The proof copies of In Her Defence have landed!

Yah! They are here! Two copies of In Her Defence exist!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Available for pre-order – publication date 4th April. (eproofs available for reviewers now – just drop me a line)

 

Potential Cover #inherdefence #fiction

Finding a cover for any book is tricky and finding something striking that speaks of the story, without using the usual cliched imagery that date a book so quickly, and is also eye catching is trickier still.

The next book in my WW2 crime series Bunch Courtney Investigates  has the working title of In Her Defence. The story is all about perceptions of who and what people were in the turbulent throws of May 1940 when the very real threat of imminent invasion and the instigation if internment prompted deep suspicion of anyone who was not ‘local’ or at least ‘known’ to the population at large. A time when even long standing friendships forged in childhood can and were called into question.

So far the image below is the most serious contender for In Her Defence.

 

Winter Downs #GuestPost @Jancoledwards @BunchandDodo @penkhullpress

Winter Downs blog for Ali The Dragon Slayer.

First posted June 4th here 

Alison Drew: I’m beyond thrilled to be on the blog tour today for this wonderful book .. it’s a little piece of ‘home’ for me  x

Bunch Courtney stumbles upon the body of Jonathan Frampton in a woodland clearing. Is this a case of suicide, or is it murder? Bunch is determined to discover the truth but can she persuade the dour Chief Inspector Wright to take her seriously? In January of 1940 a small rural community on the Sussex Downs, already preparing for invasion from across the Channel, finds itself deep in the grip of a snowy landscape, with an ice-cold killer on the loose.

Purchase  Here

***

Jan Edwards:
The most commonly asked questions any author can usually be simplified as why, where and who – so here goes: What is Winter Downs about? In January of 1940 a small rural community on the Sussex Downs, already preparing for invasion from across the Channel, finds itself deep in the grip of a snowy landscape, with an ice-cold killer on the loose. Bunch Courtney stumbles upon the body of Jonathan Frampton in a woodland clearing. Is this a case of suicide, or is it murder? Bunch is determined to discover the truth but can she persuade the dour Chief Inspector Wright to take her seriously?

Where is simple. Sussex was the county in which I was born. A farm on the edge of the Sussex Downs and to my mind it is simply the most beautiful place on earth. Oddly, though, when you add East and West Sussex together, it is one of the largest counties, it is one of those least known in the UK and many mistake it for Essex! To be fair that may be because there are so very few towns of any size until you reach the coastal strip. It is rich in folklore and folk people and in 1940 was poised on the leading edge of the war waging just 30 miles away across the English Channel. The South Downs are spinal cord of chalk hills stretching from the Kent shores into Hampshire. Much of it was made a National Park just a few years ago (map) to preserve its beauty from the scourge of the housing developers.

Walk the fields in that area you are sure to find one of the many pill boxes and dugouts; hurriedly constructed preparations against the expected invasion in WW2. By the 1960s these historic and ominous structures were little more than a magnet for children at play. I had not realised the influence their presence had on me until it came to writing a crime novel.

My sleuth, Rose ‘Bunch’ Courtney, was based loosely on the daughter of a local land owner that I knew in passing a very long time ago. She was one of those self-assured young women as much at home mucking out horses as dancing at the Ritz. Had she been of the right age in those days of hardship she would have had the resources required to dabble in amateur detection. I knew many country folk like the Jenner brothers whilst growing up in a farming community. The old countrymen they were based on are all gone now, but hopefully I have done them, and their long vanished Sussex accent, justice in fictional form.

