Veronica Heley and Free Books!

Bea is drawn into the hunt for a collection of family jewels which has gone missing along with an international art expert . . . and it’s not only his housekeeper who’s looking for him.

Before we focus on today's author, I want to announce that the winner of the signed copy of  Breaking News by Susan Page Davis, is:

momrain@...

Congratulations! I'll email you for your snail mail address and, assuming you live in the U.S., we'll get your book right out to you. I encourage readers to keep commenting and/or subscribe at right (above my list of books) in order to participate in future book give-aways! Subscribers are entered a second time when they comment.

And now let's revisit novelist Veronica Heley, author of the English cozy mystery, False Pride (Severn House, December 2017).

Veronica Heley celebrated the publication of this, her 80th book in December 2017, having been published traditionally for forty-one years. She is currently writing two gentle crime series set in different areas of London, and three short stories a year for the Methodist Recorder. She has also written children’s and resource books, a biography, and some historical fiction, along with many articles and reviews.

She’s involved with her local church and community affairs, likes to break for coffee with friends and does the garden when she has time.

Share with us one thing the reader might not know about you.

I play Patience with real cards to unwind.

I had to look up that game, Veronica! Here in the States we call that Solitaire. I haven't played it in ages, but I used to be addicted, also with real cards. I play Sudoku to unwind now, and it's actually more fun to play that game electronically. 

Please tell us a bit more about the plot of False Pride.

Bea Abbot is asked to help one of her clients to locate her employer, Lucas Rycroft, an international art expert who has disappeared along with the family jewels. She soon discovers that other members of the Rycroft family will go to any lengths to get their hands on the jewels, and on Lucas.

Caught up in the chaos is Bea’s ex-husband Piers, who finds a body in his hall . . . and that’s not the only corpse that comes to light over a tense weekend.

Booklist has given False Pride an excellent review, concluding: "there are enough bizarre twists and sparkly characters to make for an endearing, entertaining read."

Publishers Weekly says: "Those fond of darker English cozies will find much to savor."

Why should the reader care about Bea?

Bea cares about people and always tries to see the best in them, while acknowledging that bad things do happen even to the nicest people. She is willing to provide food and a bed for people who are genuinely in trouble, but threats stiffen her resolve to do the right thing.

What initially planned facet of a story of character developed or changed while you wrote?

Bea’s ex-husband Piers has been wandering in and out her life for some years, and at first I couldn’t understand the reason for his being so persistent but gradually I came to understand the reason why their early marriage broke down . . . and what he wants to do about it now.

That a fun tease.

What is the last novel you read that you would recommend?

The last book I read which is worth talking about is, Princes at War by Deborah Cadbury. It is more of a biography than a novel but an easy read, being the story of the four sons of George V before and during the Second World War. It is well researched, factual and convincing about the extraordinary lives of the man who gave up his kingdom for the love of the American Wallis Simpson, of the brother who feared he wasn’t up to the job of succeeding him, and of their playboy younger siblings, who both proved their worth in a crisis. There was a lot here that I didn’t know. I could even have done with another chapter or two to tell what happened to the brothers after the war was over.

The show called The Crown has generated a lot of interest here with regard to Elizabeth's reign. I'm a big fan. Princes sounds like a good read about the era before Elizabeth.

What are you working on now?

I’m now working on another Bea Abbot story, which will be published at the end of the year. This is called False Account and will also be about money and family relationships, but although there is at least one death, I am writing a good deal about loyalties in a family and how an elderly woman can be bullied into handing over her money – or can she?

Before that, I have another Ellie Quicke book to come out at the end of June this year, called Murder by Suggestion. A group of women joke about how to kill their spouses, only to find the jokes have been taken seriously, and they themselves thrown out onto the street . . . or rather, how they end up in Ellie’s house with all their belongings.

Where else can readers find you online?

My website is www.veronicaheley.com. There is also a blog. And, if you would like to receive my monthly newsletter containing news and views, then you can have it sent to you, free, through the contact on the home page.

The book can also be purchased online via the following Amazon button:



Finally, what question would you like to ask my readers?

Every year I personally get a little older, but Ellie and Bea remain the age at which I first wrote about them. I am now writing the nineteenth Ellie Quicke mystery, and the thirteenth Bea Abbot, and they have not aged at all. Does this matter, do you think?

Thank you, Veronica, for visiting and telling us about yourself and your book. Readers, Veronica has offered to give away a e-copy of her novel. To enter, leave a comment and your email below in answer to Veronica's question, above. "Please enter me" won't get you entered. Remember that subscribers are entered an additional time in each drawing. The drawing is done by email, so leave your email address, like so: trish[at]trishperry[dot]com.

Many commenters are left out of the drawing because they forget to include a way for me to notify them of their win (their email).

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Annoying legal disclaimer: drawings void where prohibited; open only to U.S. residents; the odds of winning depend upon the number of participants. See full disclaimer, as well as my Disclosure of Material Connection HERE