New Book
Spring is in the air … and so, too, is the sound of music as the residents of Honeychurch Hall are stunned to learn that the Dowager Countess Lady Edith Honeychurch has agreed to the staging of a production of The Merry Widow in the dilapidated grand ballroom. Fears that the fiercely private octogenarian must be going senile are soon dismissed when our heroine, Kat Stanford, learns that the favour is a result of a desperate request from Countess Olga Golodkin. As one of Edith’s oldest friends Olga is the director of the amateur Devon Operatic Dramatic Organization. Just a week before, D.O.D.O’s original venue was destroyed in a mysterious fire but since tickets have been sold, costumes made and lucrative local sponsorships secured, Olga is determined that the show must go on. After decades at the helm of D.O.D.O., The Merry Widow will be Olga’s swansong and she wants to go out with a bang . . .
About the Author:
From Hannah Dennison: I was born in a little village called Old Basing in Hampshire, England. As a teenager, my family moved to Cullompton in Devon and there, began my love affair with the West Country. After a disastrous stint in the Royal Navy, I applied to the local weekly newspaper to become a cub reporter. My duties primarily involved standing at the church door taking down the names of the mourners—a tradition the newspaper was very proud of in those days. I moved to Kent where I did a spell as a secretary to a Formula One World Champion (very exciting) followed by a wonderful job working for a French antique dealer who specialized in seventeenth century oak furniture. For the next decade or so I worked as a flight attendant for both commercial airlines and private jet charters traveling extensively all over the world. It was on one such flight that my life changed dramatically. I was lucky enough to speak to Steven Spielberg who asked me if I had a dream. Of course, my writing aspirations had never gone away, they had just lain dormant whilst I kept promising myself that this year would be different. This year I would write my book. Before I knew it, I was dragging my daughter and two cats to start a new life in Los Angeles, California. I worked for various film studios, read gazillions of scripts and learned all I could about the craft of writing be it screenplays or long-form narrative. I also enrolled in the UCLA Extension Writers’ Program where I was lucky enough to teach a mystery-writing workshop. When Hollywood had run its course, I took a job working for the chairman of a west coast advertising agency where I worked for more years than I dare to count, but just last year I took another leap of faith and moved back to the English countryside with my two Hungarian Vizslas. I know, without a shadow of a doubt, that if you say, “Yes” to whatever life has to offer, no matter how daunting, the most extraordinary things really can and do happen. After all, they happened to me. To learn more about Hanna Dennison, visit hannahdennison.com.
Hannah Dennison talks about her writing process, some writing tips, and what’s coming next in her cozy mystery series
The perfect classic English village mystery but with the addition of charm, wit and a thoroughly modern touch — Rhys Bowen
Sparkles like a glass of Devon cider on a summer afternoon — Elizabeth Duncan