It was in the course of researching the world of farming folk of the era that I read how many of the large country houses were requisitioned by the Government in 1939 – and voila! Setting, sleuth and era all came together as Winter Downs.
The Winter Downs cover, designed my Peter Coleborn, was based on a propaganda poster urging women to Join the Land Army! An issue that was high on the rural Sussex agenda, and of course the addition of the snow, the planes overhead and rolling hills said all that needed to be said – yes we did consider adding the odd corpse or two, but that seemed a little like over-kill…

Once I had the time and place I could dive into research mode! I love digging out all of those snippets that were forgotten, or in some cases papered over. For instance a comment was made at my writing group that nobody carried a gas mask. I hit the internet, and the books, and came across many references to the fact that though films of the era – fact and fiction – assured viewers that everyone carried a gas mask everywhere because that was the law, nothing could be further from the truth. Millions of masks were issued through 1939 and 1940 but carrying it with you was never made law and by January 1940, when Winter Downs is set, less than 20% of people bothered taking their gas mask anywhere.

Writing Winter Downs was a lot of fun to write. I really have come to be very fond of Bunch and Wright. Onwards and upwards now to finish book two in the series!

***

Alison’s Review:

As soon as I heard about this book I knew I was destined to read it! I am Sussex born and bred so could easily visualise the scenes and my mother was actually in the Land Army in the relevant time period so I feel I had an advantage. Whether that enhanced my enjoyment I’m not sure because it is such an endearing story so from the outset you instinctively go back to that era of the 1940’s.

Jan’s descriptive writing forms the basis for the tension and bleakness of war, the cold sometimes lonely downs and the austerity that was around, Winter Downs is the perfect title and I think you will agree the cover is simply stunning.

Two sisters, totally different in character but with a deep bond .. Bunch and Dodo find themselves in the middle of a mystery. After finding the body of a local man known to them Bunch is determined to prove that he wouldn’t/didn’t commit suicide and that something more sinister has taken place.

Due to lack of police or suitable funding because of the war, Chief Inspector Wright is adamant it is an open/shut case of suicide and the matter should be dropped.

So begins the search for a possible killer. Bunch and Dodo are already having to adapt to a completely alien way of life after the soldiers took over their house and they had to relocate to grandma, add in rationing, black-outs and the uncertainty of war. Dodo has already lost her husband in the fighting so Bunch is incredibly protective, this all results in the need for an answer. If it was murder then there could be further danger imminent.

I enjoyed finding out about these two women as their individuality emerges, Bunch is the feisty one of the two and I admire her determination to discover the truth. It kept me hooked as the puzzle deepens and I really couldn’t see how there was going to be a satisfactory ending.

The setting is beautifully described and for anyone who doesn’t have knowledge of Sussex it is a charming county steeped in history, yes I may be biased but it was so refreshing to read and absorb my local dialect which reminds me of my grandparents!

Anyone who likes historical fiction with a strong mix of characters will relish this story. Eerie, chilling and riveting I wholly recommend it.  I’m already looking forward to more from Jan. I think this is a book that will stay with me long after finishing it and I’m likely to re-read and discover even more from it.

My thanks go to Jan for my copy of Winter Downs and for inviting me to participate in the blog tour. I read and reviewed voluntarily.

 

Winter Downs reprise : Nelli Rees – the Casting #winterdowns #crime #reading

Continuing my reprise of the Winter Downs blog tour  here is the posting hosted by the writer and jazz singer Nelli Rees – originally posted here.

***

Jan Edwards has had her new novel “Winter Downs” published (Penkhull Press). Find below more information about the book and the writer, as well as what Jan said when asked, who would be playing the main parts if her book were made into a film or a TV series (you all know my passion for movies!).

This is the reply I got from Jan to my question, who she would like to play the parts if the book were dramatised:

When Nelli asked me who I would cast for Winter Downs as a film or TV series I have to admit to a slight panic; not least because I can never remember names! After a monster Googling session I have come up with a few possibilities for just the main protags on either side. (The full cast would take months!).

As this is a game of fantasy casting I decided that money would be no object and angled that my imagination could come up with – taken from the great and the good in British acting!

