More "rain..."

by Carola

More publishing news:

The eight Daisy Dalrymple mysteries that were translated into German a good few years ago are going to come out (in German) as ebooks. Miss Daisy resurrected...

 These are all new cover art, some more, some less appropriate! In comparison, here are the three covers for the two German paperback editions of the first in the series, Death at Wentwater Court:

And 3 covers for the second, the Winter Garden Mystery:

So different in mood! It's interesting how many wildly varying views of Daisy and her adventures have appeared over the years.

https://www.amazon.de/s/ref=dp_byline_sr_ebooks_1?ie=UTF8&field-author=Carola+Dunn

Spring is springing

by Carola

Spring is my favourite season, and here in western Oregon we get 5 months--February through June. Here's some of what's blooming in my garden at present:

The North of England is not generally so lucky, so when Daisy Dalrymple, my 1920s sleuth, heads to Cheshire to write about historic Occles Hall (based on Little Moreton Hall), she doesn't expect to see beautiful flower gardens. But the Winter Garden is sheltered by high brick walls and Spring arrives early there. Unfortunately, what Daisy finds is a buried body...

The Winter Garden Mystery has just been reissued by St Martin's Minotaur with a wonderful new cover, to match the later books in the series.

 That's not all that is coming out in March--Another month, another audiobook! Having finally got around to it, Blackstone is producing the Daisy Dalrymple audios at a great rate! The latest is the 10th in the series, To Davy Jones Below:

Daisy, newly wed to DCI Alec Fletcher of Scotland Yard, embarks for America. Their hoped-for honeymoon is disrupted by people falling overboard to starboard, port, and astern. Not to mention fog, and a gale that has Alec confined to his bunk with seasickness while Daisy carries on the investigation single-handed. Alec emerges just in time for a shipwreck and yet another mysterious death!

 Previous covers--which do you like best?

Original US hardcover

UK paperback

German first edition

German 2nd edition

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Polish

US paperback

Audio Bones

 by Carola

The official release date of the audio version of my 8th Daisy Dalrymple mystery was yesterday, though I heard at least a week ago from people who had already bought it!

Be that as it may, the Apatosaurus is back--scientists have even agreed to restore its old name, Brontosaurus, the name by which Daisy would have called it when she saw the vast skeleton at London's Natural History Museum. 

 

But it was amidst the smashed bones of a Pareiasaurus skeleton that Daisy found the body of the most-disliked curator in the museum...

                                             
I had a lot of help with research from the Archivist at the museum. He answered all my questions, supplied a plan of the building, and could have told me the names of the cleaners who went in at night to polish the glass cases in Daisy's time, had I wanted them. He even gave me a tour of the areas closed to the public, the research rooms, the backstairs, and the basement.

Quite apart from the displays, it's a fascinating building, well worth a visit just for the architecture.


http://www.nhm.ac.uk/

http://www.amazon.com/Rattle-His-Bones-Dalrymple-Mysteries-ebook/dp/B004XJ5MNO/












Daisy books now available in Audio:
Death at Wentwater Court,
 The Winter Garden Mystery,
 Requiem for a Mezzo,
 Murder on the Flying Scotsman,
 Damsel in Distress,
 Dead in the Water,
 Styx and Stones,
Rattle His Bones,
 Mistletoe and Murder,
 and Fall of a Philanderer.

Real people--by request

by Carola

I had an interesting meeting at Art and the Vineyard (a local outdoor art & wine show) yesterday.

Several years ago, I was asked to give a character in my next book the name of the person who bid highest at an auction in aid of the Eugene Opera (disclosure: I'm a classical music fan but don't care for opera). The winning bid was $800, a woman who want her husband's name used. Turned out his name was Polish, which made for complications, but I got him into Valley of the Shadow, my 3rd Cornish mystery, as a WWII Polish refugee-- If you've read the book, you may have wondered where Skipper Tom Kulick came from! (I had asked about him and learned he was in the US Coast Guard).
 

Yesterday, the Kulicks came to the Oregon Authors booth to see me, They were very happy with the way I wrote Tom in, brought copies to be signed, and asked if I'd be willing to attend a lunch for 12 opera supporters for this year's fund-raising. I'm still not keen on opera, but what could I say? I'll do anything for a free lunch (well, almost anything...)
 
Hope they can find 12 people willing to pay to have lunch with me!

Similarly, someone once paid $500 at a library supporters auction to have me put her sister (deceased) in a book. I asked for information about her and discovered that she had played a brass instrument and loved brass band music. Her name seemed to me more American than English, so I wrote her character as an American visiting England on her honeymoon, in A Colourful Death, the second Cornish mystery.

