Hello, and welcome to my November Newsletter.
I recently visited the beautiful city of York with three of my nieces, and we had a wonderful time. We haven’t been away together for a few years, and I can’t remember when I last laughed until I cried – but I did, and it really is the best medicine.
It was a coach trip, so Friday and Monday were taken up with travelling from Devon, but we packed a lot into Saturday and Sunday: visiting the Jorvik Centre (about the Viking settlement in York), taking an open-top bus ride, and a cruise along the river.
We were blessed with perfect weather, which made such a difference and enabled us to walk all around the city wall; so enjoyable in the autumn sunshine.
We also did a bit of shopping and visited the famous Shambles area and Yorkminster.
The city is worthy of a blog when I have the time, but in the meantime, here are a couple of photos.
On the downside, I wasn’t well after returning home, and wondered if I had Covid. As I was due a vaccination in the next few days, I bought some tests, and sure enough, the pink lines appeared immediately.
It was very unpleasant, but I’m better now, and at least it has saved me £90 for the jab – for now anyway as I think I should have immunity for about three months.
Old Saying of the Month
In Full Swing
This is a term still used today and is meant to describe an activity or event, such as a party, which is at its peak or fully operational. The saying first appeared in the mid-1800s and literally meant something in full swing, like a pendulum or a playground swing.
November Blog Spot
The Red Lion Inn at Avebury
On a visit to Avebury in Wiltshire, to see the famous standing stones which surround the village, I was delighted to discover this ancient inn, which is called The Red Lion, and many of you will know that this is the name of the local hostelry in The Hartford Manor Series.
Read about this romantic old inn and why it is haunted!
Find out more here: https://marciaclayton.co.uk/a-visit-to-avebury-and-a-haunted-inn/
My Writing News
I know quite a few of my readers have faithfully read all of my books, for which I am grateful, and I thought it would be fun to do a quiz. The prize will be any signed paperback from The Hartford Manor Series (including my latest book – A Difficult Dilemma) – UK only, I’m afraid, though I’m happy to offer a PDF to readers in other countries.
I tried the quiz out on my husband, and he failed miserably, so even if you only know a few answers, please take part, as your entry might be the winning one. If there is a tie, it will be a case of the names pulled out of a hat!
Please email your answers to me at marciaclayton974@gmail.com by 15 November. I will announce the winner and the answers in my December Newsletter.
The Hartford Manor Quiz
1. In “Betsey”, what was Betsey’s mother called?
2. In “Betsey”, how did Ned get severely burned?
3. What was the name of the pond in Hartford where Annie took Robert fishing in “The Mazzard Tree?”
4. In “The Mazzard Tree”, what did Sam, the tramp, steal from George Carter’s shop?
5. Throughout the series, what did Eveline Chugg, nee Carter, make that she sold to London shops?
6. What is the name of the policeman in Hartford?
7. In “A Rabbit’s Foot”, where did Charlotte Carter find Louis Blaquiere?
8. In “Millie’s Escape”, what was the village called where Millie and Jonnie lived before they fled to Hartford?
9. In “A Woman Scorned”, when Millie and Jonnie were held prisoner on a ship, where was it bound?
10. In “Annie’s Secret”, who did Lady Eleanor Fellwood spy on in the garden, and why?
My New Book – A Difficult Dilemma
My other exciting news, of course, is that “A Difficult Dilemma”, the latest book in The Hartford Manor Series, will be published on 6 November and is available to pre-order.
I was offered a free editorial review by Yarde Book Promotions, which I gratefully accepted, and you can read the review here: https://maryanneyarde.blogspot.com/2026/10/editorial-book-review-difficult-dilemma.html
About the Book
1887 North Devon, England
Lady Eleanor Fellwood has never acknowledged Annie as her daughter-in-law or forgiven her son, Robert, for marrying a former servant. However, when the two women are trapped together on a cliffside following a freak accident, home truths are aired, and Lady Eleanor realises she has misjudged the younger woman. Fortunately, both survive the ordeal, but Lady Eleanor is shocked by revelations about her husband’s past behaviour, and tells him their marriage is over.
When a growing friendship develops between the two women, Annie agrees to allow Lady Fellwood to meet her grandchildren. However, Sabina Webber, Annie’s mother, is horrified at this development as she suspects the noble lady has an ulterior motive. Seven years earlier, Lady Eleanor rejected her newborn baby because he was badly disabled and she wanted him adopted, as far away as possible. However, she was unaware that the child had been taken in by Sabina, who lived not a stone’s throw away, and had been raised as her son, Danny. Eventually, having noticed the child playing in the garden, Lady Eleanor recognised her son and is now desperate to have him back – an impossible situation for all concerned.