Winter Downs the movie would star:

The good guys: Rose ‘Bunch’ Courtney: 30 years old. Dark hair and hazel eyes. More at home in jodhpurs than the designer clothes one of her standing is expected to wear. Very capable, athletic and terribly posh. Michelle Dockery would be the main woman. But Emily Blunt would also be a good fit, or Kate Beckinsale. Though Kristen Scott Thomas is the image I had in mind as I was writing.

Daphne ‘Dodo’ Tinsley – Bunch’s sister: 20 years old but the war has already made her a widow. She is shapely and blonde – young for her age but with a hint of sadness about her. Far more of a classic ‘English Rose’ than Bunch. Emma Watson was an obvious choice. Followed by Antonia Clarke, or Gabriella Wilde?

Chief Inspector Wright : Forty+ years old. Tall, bordering on gaunt with a deceptive calm, which lulls suspects into mistaking him for an ordinary man. Jude Law or Benedict Cumberbatch are my obvious first choices, with James McAvoy as back up.

 

On the side of villainy:

Olivia Tinsley: late 40s early 50s. An elegant woman with an edge, who knows what she wants and gets it. Joanna Lumley would always be my front runner, followed by Anna Chancellor.

 

Percy Guest : one of those men who looks anywhere between 35 and 50. An east end villain, slightly built with a whipcord agility, easy going charm that can switch into menace at a blink. David Tennant obviously! Subs on that team are Jason Flemyng or maybe Danny Dyer.

Now that I have got started I could go on… but five is probably enough

Winter Downs by Jan Edwards, Penkhull Press,ISBN 978-0-9930008-6-7

Available in Paperback and Kindle edition: UK  and US

Latest Interview for Winter Downs at Gaslight Crime #crimefiction #winterdowns #kindle #books

An Interview With  

Crime Author Jan Edwards

We’re (Gaslight Crime) delighted to bring you an interview with writer Jan Edwards, author of the newly published historical crime novel Winter Downs.

I absolutely loved Winter Downs, which takes place in a fascinating time in a lovely part of Sussex that Kipling called our blunt, blow-headed, whale-backed Downs. The perfect setting for the first novel in an atmospheric new crime series. If you enjoy classic, Golden Age style whodunits with engaging sleuths, a twisting plot and a wonderful sense of place – you’re in for a great treat.

Here’s Jan to tell us about Winter Downs and her writing process…

Read the full interview here: An Interview With Crime Author Jan Edwards

Winter Downs Q&A #crimefiction #jennybarber #sussex #janedwards

Continuing  my blog tour reprise:  Q&A originally posted on Jenny Barber’s web page  on 3rd June 2017

***

“Winter Downs Blog Tour, celebrating the launch of the ever excellent Jan Edwards’ new book – Winter Downs – a thrilling ride of 1940’s crime fic starring the kick ass Bunch Courtney.   I interrogated Jan to find out more…

Winter Downs is the first in your Bunch Courtney Investigates series – who is Bunch and what can we expect from future books in the series?

Bunch Courtney is a well connected young woman who is set adrift  by the changes that the coming of war has imposed on her, and knows that the life she was brought up to lead will never return. When she stumbles on a murder she discovers a talent and taste for sleuthing as she interacts with the local police force; and with Chief Inspector Wright in particular.

Wise Words : Winter Downs

Here is the latest posting on Winter Downs posted recently with the writer Louse Wise on her Wise Words blogsite

***

Secrets about my writing? Tricky. I have always seen myself as, if you’ll excuse the pun, an open book. Or am I?

Much of my short fiction is crime or horror based and there is a sort of a secret thread that emerges from time to time. Sometimes I like to let the bad guy win or at very least escape more or less intact, and in a few of my short horror stories it’s the victim who dies!

We all know that good does not always win even though we might want it to, and allowing evil to triumph in fiction reflects real life, and that’s what I like to do in my writing.

The line between light and dark is often more muddy grey marshland in my fiction. Sherlock Holmes allowed the villain to escape justice on many occasions, either because he felt that the crime was committed for the best of reasons or that the consequences of the arrest outweighed the crime itself.

