Author Archives: Dianne Ascroft

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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.

An Intriguing Find: A Parachute in the Lime Tree

At the Historical Novel Society conference in September I met Annemarie Neary, the author of A Parachute in the Lime Tree, and I was intrigued to hear about her book as it is one of the first novels to be … Continue reading

Posted in December 2012, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

The Women’s War

I first met Fenella Miller at the Historical Novel Society conference in Manchester a couple years ago. As I talked to her I was impressed to learn how quickly she is able to complete each novel she writes – she … Continue reading

Posted in November 2012 | Tagged , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Charyn Is Not An Average Thriller Writer

A couple days ago I finished reading my second Jerome Charyn novel. After reading The Secret Life of Emily Dickinson last year I expected this novel to be somewhat different than the average thriller and I wasn’t wrong.  Under the … Continue reading

Posted in November 2011 | Tagged , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Too Many Titanic Books? Is There Room For Another?

When I first noticed The Girl Who Came Home by Hazel Gaynor listed in Amazon’s historical fiction new books I wasn’t interested. I thought that the sinking of the Titanic was a topic that had just been done too often … Continue reading

Posted in November 2012 | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

National Short Story Week Kindle Offer

I seem to see short story collections everywhere this week. I guess National Short Story week has made me more aware of them. When I was browsing in Easons at lunch hour today I noticed that My Weekly and The People’s Friend have both released short … Continue reading

Posted in November 2012 | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

A Serial For National Short Story Week

A new novel, The Fifth Knight, that’s released today is just the thing for National Short Story week.  You may be thinking that a novel isn’t really appropriate for National Short Story week – well, this one is. It’s released as a 6 part serial – every … Continue reading

Posted in November 2012 | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

My Contribution to National Short Story Week

Today begins National Short Story week (12-18th November). Since I was a child I’ve always loved a good story – short or long, it never mattered. Before I was old enough to read my grandfather used to spend whole afternoons … Continue reading

Posted in November 2012 | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

A New Thornleigh Tale

In September I met Barbara Kyle at the Historical Novel Society’s bi-annual UK conference in London. Soon after we met I finished reading my first novel by her. Despite Barbara’s prolific output of historical fiction the first novel I was … Continue reading

Posted in November 2012 | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Time For A Foreign Encounter

I’ve lived away from my home country for more than two decades now so I should be well assimilated in my adopted land, a small patch of countryside in Northern Ireland. But there are still things I find strange, amusing … Continue reading

Posted in October 2012 | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

Too Much Information?

We’ve all heard the expression ‘too much information’ applied to instances where someone relates too much detail about an unpleasant or disturbing topic. So how much is too much information? Dr Ian Mortimer made me think about this question at the Historical … Continue reading

Posted in October 2012 | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment