I asked... you answered! A big thank you to everyone who took part in the quick poll in my last newsletter - I had over a thousand responses, which was fantastic! (And before I forget, the winner of the $25 Amazon gift voucher - drawn randomly from the respondents - is "tatooshie". My assistant Erin will contact you directly to organise the prize.)
Yes, you want
to travel! It was really fascinating to hear your thoughts and opinions. Some of it wasn't that surprising: as expected, most who answered Question 1 about the setting for future books in my
Oxford Tearoom Mysteries chose "similar
settings, such as quaint towns in Europe". A large number, though, (nearly 40%) did say that you'd be happy to read a mystery set anywhere in the world - which is more than I expected! 😊 And only 9% insisted on always remaining in Oxford and the Cotswolds only. But don't worry - for those who might have misunderstood the question - I'm not planning to move Gemma & Co. away from
Meadowford-on-Smyth. I just might do an occasional book, from time to time, that's set in another country, and this helps to give me an idea of the type of places you'd like to "travel" to with Gemma, Muesli and the Old Biddies...
Speaking of which, some of you didn't realise that there are already two
books in the series set "abroad".
The first one is Book 8 - "Apple Strudel Alibi", which
is set in Vienna: When Gemma’s romantic holiday with her boyfriend is cancelled, the tearoom sleuth finds herself heading to Vienna instead, with her cat Muesli and the nosy Old Biddies for company. And it’s not long before they stumble across a
murder right in the heart of Austria’s historic capital when a handsome art critic dies suspiciously at their hotel. Soon Gemma and Old Biddies are dragged into an impromptu investigation which has them tackling suspects and schnitzels, and even braving a nude sauna in search of clues! Amazon | Amazon UK | Amazon DE
And the second one, of course, is the latest new release, Book 12 - "A High Whisk Situation", which is set in the Scottish Highlands: Gemma is looking forward to a relaxing weekend staying in a beautiful castle in the Highlands - sampling traditional Scottish baking, trying her hand at fly fishing, and learning to enjoy a “wee dram” of
whisky. But when she stumbles on a dead body in the castle library, she becomes embroiled in a country-house murder, with the nosy "Old Biddies and her naughty cat Muesli helping with the sleuthing! Amazon | Amazon
UK | Amazon DE
There's one on the other side of the pond
too! Yup, I also have another cozy mystery series: the Barefoot Sleuth Mysteries, which is set entirely in Florida and follows English girl, Ellie, who stumbles on murder among the swaying palm trees of a luxury beach resort while on an unexpected vacation in Florida. Now she must battle sunburn, jet lag and a cheeky parrot (!) to solve the case... or her
first visit to the Sunshine State will be deadlier than she ever imagined… Amazon | Amazon UK | Amazon DE
Oh and for those asking about stories set in Australia.. Yes, I do have some books set in Australia but they are not cozy mysteries. I have a sweet romance novella
series which I wrote before I started writing mysteries, and it is set in a fictional seaside town on the sunny east coast of Australia, which is famous for its beautiful beaches. Each book in the series follows one of the four veterinarians who work at the animal hospital by the beach, as they meet a special someone and fall in love... with a furry friend often playing Cupid! 😉 There are also guest appearances by Australian wildlife, including Baz the emu, who was one of my favourite animal
characters to write. As these are "sweet romances", they do not have graphic sex scenes and so those of you who
especially enjoy the romantic subplots in my cozy mysteries may like to check them out! If you love pets and romances, then these books are probably for you... Truly, Waggly, Deeply | Mutts About You | Meow and Forever | Lost Woof Out You... and more! Check them out here: Amazon | Amazon UK | Amazon DE
"Devon, Paris, Liverpool, Australia, Wales... er... Santa Barbara..." ?! By the way, it was great fun reading your suggested places for book settings and there were many I'd love to oblige! But I do feel that I should only really set my stories in places that I've personally experienced and can write realistically about. Of course, with the internet today and Google Maps, etc, you can "armchair travel" without leaving your home but I do think - no matter how good the research - it's just not the same
as visiting a place yourself.