Leaving the enemy to walk is a ruse best used where there are several offenders to choose from. Kill off or capture one (or more) and leave the last to run off into the darkness with murder and revenge in their black hearts…  Sorry, getting carried away.

In my defence, as the writer, I may want to use a particular villain again, which obviously can’t be done once I’ve killed them off. On the other hand –  I do also like destroying them in spectacular fashion.

Decisions, decisions…

Read more on writers and writing at https://louisewise.blogspot.com

Winter Downs reviews #chataboutbooks #winterdowns #crime #cosycrime #ww2crime #janedwards

Reprising some of the material from the blog tour – here is the review from Chatabout books

If you enjoy historical fiction and/or a good murder mystery, then you will love Winter Downs. I haven’t read much historical fiction, as yet, but I do generally enjoy it when I do and I have thoroughly enjoyed this book.

Bunch is a feisty character! (She very much reminds me of Mary from Downton Abbey.) She has been used to a certain way of life which has been totally turned upside down since the start of the second world war. Having to give up her home to accommodate soldiers and having to move in to the Dower house with her Grandmother doesn’t thrill her, but she accepts it’s her duty to contribute to the war effort. She is very protective of her sister, Dodo, who lost her husband to war, having only been married for a few months. The sisters are like chalk and cheese, but devoted to each other.

As their small rural community in Sussex try to adjust to rationing, black outs and other such consequences of war, they also find themselves faced with a killer on the loose. When Bunch discovers the body of her friend, Jonathan, it looks like he has taken his own life, but Bunch knows him well and is convinced he has been murdered. It will be a struggle to prove it though without getting in the way of the official investigation, which already has it’s limits due to the ongoing war. As the investigation progresses, all sorts of secrets are revealed and they are faced with more tragedy. Will they discover the truth before the body count rises?

Brilliantly written with a great mix of interesting characters and beautifully descriptive language. I was transported to rural Sussex and totally immersed in the story. I could almost feel the chill of the snowy countryside and I was as desperate as Bunch to prove her friend was murdered and to see his killer brought to justice. The conclusion is one I definitely didn’t see coming!

Oh, and I love the Sussex dialect used, although it took me a couple of re-reads to understand on occasion! 😉

Winter Downs tour : Nelli Rees

The last of today’s tour stops is at the site of jazz diva Nelli Rees who asked me the question “What if Winter Downs was a movie…”

“When Nelli asked me who I would cast for Winter Downs as a film or TV series I have to admit to a slight panic; not least because I can never remember names! After a monster Googling session I have come up with a few possibilities for just the main protags on either side. (The full cast would take months!).

As this is a game of fantasy casting I decided that money would be no object and angled that my imagination could come up with – taken from the great and the good in British acting!

Winter Downs the movie would star: …”
Read more here

Winter Downs Blog Tour : Shamansland

Jessica Rydill has an interview with yours truly over at Shamansland

“Today it gives me great pleasure to interview author Jan Edwards, whose new crime novel, Winter Downs, launched on 3rd June.

How long have you been writing and how did you get started?

Always a hard one to answer without sounding cliched, but I honestly can’t recall when I first started to make up stories to entertain others. My Monday morning ‘news’ at primary school was always complete fabrication. At senior school my languages teacher could never understand why, after three years of Spanish lessons I still could not speak it – despite spending my lessons with head bent over my books scribbling for all I was worth. The reason was, of course, that I was busy writing westerns and noir crimes to entertain my friends and never once looked at my text books.

My first publication ‘credits’ were in a local magazine called W.I.T. produced in Horham, Sussex, with a circulation of about 50! My first ‘proper’ publication was in Visionary Tongue magazine issue 6 – all of which happened in the mid 1990s.”

read more here

Winter Downs Blog Tour last day! : the Quiet Knitterer

Today we have an extract from Winter Downs on the QuietKnitterer  site – enjoy!