Nick Gresham, the artist neighbour of my protagonist, Eleanor Trewynn, meets the young couple while listening to and sketching a band playing "Land of Hope and Glory," at Horse Guards' Parade in London. They commission him to paint a picture of the band. Returning to Cornwall, and finding himself chief suspect in a murder case, he keeps humming snatches of the tune as he works out ideas for his painting.


The sister of the bride--so to speak--was thrilled that I'd woven the love of brass music into the story.

 

The only other time I've done something like this was a whole family, whom I put for free into A Mourning Wedding, one of the Daisy Dalrymple mysteries.  It turned out their last name, Walsdorf, is from Luxembourg. It was an interesting challenge to fit them into a book set in England in 1923.

I made them a family of poor relations, a refugee from World War I, when the Germans invaded Luxembourg, who had married an Englishwoman. Given the xenophobic feelings of many of the English at that period, they made a great addition to the cast of suspects!

Three books in 4 months!

by Carola

March:
 Minotaur reissued the first Daisy Dalrymple mystery (England 1920s) in trade paperback, with new artwork to match the latter half of the series.

 This is exciting in more than one way. I love the work of the artist who has been doing my covers since the 12th of the series, Die Laughing, so it's great to have the match for Death at Wentwater Court. It's wonderful to have Daisy's first adventure once more available to readers who prefer print. And, with any luck, it means they will continue to reissue the rest of those that were published in mass market paperback by Kensington after the original hardcover from Minotaur. There are already plans for the second to reappear in March 2016.

May:
The 21st book in the series came out in trade paperback (hardcover publication was 2013). This may be my absolute favourite of all Bradley Clark's covers to date.

 June:
On the 9th of June my NEW Daisy mystery comes out. Need I say that I love the cover? It's had great reviews, too, from Kirkus, Booklist, Library Journal, Publishers Weekly. (I can't help but wonder how many people choose their reading based on reviews and how many on the art!)

With three books to sign, I'm heading for West Coast mystery bookstores. I'll be at

Mystery Ink, Huntingdon Beach, June 14th at 2pm
Mysterious Galaxy, San Diego, June 19th at 7:30 pm
Seattle Mystery Bookshop, June 27th at Noon

These books and the rest of the series can be ordered from any of the above (If you hurry you can request a signed copy!), or any indie bookstore or, of course, Amazon (who say they have the books in the correct order, but don't you believe it!).

Heirs of the Body

by Carola

The 21st mystery in my Daisy Dalrymple series is coming out in trade paperback from Minotaur on May12th.

Set in England in 1927, it's the story of the hunt for the legitimate heir to Daisy's cousin Edgar, the present Lord Dalrymple. Claimants to the viscountcy turn up from all corners of the Empire. When his lordship invites four of them--as well as Daisy and her family--to stay at his country estate to celebrate his fiftieth birthday, mayhem ensues.

Reviews of the hardcover edition:

"Dunn’s forebears are writers such as Agatha Christie and Dorothy L. Sayers. They set the standard for classic cozy puzzles, and Heirs of the Body’s unfussy prose and straightforward plot lend themselves well to this venerable tradition."
Adam Woog, The Seattle Times.


"...lively and engaging throughout the traditional whodunit series. As Daisy's aristocratic family become embroiled in another cozy mystery, Dunn offers a strong sense of place, tight and suspenseful plotting and well-defined motives--all serving to enrich the entertaining puzzle at the heart of the story." --Kathleen Gerard, blogger at Reading Between the Lines

Order from:
Seattle Mystery Bookshop
Mysterious Galaxy
Mystery Ink
Amazon

Good news, and Happy 2014!

by Carola

The good news has been rolling in recently. Latest is that the 4th Daisy Dalrymple mystery, Murder on the Flying Scotsman, is now out in audio.

  
Last week I got a terrific review of the new Daisy mystery, Heirs of the Body, from ShelfAwareness.com

 "Heirs of the Body marks Daisy Dalrymple's 21st adventure. Dunn has kept her affable heroine--a writer turned amateur sleuth in 1920s England--lively and engaging throughout the traditional whodunit series. As Daisy's aristocratic family become embroiled in another cozy mystery, Dunn offers a strong sense of place, tight and suspenseful plotting and well-defined motives--all serving to enrich the entertaining puzzle at the heart of the story." --Kathleen Gerard, blogger at Reading Between the Lines

 A few days before that, I heard that the first three Daisy books are going to be translated into Hungarian! I can't wait to see whether Hungarian cover artists have the same penchant for black cats as the Polish.

