Seasons Greetings from Perth! First of all, thank you so much for the amazing messages you sent following my last newsletter and the news about my husband's cancer
diagnosis. I was overwhelmed (I literally woke up to hundreds of messages in my Inbox!) and incredibly touched by your kind words of support. I feel very lucky to have such lovely readers like you ❤️ (I do read and appreciate each and every message, but please forgive me if I'm not able to respond to every one of you personally.)
They say that "behind every great man stands a great woman"... Well, behind many a successful author is probably a wonderful husband, wife or partner - and that's certainly true in my case. My husband really is my "rock". We met as students at Oxford and he has been amazingly loving and supportive, first in my dreams to be a writer and then in propping
me up (sometimes literally! 😉) as I dealt with the challenges of life as a published author. He helps with household chores so that I can have more time to write, provides a sympathetic ear when I'm down, and spends countless hours as patient brainstorming partner when I'm struggling with knotty plot problems and writer's block. Without him, I really would not be able to write so many of the books you enjoy reading and although his name isn't on the book covers, he certainly deserves credit for
a large part of their creation. 😊 Anyway, I'm pleased to report that he's continuing to recover well, making great progress with physiotherapy and rehab, and getting stronger every day. And we're delighted that the surgeon has given the go-ahead to travel, so we'll be able to keep to our original plans to visit Taiwan over Christmas/New Year and see my mother. This is the one time a year
that I get to see her, so we're really happy to be able to spend time with her after all!
Well, I hope this email finds you enjoying the start of the holiday period (how many Christmas movies have you watched already?! Go on... confess! 😉) ... Here in Perth, we're definitely not having a “white Christmas”! It’s mid-summer in Australia (as our seasons are the opposite of the Northern Hemisphere) and a time of bush fires, barbecues and
heat waves! It’s common for Australians to spend Christmas having a BBQ at the beach or similar… but despite emigrating Down Under nearly 20 years ago now, I'm still trying to get used to “summer in December”.
("Christmas in Australia" - one of the beautiful Western Australia beaches... and yes, the sea really was that colour. No filters!) I know there are many who
would love to have our sunshine & hot weather at the moment but I can't help envying those of you snuggling up in cosy winter atmospheres (even though I know the reality probably isn't that romantic! 😉) - I do really miss the cold & snowy walks, warm drinks & crackling fires that I used to enjoy during the years we lived in Oxford… That's why it was a real treat for me to write The Mousse Wonderful Time of Year, the 10th book in my Oxford Tearoom Mysteries, as it allowed me to recreate that winter magic and relive a “white Christmas”... And if you haven't read it yet, now's a great chance to grab it for FREE! Yes, Amazon is running a promotion where you can download this book for free - for just 5 days only. It ends this Wed 20th Dec - so make sure you don't miss out! (And please share with any friends & family who might enjoy a Xmas mystery
too!) Amazon US |Amazon UK
| Amazon DE (available Free in all other countries too - search in your local Amazon store) ~ If you're a Kindle Unlimited subscriber, you can still borrow the book as normal: you won't be charged extra and I'll get paid for any pages you read.
"Snowed in at a country manor, tearoom sleuth Gemma Rose, her cheeky tabby Muesli and the meddling Old Biddies unravel a Christmas murder mystery... a delightful, humorous British whodunit for the festive season!"
And for my French- and German-speaking readers, you'll now be able to enjoy the Christmas mystery in your own language! Yes, new translations have just been released and are available from:
For the "Bewitched by Chocolate" Mysteries fans: I know you're disappointed that the finale to the series has been delayed as I'm having to pause writing to put my husband & family first for a while... but in the meantime,
here’s another little sneak peek of the manuscript for you to enjoy: (please excuse any mistakes as this is from the unedited first draft)
Caitlyn shut the door of her bedroom behind her and made her way softly down the corridor, her feet making no sound on the plush carpet. The Manor was unusually quiet this next morning and she wondered if any of the other guests were up yet. She herself had
only had a fitful rest but she had woken up soon after sunrise and been unable to go back to sleep. Instead, she had lay wide-eyed in bed, replaying the events of the night before—in particular, that awful moment when she had come across the body…
Sighing, Caitlyn quickened her steps, heading for the staircase that led down into the front hall. She had barely turned the corner of the corridor, however, when she was
startled by a bloodcurdling shriek. The next moment, a door on her right was flung open and Katya came running out. From her flushed face, tangled hair and the rumpled state of her pyjamas, she had obviously just got out of bed.
“There’s… there’s… there’s a man… hanging from my ceiling!” she gasped, grabbing Caitlyn’s shoulders, and pointing a shaking figure back at her room.
“What?” Caitlyn’s heart lurched as she instantly imagined a lifeless body swinging from a neck noose.
Before she could ask more, however, doors were flung open further down the corridor and they were joined by Tori and Benedict. They were both bleary-eyed and dishevelled too, and had obviously rushed straight out of bed after hearing the
commotion.
“What is it? What’s happened?” asked Benedict, stifling a yawn.
“Yes, I heard a scream—was that you?” demanded Tori, looking at Katya accusingly.
“You would have screamed too if you woke up and saw a strange old man hanging upside down from your
ceiling!” retorted Katya.
Caitlyn caught her arm. “Wait a minute—did you say ‘old man hanging upside down’?’”
Katya nodded and pointed to her bedroom doorway again. “Yes! You go and see for yourself!”
Caitlyn had a sinking feeling that she knew exactly who
was in the girl’s bedroom. CONTINUE READING on my website: https://www.hyhanna.com/bewitched-by-chocolate-mysteries-sneak-peeks/
With everything going on this year, I haven't even attempted a "Christmas photo shoot" with Muesli. Instead, I've simply used Adobe Express to remove the background from a picture I took with Muesli in my garden earlier this spring...
... and blended it with a festive image + added some Santa hats... not a bad result! (I tried to get Muesli to pose with a "sweet" expression but - typical cat - she looks more like she's growling: "Whaddya looking at??" 😅)
Anyway, if you fancy trying your hand at something similar with your own pet photos, you can play around with Adobe Express in your internet browser or download the app to your mobile for free (although you do have to pay for the "nicer" backgrounds). You can also do
something similar in Canva... just Google to find the links. Finally, I wanted to wish you all a lovely time this holiday season, however you're celebrating - whether it's with friends and family or curled up enjoying your own company with a good book and a cosy drink. And I also wanted to say that I'm so grateful
for your support and enthusiasm for my books. Your kind words and encouragement have been the greatest gifts I could receive as an author. ❤️ From my cosy corner of the world to yours, wishing you a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
Thanks for reading - talk soon!
Hsin-Yi
(H.Y. Hanna)
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