 

“The first gunshot flushed a clamour of rooks into a yellowish sky to circle their tribal elms. Rose Courtney glanced at Daphne and wondered if she even noticed them. Since George’s funeral it was so difficult to know whether her younger sibling was wool gathering or had sunk so deep into mourning she simply failed to acknowledge her surroundings.  Understandable, Rose thought, but it’s still frustrating. She had intended this hack across the Downs to lift the spirits. It would be Rose and Daphne – or Bunch and Dodo as their family knew them – riding out just like old times. Except that it was anything but the old times, and even Bunch was beginning to concede that, on this occasion, horse riding might not provide the answer. She tucked rogue strands of dark hair beneath her hat, secured her plaid scarf, and thought how tempting it would be to return home. The sky had grown heavier in the half hour they had been out and fresh snow was beginning to fall in earnest.  The second blast was louder and deeper than the first, scattering rooks and pigeons in a fresh flurry, setting Dodo’s horse into a fidget. Bunch waited without comment for her sister to bring the animal under control.  ‘Pigeons.’ Dodo looked upwards, allowing snowflakes to flutter across her cheeks. ‘Georgie loved them. Cook bakes them with pears and a little port.’ It was the first time Bunch had heard Dodo mention her husband without prompting, and without tears, since the funeral. That’s a good sign, surely? ‘They don’t have a lot of meat on them,’ she said aloud. ‘Hardly worth the cartridge.’ She slapped her Fell pony’s neck, muttering, ‘Easy Perry, steady lad,’ though her mount had barely twitched so much as an ear. Her sister’s mare sidled nervously again so that its hooves slithered on the snow covered slope. ‘Everything all right, Dodo?’ ”

Read on…

Winter Downs Blog Tour Day 7 : Swirl and Thread

The Winter Downs blog tour is also stopping among the Swirl and Thread blogging pages. with a Q&A on crime fiction and why I do this thing.

“Hi Jan and welcome to Swirl and Thread. I am delighted to be on tour with you today as we discuss your new novel, Winter Downs, as well as finding out a little more about what makes you tick.

Before we get into the writing aspect of your life, may I enquire about your involvement in Reiki. I was intrigued to read that you are a Master Teacher as well as been a Meditational Healer? Could you please tell us a little about this?

Reiki and Meditational Healing is something that chose me rather than the other way around. Meditation is something I have indulged in for many years but I needed help with pain management that did not involved drugs, which sent me to sleep half the day. Various therapies proved to help a great deal and going from ‘poacher turned gamekeeper’ was a logical progression.”  I also have some experience in herbalism but would not practice it without going for the medical degree. As the saying goes, a little knowledge can be a dangerous thing. It is far too easy to mistakenly poison someone – though that knowledge can come in handy as a writer of crime and horror.”

Read  the rest of the Q&A here

Winter Downs Blog Tour day 7 : review at the Living in the Maniototo blogspot

Today’s offerings on the blog tour include a review of Winter Downs

“When Bunch Courtney’s childhood friend Jonathan Frampton is found shot dead in the woods the authorities and the powers that be, from her own father to the local Justice of the Peace, seem eager to declare his death a suicide.

But her passionate sense of injustice drives Bunch to investigate her old friend’s death. She is certain he could not have committed suicide, and clues at the scene drive her to confront the Chief Inspector, Wright,  dispatched to wrap the case up – his rank a fact that in itself suggests something awry. His initial attitude to Bunch is that she is a bothersome amateur.

It is the winter of 1940 and the second world war is under way. Bunch and her  sister Dodo’s childhood home, Perringham House, has been requisitioned for the war effort. Bunch is in command of a troop of Land Girls, and Dodo, whose husband recently died in action, is recovering at the home of her detested in-laws, Barty and Olivia Tinsley…  (Read on here)

Winter Downs Tour day 6 : on Novel Gossip

I have a Q&A blog about  Winter Downs and writing in general today over at NovelGossip  !