This is the latest Polish cover: Mistletoe and Murder, nicely timed for Christmas.


And I got a contract from my UK publisher for another Regency Trilogy. No idea what those covers will be like, but the ebooks are 

So, altogether it's been a great year and I can only wish myself and everyone else as much success in 2014!

Happy New Year

Heirs of the Body--out this week

by Carola

The 21st book in my Daisy Dalrymple series comes out in a few days (UK 6th December, US 10th December) just in time for the holidays.

Set in 1927: Daisy's cousin, the present Lord Dalrymple, was not brought up to the job, and he's just realised, approaching his fiftieth birthday, he has no idea who is his heir. Advertising in newspapers worldwide brings a slew of candidates from all over the Empire and all walks of life. His lawyer, with Daisy's assistance, winnows the possible heirs down to four.

But none can provide adequate proof of legitimate descent in the male line. In fact, one of them is missing--whether temporarily or permanently, his wife (or widow) isn't sure.

While awaiting clarification, Lord Dalrymple invites them to Fairacres to celebrate his birthday. Also present are his known family in England, including Daisy and her husband, DCI Fletcher of Scotland Yard, and their children.

When a string of mysterious accidents is followed by the death of one of the would-be heirs, it begins to look as if someone is out to nobble the competition...

Fairacres, Daisy's childhood home, is in Worcestershire, on the banks of the beautiful River Severn.










Read an excerpt at

  http://historicalfictionexcerpts.blogspot.com/2013/12/heirs-of-body.html

Heirs of the Body can be ordered from

http://www.amazon.com/Heirs-Body-Dalrymple

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/heirs-of-the-body-carola-dunn 

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Heirs-Body-Dalrymple 

http://www.waterstones.com/waterstonesweb/products/carola+dunn/heirs+of+the+body 

Or better still, support independent mystery booksellers

http://www.seattlemystery.com/  (I'll be signing December 14th at noon)
http://www.mystgalaxy.com/ (San Diego signing January 9th at 7 pm)
http://www.mysteryink.com/ (Huntington Beach, signing Jan. 11 noon)
http://www.bookem.com/ (S. Pasadena, signing Jan. 11 at 3 pm)

Stuff I left out....

by Carola

Inevitably, when researching for a book, one accumulates a lot of fascinating information that just has no place in the book. Here are some pics of places in Worcestershire that I visited while investigating the part of Worcestershire around Daisy's fictional home, Fairacres, for HEIRS OF THE BODY.

 

The City of Worcester has many historical associations. These pics are from the Commandery, which in medieval times served as an almshouse as well as a place of hospitality for pilgrims and other travellers. During the Civil War (British not American!) it was the headquarters of the forces of Charles I against Cromwell's Puritan army (Cavaliers v. Roundheads).

 While exploring Worcester, we toured the factory where Royal Worcester china used to be made. (Interesting, but not useful for my story!)

Above is a view of Worcester from the river, and on the right, the Cathedral gatehouse.






This is a house my friend and I visited on the opposite side of the Severn from Fairacres. Unfortunately it doesn't work as a model for Fairacres, but we enjoyed touring it nonetheless.

The house, believe it or not, was once occupied by a boys' school. What they thought of the presiding ladies' physical endowments is lost to history. Perhaps fortunately...

Much of the interior has beautiful old plaster mouldings. The occupants after the school were a group of Buddhists. They painted the normally white mouldings in vivid colours. Desecration, some might say, but I think they're beautiful.

Below are the old "pepperpot" church tower and a narrowboat on the river at Upton upon Severn, the nearest small town to Fairacres.

 Both are mentioned in the book but aren't important to the story.



On the other hand, I also came across unexpected information that changed the course of the story. I learned that the village, though it seems well set up from the river, regularly floods when storms in the hills from which it flows dump heavy rainfall upstream.
 
 As a result, the local doctor can't get to Fairacres, and Daisy can't take to him the body that's sitting beside her in the car...












Heirs of the Body is the 21st in the Daisy Dalrymple mystery series. It will be out in December in the US and UK and elsewhere, as well as in e-book formats.

Support indie mystery bookstores, order from http://seattlemystery.com/  or http://www.mystgalaxy.com/
or
http://www.amazon.com/Heirs-Body-Dalrymple-Mystery-Mysteries/dp/0312675496/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1384813164&sr=8-1&keywords=heirs+of+the+body