And sometimes, it's got to be the right kind of visit too. For example, there were several votes for Wales and while I'd love to write a mystery set there, the only time I've been there was for a brief biology field trip during my time at university. Somehow, I don't think climbing up and down the Pembrokeshire coastline, tagging hermit crabs, is the Old Biddies' cup of
tea! 😉 But if I do get the chance to visit Wales again "properly", I'll definitely think about setting a story there! Yes, more travel on the blog! And food! And Muesli! Well, the answers to Question 2 were even more interesting. I asked what sort of content you'd
like me to write about on my blog... you definitely want more travel posts, which I'm delighted about as I have lots of photos and fun stories to share (and hopefully some useful info too, should you
visit those places yourself). The next most popular topics were "Food" and "Muesli/Cat stuff", followed by "Behind-the-scenes" - although "Gardening" posts got over 50% of votes too...
Oh - and for all those who didn't know I had a blog or
couldn't find it - I'm sorry for not advertising it better! 😝 You can find my blog HERE - it's part of my website so you can just read it like any normal webpage. (No need for special devices or anything, for those who were wondering!)
New Blog Post... and New Giveaway! And since you asked for more travel... Tada! Here's my new blog post. I thought I'd start with the place where most of my books are set
- the beautiful Cotswolds region - so you can see the inspiration for many of the places in my Oxford Tearoom Mysteries and English Cottage Garden Mysteries, and yes, even the Bewitched by Chocolate series. Come and join me on my research trips to the "Slaughters" - two of the prettiest and most quirkily-named villages in the Cotswolds... https://www.hyhanna.com/slaughter-in-the-cotswolds/
I hope you enjoy the new blog post! And since the last few
blog giveaways were so popular, I'm doing another one. To enter, simply leave a "real" comment on the latest blog post: Slaughter in the Cotswolds and you'll go in the draw for a chance to win a signed copy of any one of my books - your choice! 😊 The winner will be announced in my next newsletter - good luck!
Audiobook fans... Q&A video coming soon! Thanks so much to all those who sent in questions for the audiobook Q&A video. Pearl and I had a great time answering your questions
and I'll be sharing a link to the video soon (just need to edit it!)
Finally! For my French- & German-speaking fans... New German translation If you're not on my German newsletter, you might have missed the news about the latest German release: Im Strudel des Todes - Es ist der achte Band der Serie, der diesmal nach Wien führt.
Macht euch also mit Gemma, Müsli und den Silberlocken auf eine spannende Reise. Aber keine Sorge – die typisch österreichischen Köstlichkeiten kommen nicht zu kurz! Amazon DE – Kindle | Taschenbuch
* Und … leider gab es eine Panne, sodass heute für ein paar Stunden die englische und die deutsche
Version vertauscht waren. Der Fehler ist inzwischen behoben - aber wenn jemand von euch „Im Strudel de Todes“ in dieser Zeit gekauft hat und feststellt, dass sein Buch nicht auf Deutsch ist, sagt mir bitte Bescheid. Dann helfe ich euch, die richtige Version zu bekommen. Ich entschuldige mich für alle Unannehmlichkeiten! **Wenn ihr das Buch vorbestellt habt, dürftet ihr kein Problem haben – ihr müsstet die deutsche Version erhalten haben.
More French books in bookstores! For my French-speaking readers, I'm delighted to announce that I'm continuing my partnership with French publisher City Editions
to distribute my books. The first 6 books in the French version of the Oxford Tearoom Mysteries are now available in all good bookstores across France. Les Entremets tueurs, le nouveau tome de la saga Les Thés meurtriers d’Oxford, est désormais disponible à la vente dans les librairies françaises ! (You can also buy the paperbacks & Kindle versions on Amazon FR here: Kindle | Broché )
*** Until next time, I'll leave you with some pictures of the “real” Muesli who has fallen in love with a battered old cardboard box and now spends all her time squashed in it,
staring into space…??? Cats are the weirdest creatures! 😄
Thanks for reading - talk soon!
Hsin-Yi
(H.Y. Hanna)
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