Hello! Welcome to the latest newsletter. Time seems to have flown since the last one, so there is plenty with which to bring you up-to-date! The Missing Man First of all, The Missing Man: this Morton Farrier novella, set in America, has been received very well since publication on 13th March. Reviewers have been very kind — it currently has over 90 5* reviews across the Amazon platforms — thank you very much! The book also featured on the UK Amazon Kindle site as a Deal of the Day, rising to number 49 in their overall sales chart. On the subject of Amazon deals, Hiding the Past has been selected to run as part of their Summer Deals in the UK. Until 1st September it can be purchased on Kindle for 99p. It will also (from the 19th July) be running on the Australian Amazon site as part of their Winter Deals for $1.49. So, if you know anybody in the UK or Australia who has not yet started the series and might enjoy it, now’s the time to buy! UK: https://goo.gl/xv5FP5 Australia: https://goo.gl/VNQGWr |
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The Missing Man updates I have added an interactive map to the website for The Missing Man so that you can see some of the locations which Morton visited in the book. Also, I have added a number of photos to Pinterest which show some of the research that I undertook when writing the book. Website updates Beside the above-mentioned interactive map for The Missing Man being added to the website, I have also added a series of original photographs taken at RAF West Kingsdown during WW2. They were kindly sent to me by Tony Brown, a man who knew Flight Lieutenant Budge, one of the real characters that I used in The Spyglass File. The photos show men and women of the RAF and WAAF undertaking their immensely important work for the Y-Service. |
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Two WAAF operators busy in the Operations Room at RAF West Kingsdown |
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The next book In February I began the research stage for the next instalment in the Forensic Genealogist Series. This book has needed more visits to libraries, museums and archives than any of the previous books and will see Morton using a range of different records that he hasn’t used before. It will be a full-length novel, set in Kent and Sussex — that’s all the information you’re getting for now! Unusually for me at this stage, I have a working title for this book, though I shall still be keeping it close to my chest for a while longer! Last month I crossed the 10,000-word mark (around 10% written), but have paused to briefly work on a different project, the nature of which I shall hopefully reveal by the end of the month! More secrets! |
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Outside The National Archives |
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Doing my best to look studious and professional! |
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Other projects I was very excited last month to launch the German translation of Hiding the Past. It is called Der Vergangenheit auf der Spur, which roughly translates as ‘On the Trail of the Past’. It is available in both paperback and Kindle additions worldwide. The Spanish translation is progressing well and should be available later this year. Although it is taking longer than I would have liked, the audiobook version of The Spyglass File is almost ready. I will send out an update when it is available for purchase. |
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Interviews Back in April, I was interviewed by Drew Smith from The Genealogy Guys podcast. We spoke for almost an hour about a variety of subjects, including my factual and fictional books. The Genealogy Guys podcast is well worth listening to — full of tips, news and genealogy updates from around the world. Listen here. Family History Several years ago, in the pursuit of locating living descendants of all 10 children (out of 13 total) to my great, great, great-grandparents, Thomas and Frances Dengate, I tracked down a lady who was in possession of a family bible (Thomas and Frances’s great-granddaughter). At the time, I met up with her and photographed all of the relevant family history parts. The bible seems to have come into being for Thomas and Frances’s 1852 marriage and it lists all of their children’s baptisms, marriages and some deaths. I was amazed and delighted when, in April of this year, the lady who owned the bible offered it to me. So, I am now the proud owner of the Dengate family bible, which is more than 165 years old! |
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Meanwhile, on the other side of my family… My 4x great-grandfather, William Ellingham was sent before the Assizes in 1842 for highway robbery! The account, published online by Bedfordshire Archives, included some lovely physical details of him: he was five-foot-five tall, light brown hair, hazel eyes, fresh complexion with a mole on his left cheek. A trip to the local archives is needed to find out more, I think! I think that’s all of the news and updates for this newsletter! I shall be back in due course with further updates! Best wishes, Nathan Links to previous newsletters: - goo.gl/k84tg0
- goo.gl/2yCwpd
- goo.gl/MnTtSB
- goo.gl/CqDJpo
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