Blog Tour: Winter Downs by Jan Edwards @Jancoledwards

Winter Downs tour day 6 with a review from It’s All About The Books

Novelgossip

Goodreads|Amazon US|Amazon UK
Release date: June 3, 2017

Publisher: Penkhull Press

Blurb:

In January of 1940 a small rural community on the Sussex Downs, already preparing for invasion from across the Channel, finds itself deep in the grip of a snowy landscape, with an ice-cold killer on the loose.

Bunch Courtney stumbles upon the body of Jonathan Frampton in a woodland clearing. Is this a case of suicide, or is it murder? Bunch is determined to discover the truth but can she persuade the dour Chief Inspector Wright to take her seriously?

Winter Downs is first in the Bunch Courtney Investigates series.

Welcome to my stop on the blog tour for Winter Downs. I have a Q and A with the author to share today.

Q&A

1. What’s a typical writing day for you look like? Describe your perfect writing environment.

I don’t have a…

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Winter Downs Blog Tour day 5 Sam’s Lair

Today I have a guest blog with Sam Stone on the Sam’s Lair page.

“Winter Downs grew out of a deep affection for the South Downs, and of Sussex in particular. My parents were from Wales and Northumberland but Sussex was the area that I grew up in, on the cusp between the Sussex Weald and the Downs themselves. Perhaps the very fact that I was something of an outsider in a close knit community allowed me to view the place and the people with a dispassionate eye; even though I may not have realised it at the time.”

Read more at Sam’s Lair

Winter Downs Blog Tour day 5 Sarah Ash

I have a guest blog on the  Sarah Ash’page 

When Sarah asked me to talk about my move from the horror and fantasy genre to crime, I have to be honest and say it was not a conscious decision. Most of my publication credits have been in what would be called sf, horror and fantasy but that was not a deliberate career decision. I have always read widely across the spectrum from Jane Austen to Zane Grey, and written two main stream novels (one under a pen name). I suspect my obsession with folklore skewed my short fiction in the general direction of what is often called Weird Fiction, and then only because mainstream narratives seldom allow for anything that smacks of the supernatural. … Read more here

Winter Downs Book Tour day 4 with Debbie Bennett

The Winter Downs book tour also stops at the site of crime writer Debbie Bennett with a Q&Q session 

 

BLOG TOUR: Winter Downs Book Lover’s Boudoir

Winter Downs Blog Tour 3b and a super review from the Book Lover’s Boudoir.

The Book Lover's Boudoir

Winter Downs by Jan Edwards
Published by Penkhull Press
Ebook
Published 3 June 2017
238 pages
ARC

Connect with the author

Buy the book: UK (affiliate’s link)

Buy the book: USA

I was given an ARC by the author and voluntarily reviewed it. I am delighted to take part in the blog tour

WHAT’S IT’S ABOUT

In January of 1940 a small rural community on the Sussex Downs, already preparing for invasion from across the Channel, finds itself deep in the grip of a snowy landscape, with an ice-cold killer on the loose.

Bunch Courtney stumbles upon the body of Jonathan Frampton in a woodland clearing. Is this a case of suicide, or is it murder? Bunch is determined to discover the truth but can she persuade the dour Chief Inspector Wright to take her seriously?

Winter Downs is first in the Bunch Courtney Investigates series.

OPENING 

The first gunshot…

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Winter Downs Blog Tour day 3a : with Misha Herwin

Winter Downs blog tour day 3a : with Misha Herwin

Misha Herwin

Winter Downs: New Crime Novel by Jan Edwards

On a snowy winter morning Bunch Courtney rides out into the local woods and finds a dead body. Everything points to suicide, but the dead man is Johnny Frampton, a close friend ,and knowing what she does about him, Bunch is convinced that what she is looking at is a murder scene.

