbinding, and stationery business Letts of London, launched the first pre-printed diary, it was an overnight success. In the pre-digital era, this combined calendar and journal provided a revolutionary way of keeping track of past and future events in a single volume. The name Letts soon became synonymous with diaries. The company continued to expand its range of diaries long after John Letts had written his final entry.
In today’s new blog post, I’m sharing my latest column for the Tetbury Advertiser, plus a sneak preview of my new novel, Death at the Christmas Village Fair, which launches on 16th August, and reviews of recent holiday reads.
Tidying the mug shelf in my walk-in larder, I’m mourning the fact that only my favourite mugs ever get broken. I’m down to a single bone-china Cath Kidston, surrounded by numerous unwanted chunky ones. Similarly, I only ever seem to lose my best earrings.
Of course, that’s because they’re the ones I use the most. I must face facts and stop blaming the Borrowers – those tiny folk that live behind the wainscotting, stealing our things while we’re not looking, according to children’s author Mary Norton. Even so, I’m convinced some live in my house.
