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

20 years, 25 mysteries

by Carola

I had been writing Regencies for 15 years when my first mystery came out, in 1994.  The 25th comes out in June.  I've been working with the same editor at St Martin's Minotaur for TWENTY years, the longest of any of his authors!

Just in time for that anniversary, the first of the Daisy Dalrymple mysteries is being reissued in trade paperback with a brand-new cover, by the artist who has been doing the art for the series since the 12th, Die Laughing.

In comparison, here is the original hardcover, as well as the large print, audio, UK, Polish, and a couple of German translation covers:

original

large print

audio

first German edition

second German edition

UK

US paperback

Interesting to see what different artists make of the story--or at least of whatever they've been told about it! I think the new one is far and away the best, though I don't recall giving Daisy a red scarf. I've already been asked for suggestions for the reissue of the second in the series, The Winter Garden Mystery, and I can't wait to see it (not coming out till Dec. 2016 so I guess I'll have to wait!).

Death at Wentwater Court trade pb due out March 17th, available for preorder.

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