Russell #WHAT?

Those of you who’ve been following my Mutterings in recent months will have a good idea of why a book takes such a lllooooonng time from first draft to hardback on the shelf—but even my editor had to admit that it felt early to be talking about the NEXT Russell after Lantern’s Dance. But no,…

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Christmas in the Dark

I love Christmas stories. Well, I love Christmas in general, but stories set in country houses with decorated trees, and snow outside, and the smells of baking and the sounds of carols…all of that goes so beautifully with knives and poisons, doesn’t it? Christmas in its nature is a solstice celebration, an assertion of light…

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Merry Mary

Say, would you like a little something to help nudge you into that old holiday spirit? What about a copy of Mary’s Christmas? This is a pdf to download, so you can print it off, use it to create an illuminated manuscript, send it to a friend, you name it. Plus, this is an all-new…

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Mary & Sherlock, the Christmas War

As BookBub may have told you, there’s a special deal on the US e-book of Mary Russell’s War— As you probably know, Russell’s War would be an ideal present for this time of year since there are two, yes two, Christmas stories. One is about Russell’s childhood memories, and the other is all the way…

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Russell’s War!

RUSSELL’S WAR IS NOW AVAILABLE! The complete collection of Russell short pieces—yes, ALL of them—is available in a gorgeous shiny new paperback from my good friends at Poisoned Pen Press. I signed for the Poisoned Pen bookshop on Saturday—and, since Les Klinger was there too, if you snatch at one soon, you’ll get a copy…

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Vanishing shorts

Two weeks from today, on Feb 1, a number of my e-short stories will be coming down, vanishing, going underground (except, of course, if they’re already on your reader.) These stories won’t be for sale again until Random House publishes my collection of Russell & Holmes tales in October (as an ebook, though possibly, eventually,…

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Mary Russell’s War (twenty-seven): the sound of waves

Today’s Dreaming Spies Countdown post is a new set of images on Pinterest: the Japan sojourn of Russell & Holmes, over here.  Now, back to our regular Monday programming of Russell’s War:   2 February 1915 Thursday will mark the six month point of this War that was supposed to be over by Christmas. In California, the fighting in Europe…

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Saving the day

I was in my local Bookshop Santa Cruz the other day when the owner came up to me to say, Thank you, for saving our day.  Seems that last Thursday when I went in to sign their copies of “Mary’s Christmas”was the day that Stormageddon descended on Northern California, and hanging around book stores was…

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Mary’s Christmas, in time for Christmas

  So, I fought my way through storm and flood and fallen branches (yeah, it is indeed raining here in drought-land, and raining hard—really hard) risking life and limb and wet shoes JUST FOR YOU, making my way to Bookshop Santa Cruz (and back) where I signed a stack of the now-in-print short story,  “Mary’s Christmas”…

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Mary’s Christmas

The short story “Mary’s Christmas”– –is now available in a print version! My local shrine to print wisdom, Bookshop Santa Cruz, can sell you this nice little booklet (with my signature and an inscription, if you like) here. It begins one winter’s evening in late 1921 or 1922 when the two are seated by their…

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