Meanwhile, Jimmy Chugg, another resident of Hartford, is worried about Nell Patterson, his wife-to-be. Nell has been nursing her Aunt Meg in The Tucker’s Arms, a disreputable brothel in Barnstaple, and it is only Meg’s fragile influence over her husband, Noah, and two sons, Abe and Reggie, that is keeping Nell from a life of prostitution.
Knowing she is dying, Meg is determined to save her niece and gives Nell an envelope that, she says, can be used as leverage against Noah to gain her freedom. She says the envelope contains evidence of a crime so serious that it would see Noah and his sons hanged. Nell gives the letter to Jimmy for safekeeping, telling him she has promised not to open it until after her aunt’s death. When Meg Berryman dies, and Nell and her daughters have not been seen for weeks, Jimmy is distraught and decides to open the letter, but he is unprepared for the enormity of the truth it contains.
You can find the book here: https://mybook.to/ADilemma
The Coffee Pot Book Club
I am a Blog Tour Host for The Coffee Pot Book Club:
https://thecoffeepotbookclub.blogspot.com/
and these are the ones I hosted last month:
What Love E’er Meant by Janet Wertman
A new queen must prove she deserves the throne God gave her, while the path everyone insists will secure it might cost her everything.
What Love E’er Meant, the searing second volume in the Regina Trilogy, captures a young queen’s struggle to balance love and power, duty and desire…and the profound cost of choosing crown over heart.
You can find the book here: https://books2read.com/u/4XqdD7
The Lark by Laura C. Rader
When The Wizard of Oz graced the silver screen in 1939, it changed cinema and popular culture forever. But the true story began decades earlier with the young composer who risked everything to bring it to the Broadway stage. At the turn of the century, twenty-three-year-old Paul Tietjens is a gifted classical pianist with dreams of greatness and a non-refundable ticket to Europe to study with the master composers of his time. But when the bank calls in the debt on his family’s Missouri farm, Paul forgoes his dream to save them from financial ruin.
Desperate to find a new road to success, he moves to up-and-coming Chicago, where he persuades author L. Frank Baum to collaborate on a comic opera of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, setting the stage for the defining cultural touchstone that we know today. Paul embarks on his opera with high hopes, but scandal threatens his soaring ambition when he falls in love with his best friend’s beautiful but married sister, and his fears grow as the Wizard of Oz demands not only his talent but his soul. Inspired by Paul’s 1901 diary, The Lark follows Paul as he journeys from the theaters of Chicago to the streets of Manhattan, from his family’s Missouri farm to the beaches of Michigan, fighting to hang onto the chance of a lifetime, his integrity, and the woman he loves.
You can find the book here: https://books2read.com/u/m0RDZV
Book Bargains This Month
Special Offers – 99p
All of my books are free to read if you subscribe to Kindle Unlimited on Amazon. However, if you want to grab a bargain, these books will be reduced to 99p on the following dates:
Millie’s Escape will be 99p from 5 November to 12 November
A young girl, wrongly accused of theft, is relentlessly pursued across the desolate countryside. A delightful Victorian family saga set in a Devon village.
You can find it here:
https://mybook.to/MilliesEscape
The Mazzard Tree will be 99p from 12 November to 19 November
When Annie’s father dies, her mother is left with 7 hungry mouths to feed. Annie, 15, is determined to keep her family from the workhouse.
Will she succeed? What lengths will she go to?
A gripping Victorian family saga.
You can find it here:
http://mybook.to/TheMazzardTree
My Book of the Month
Adina by Josephine Wrightson
About the Book
In a world remembering omegas, could Adina be true to her soul? A stand-alone story set in an omega-verse world, where magic is renewed. This story follows the lives of Tave’s, Asmon’s and Kia’s children—the twins.
One full of magic, the other struggling to awaken. Will they find the right path? Can Adina save herself, never mind Tavos? Rescue the men with sheer determination and grit, or will she meet her own demise in the process? Will Kalan be man enough to pull the omega from the alpha?
My Review
This is the first book I have read by this author, and fantasy is not my favourite genre, but I found myself engrossed in the story and read it in a couple of days. The plot centres on Adina and Tavos, twins who have not seen each other for some time, but each knows when the other is close or in trouble. Then, there is Kalan, an alpha male that Adina is irresistibly drawn to. The captivating narrative of this story held my attention from the very first page and had me rooting for Adina in her daunting task of defeating the witches and their evil magic. I enjoyed this book – recommended! You can find the book here: Adina by Josephine Wrightson
Well, that’s all for now, so thank you for continuing to follow me. Until next time, I hope you keep safe and well.
Leave a Reply