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#MGMonday: Putting Magic into the Setting.

 Firstly, I apologise for not posting a Middle Grade Monday blog last week. It was quite a crazy time, with my exam on the Monday and the Music Festival all week. But I wanted to make sure I got this blog up on the right day! Today, I'll be discussing how to put magic into a setting, particularly for middle grade books. One of the key points to make is that magic is not unusual for children. It is quite normal for a class of children to believe that magic exists, and this has both benefits and drawbacks. The benefit is that you don't have to spend as long persuading the reader that a magical place is relatable. The drawback is they already have a set idea as to what magic is like and, if you want to go outside the box as many authors do, it can cause problems. When planning how to put magic into your setting, you can ask yourself some questions: Is the whole world magic, or just select places? Perhaps there is an underwater kingdom of magic, while the folk on shore are just lik...
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#HistFicThursdays - A Mistake of Murder - Helen Hollick


 This week for #HistFicThursdays, I'm delighted to be teaming up with The Coffee Pot Book Club to introduce you to Helen Hollick's fabulous book, A Mistake of Murder!

So, let's meet the book...

The third Jan Christopher Cosy Mystery

Was murder deliberate - or a tragic mistake?

January 1972. The Christmas and New Year holiday is over and it is time to go back to work. Newly engaged to Detective Sergeant Laurence Walker, library assistant Jan Christopher is eager to show everyone her diamond ring, and goes off on her scheduled round to deliver library books to the housebound – some of whom she likes; some, she doesn’t.

She encounters a cat in a cupboard, drinks several cups of tea... and loses her ring.

When two murders are committed, can Jan help her policeman uncle, DCI Toby Christopher and her fiancé, Laurie, discover whether murder was a deliberate deed – or a tragic mistake?


You can buy A Mistake of Murder via this Universal Link!


 Now, let's meet the author:

First accepted for traditional publication in 1993, Helen became a USA Today Bestseller with her historical novel, The Forever Queen (titled A Hollow Crown in the UK) with the sequel, Harold the King (US: I Am The Chosen King) being novels that explore the events that led to the Battle of Hastings in 1066. 

Her Pendragon’s Banner Trilogy is a fifth-century version of the Arthurian legend, and she writes a nautical adventure/fantasy series, The Sea Witch Voyages. She has also branched out into the quick read novella, 'Cosy Mystery' genre with her Jan Christopher Murder Mysteries, set in the 1970s, with the first in the series, A Mirror Murder incorporating her, often hilarious, memories of working as a library assistant.

Her non-fiction books are Pirates: Truth and Tales and Life of A Smuggler. She lives with her family in an eighteenth-century farmhouse in North Devon, England, and occasionally gets time to write…

You can find Helen on these links:

To follow the rest of A Mistake of Murder tour, click on the banner below:


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Comments

  1. Cathie Dunn2 March 2023 at 10:32

    Thanks so much for hosting Helen Hollick today. xx

    ReplyDelete
  2. Helen Hollick2 March 2023 at 11:08

    Thank you so much for inviting me and Jan Christopher onto your blog today!

    ReplyDelete

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