This is the opening premise of Winter Downs, a tightly plotted novel set in war time Britain. The 1940 are vividly brought to life and the main character, Bunch, is set to be one of my all time favourite heroines.

I love a strong woman protagonist, but have to admit to a horror of those feisty females in historical novels who transgress every social convention and behave like no woman of their era would have done. Bunch, however, is nothing like them. She is a product of her time and…

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Winter Downs Blog Tour : Alison Drew

The blog tour today pulls into Ali The Dragon Slayer’s site with a review and a guest post by your truly

The most commonly asked questions any author can usually be simplified as why, where and who – so here goes: What is Winter Downs about? In January of 1940 a small rural community on the Sussex Downs, already preparing for invasion from across the Channel, finds itself deep in the grip of a snowy landscape, with an ice-cold killer on the loose. Bunch Courtney stumbles upon the body of Jonathan Frampton in a woodland clearing. Is this a case of suicide, or is it murder? Bunch is determined to discover the truth but can she persuade the dour Chief Inspector Wright to take her seriously?

Read the rest Here

 

Blog Tour Mrs B Book Review: Winter Downs by Jan Edwards

On today’s Winter Downs blog tour a wonderful review from Mrs B’s Book Reviews #crimefiction #winterdowns #bunchcourtney

Mrs B's Book Reviews

Good Morning! It is my pleasure to welcome you to my stop on the Winter Downs blog tour, which kicked off Friday June 2nd and followed an exciting launch party yesterday.

A little more about the book…

In January of 1940 a small rural community on the Sussex Downs, already preparing for invasion from across the Channel, finds itself deep in the grip of a snowy landscape, with an ice-cold killer on the loose.

Bunch Courtney stumbles upon the body of Jonathan Frampton in a woodland clearing. Is this a case of suicide, or is it murder? Bunch is determined to discover the truth but can she persuade the dour Chief Inspector Wright to take her seriously?

Winter Downs is first in the Bunch Courtney Investigates series. Available in paper and e formats (after 3^rd June) HERE.

About the author…

Jan Edwards is a Sussex-born writer now living in…

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Winter Downs launch @RadioStoke #Winter Downs #crime #winterdowns @BBCRadioStoke @jenqoe @thesentinel @bellaboobos11 @stokelibrary

The day began with an early-bird visit to the Radio Stoke Saturday Breakfast with Stuart Ellis and Jodie Looker at 7.45.  I don’t do morning so that was a shock to the system but  Stuart and Jodie are lovely people and it seemed to go well despite my shock at being up before 6am!

Winter Downs #BlogTour #BookReview @Jancoledwards @penkhullpress @BunchandDodo

A superb review for Winter Downs over at Chat About Books – one today’s two Blog tour stops.

 

 

Chat About Books

I am over the moon to be joining in with Jan Edwards’ Winter Downs blog tour! 🙂

Today is Launch Day too!!

My review…..

(written 15^th May)

Happy Launch Day to Jan Edwards and Penkhull Press! 🙂

If you enjoy historical fiction and/or a good murder mystery, then you will love Winter Downs. I haven’t read much historical fiction, as yet, but I do generally enjoy it when I do and I have thoroughly enjoyed this book.

Bunch is a feisty character! (She very much reminds me of Mary from Downton Abbey.) She has been used to a certain way of life which has been totally turned upside down since the start of the second world war. Having to give up her home to accommodate soldiers and having to move in to the Dower house with her Grandmother doesn’t thrill her, but she accepts it’s her duty to contribute to…

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Winter Downs: Interview with Jan Edwards

Q&A with JennyB on Winter Downs – one of today’s two blog tour stops for Winter Downs

Jenny Barber

Annnnnd, welcome to the next stop in the Winter Downs Blog Tour, celebrating the launch of the ever excellent Jan Edwards’ new book – Winter Downs – a thrilling ride of 1940’s crime fic starring the kick ass Bunch Courtney.   I interrogated Jan to find out more…

Winter Downs is the first in your Bunch Courtney Investigates series – who is Bunch and what can we expect from future books in the series?

