Author Archives: Dianne Ascroft

About Dianne Ascroft

I'm a Canadian writer and author, living in Britain. My Century Cottage Cozy Mysteries series is set in 1980s rural Canada.

New Release Special Offer

Posted on December 9, 2015 by Dianne Ascroft

To celebrate the release of The Shadow Ally, the first Short Read in The Yankee Years series, the story will be available FREE on Thursday, 10th December and Friday, 11th December. To download a copy visit: Amazon UK or Amazon … Continue reading →

Posted in December 2015 | Tagged America at war, Dianne Ascroft, free ebook, historical fiction, Northern Ireland, second world war, The Shadow Ally, The Yankee Years, wartime fiction, World War II | Leave a comment

An Interview with Andres Vidal

Posted on December 9, 2015 by Dianne Ascroft

Today we’re visiting Barcelona at the beginning of the last century to explore Andrés Vidal’s new novel, The Dream of the City. Welcome, Andrés. I’m glad you stopped by so I can chat with you about your writing. To get … Continue reading →

Posted in December 2015 | Tagged Andres Vidal, Barcelona, Gaudi, historical fiction, Sagrada Familia, The Dream of the City, twentieth century Spain | Leave a comment

A Chat With Pearl Goodman

Posted on November 26, 2015 by Dianne Ascroft

Several times last week I featured short stories in a variety of genres for National Short Story Week. During the process of looking for contributors to those blog posts, I met Pearl Goodman. She has written about her experiences growing … Continue reading →

Posted in November 2015 | Tagged creative non-fiction, Holocaust, memoir, Pearl Goodman, When Their Memories Became Mine, World War II | Leave a comment

Wartime Tales For National Short Story Week

Posted on November 22, 2015 by Dianne Ascroft

Today I’m featuring wartime stories. This week is National Short Story Week (16th to 22nd November), an event I look forward to each year. I enjoy reading and writing this form of literature so I want to support this annual … Continue reading →

Posted in November 2015 | Tagged Byzantium, Dianne Ascroft, Eileen Stephenson, English Civil War, Hazel Gaynor, homefront fiction, Maybelle Wallis, Mel Logue, National Short Story week, short stories, wartime stories, World War I, World War II | 1 Comment

Irish Tales For National Short Story Week

Posted on November 20, 2015 by Dianne Ascroft

I’m restraining myself – I will not say ‘Top of the mornin’ to you’ or use any other Irish cliché. But I am featuring Irish tales today. This week is National Short Story Week (16th to 22nd November), an event … Continue reading →

Posted in November 2015, Uncategorized | Tagged Dianne Ascroft, Irish American stories, Irish stories, Irish tales, J S Dunn, Mother America, National Short Story week, Nuala Ni Chonchuir, Roy Newell, short stories, Tim Hodkinson | Leave a comment

National Short Story Week With The Ex-Pats

Posted on November 18, 2015 by Dianne Ascroft

This week is National Short Story Week (16th to 22nd November), an event I look forward to each year. I enjoy reading and writing this form of literature so I want to support this annual event by encouraging readers to … Continue reading →

Posted in November 2015 | Tagged Bound To Night, Dianne Ascroft, Doreen Porter, Foreign Encounters, historical fiction, Keeping Her Pledge, Louise Charles, National Short Story week, Nina Croft, paranormal fiction, short stories, Vanessa Couchman, Writers Abroad | 3 Comments

Romance and National Short Story Week

Posted on November 16, 2015 by Dianne Ascroft

There’s romance in the air and on the page today. This week is National Short Story Week (16th to 22nd November), an event I look forward to each year. I enjoy reading and writing this form of literature so I … Continue reading →

Posted in November 2015 | Tagged Autumn's Gold, Byzantium, Call of the Alpha, contemporary romance, Eileen Stephenson, historical romance, Keeping Her Pledge, Lia Manning, Lucy Kubash, National Short Story week, romance, romance short stories, Tales of Byzantium, wartime stories | 1 Comment

Pondering The Other Side Of Life

Posted on November 6, 2015 by Dianne Ascroft

A couple evenings ago I finished reading The Other Side of Life by Andy Kutler and I immediately began writing the book review because it had raised a few questions that I wanted to mull over. This is how Neverland … Continue reading →

Posted in November 2015 | Tagged afterlife, American Civil War, Andy Kutler, historical fiction, Pearl Harbor, The Other Side of Life | Leave a comment

‘Tis The Season – For Book Launches

Posted on November 2, 2015 by Dianne Ascroft

It’s that time again – Halloween? Thanksgiving? Christmas? Not exactly – it’s anthology launch season. Not surprisingly, most writers’ groups endeavour to launch their latest writing collections in the run-up (you can interpret that as ‘sales season’) to Christmas. For … Continue reading →

Posted in November 2015 | Tagged anthologies, Fermanagh Authors Association, Fermanagh Miscellany, Fermanagh writers, Kaleidoscope, poetry, short stories, Tavern Told Tales, Writers Abroad, writers' group anthologies | Leave a comment

Remembering the Home Front

Posted on November 1, 2015 by Dianne Ascroft

In the early days of November each year we remember the sacrifices made during the First and Second World Wars and later conflicts. Since I’m writing a series of stories set in Northern Ireland during the Second World War, I’d … Continue reading →