Bunch Courtney is a well connected young woman who is set adrift  by the changes that the coming of war has imposed on her, and knows that the life she was brought up to lead will never return. When she stumbles on a murder she discovers a talent and taste for sleuthing as she interacts with the local police force; and with Chief Inspector Wright in particular.

Bunch Courtney Investigates is an open ended series with…

View original post 1,145 more words

Letters From Home : 2 #ww2crime #winterdowns

The launch of my crime novel Winter Downs – a not so every day story of country folk – is approaching fast!

To celebrate Winter Downs and Jem Shaw’s forthcoming wartime tale of airplanes and pilots (follow up to The Larks), we came up with these letters between “Mu and Terry” ; a newly married couple living through the home and fighting fronts in 1940.

Terry’s letter #1 here.  Now read on…

More letters to come at the Winter Downs launch on 3^rd June at City Central Library, Hanley, Stoke on Trent! (Winter Downs launch.)

Letters From Home #ww2 #winterdowns #crimefiction

The launch of Winter Downs is approaching fast and plans  are gradually taking shape for our WW2 themed tea and cakes celebration!

As a part of the celebrations fellow author Jem Shaw and I have come up with the notion of  reading out  a series of imagined letters between a pilot Terry in France and his wife Muriel back home in England.

Neither of us know what the other will write so watch this space!

The first of these  ‘Letters From Home’ can be be read on Jem’s Book Page

Jem has his own WW2 novel to come later this year as a follow up to his very successful WW1 novel The Larks.

 

 

Win a copy of Winter Downs

For a chance to win a signed copy of Winter Downs  just sign up  for my newsletter via my Contact page or pm me with your email address between now and the launch on Winter Downs on 3rd June!

There will be a Tea and cakes 1940s Launch party!

11.30 am to 1.30 pm on3rd June 2017
Tolkien Room, City Central Library,
Bethesda St, Stoke-on-Trent ST1 3RS
https://www.facebook.com/Janedwardsbooks/

RSVP

book offer open to UK only

Winter Downs Launch Party

Tea and cakes and books – what more could you wish for? The 1940s themed launch party for Winter Downs, the WW2 crime novel from 6X6 author Jan Edwards, of course!

Tea and cake as Jan reads from Winter Downs and answers your questions.

There will also be readings from other authors with a 40s flavour so come and join in the celebrations and be the first to buy a signed copy of Winter Downs.

Saturday 3rd June in the Tolkien room at City Central Library, Hanley, between 11.30 and 13.15.

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In January of 1940 a small rural community on the Sussex Downs, already preparing for invasion from across the Channel, finds itself deep in the grip of a snowy landscape, with an ice-cold killer on the loose.

Bunch Courtney stumbles upon the body of Jonathan Frampton in a woodland clearing. Is this a case of suicide, or is it murder? Bunch is determined to discover the truth but can she persuade the dour Chief Inspector Wright to take her seriously?

Winter Downs: First in the Bunch Courtney Investigates series.

Winter Downs is published by Penkhull Press and will be available in paper and e formats.

The World of Bunch: part one

Whilst writing Winter Downs and the world of my heroine, Rose ‘Bunch’ Courtney, there were many things that required some careful research. The first that came to mind was the knotty problem of rationing. Conducting a small straw poll the general perception of  many people seems to be that rationing came in with a bang the moment war was declared, and remained there until the end of the war, when it was lifted immediately. This was not the case.

Mindful of the privations suffered in the Great War, the Ministry of Food was set up to oversee supplies and there was an original plan to implement full rationing from September 1939. The MoF did announce rationing several times in those early months – only to postpone them due to some vociferous newspaper campaigns, spearheaded, by all accounts by a series of editorials in the Daily Express; which, for example, urged the public to “…revolt against the food rationing system.”