| A.M. STUART BOOKS |
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Harriet Gordon stumbles into a murderous web of stolen gems and cutthroat thieves as she runs from her tragic past in an enthralling new historical mystery series set in early twentieth century Singapore.SINGAPORE SAPPHIRE- Book 1 in the HARRIET GORDON MYSTERY, series is available for just $1.99 (worldwide). This special offer finishes on 4 October so grab it now... Click THIS LINK to go to your favourite store! 
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 HARRIET GORDON IS BACK.... Today is release day for REVENGE IN RUBIES. This book is a little bit special for me because it actually had its genesis twenty years ago as a writing exercise for a writing group during my time in Singapore. I am guessing our exercise for the month may have been 'mystery'. I recall us gathered on a friend's verandah... she lived in one of the old black and white houses that had once been a part of an army barracks (appropriately). A fan whirred above us and there was still enough ulu around her house for the night insects and the monkeys to make themselves a presence as I picked up my papers and began to read... "The colonel’s lady was dead..." They say good writing is never wasted and those few thousand words I wrote for the ANZA Writers Group became the basis for REVENGE IN RUBIES... The other truism of writing is 'write what you know' and in setting REVENGE IN RUBIES in the world of the military I really was writing what I knew. I served for nearly twenty years as an officer in the Australian Army Reserve so I have endured many a long mess dinner, played 'mess games' and I would like to think I bring that intrinsic knowledge of soldiers and their lives to this book. I also drew on my father's experiences as an officer in the British Army. So for my friends and readers in the USA... REVENGE IN RUBIES will be on the shelf of your favourite book store and all places that sell good books. It is also available in audio and ebook. And for my friends in Australia... alas it is not on general distribution here, but some bookstores, such as JEFFREY'S BOOKS in Malvern will be stocking it and most of the big stores like Dymocks and Booktopia have the print book available to purchase online. You can also purchase an autographed print book directly from my book store. Click HERE.   Welcome to Notes from Harriet's Typewriter... the news and updates for the Harriet Gordon Mystery series. In this post, I get to introduce you to the main protagonist of the new series... Harriet Gordon. I first met Harriet in the microfiche room of the Singapore National Library. Of course, she wasn’t known as Harriet Gordon, her name was Mrs Howell and in March 1905 she placed an advertisement in the Straits Times, offering her services as a Stenographer and Typist. She guaranteed “RAPID & CAREFUL work together with ABSOLUTE SECRECY” (the capitals are hers). The now long forgotten Mrs. Howell’s advertisement jumped off the microfiche at me. I loved her commitment to ABSOLUTE SECRECY, and slowly the character of Harriet Gordon, widow, typist, stenographer and failed suffragette began to form. (On the left is the original advert I found in the 1905 Straits and on the right is the advert Harriet placed in the Straits Times... and the start of her adventures!)
Over the next few years, I started to build her world… her friends, her family and most importantly (for Harriet) her partner in crime, the enigmatic Inspector Robert Curran, head of the Detective Branch of the Straits Settlements Police Force. Over future posts I will introduce you to other characters in Harriet's world including colonial Singapore itself… SINGAPORE SAPPHIRE is the first of, what I hope, will be an ongoing historical mystery series with Harriet Gordon and Inspector Curran at its heart. There are so many stories brewing in the tropical heat of the Malay Peninsula where truth and corpses tend to decompose quickly! Although SINGAPORE SAPPHIRE is not due for release until 6 August, it is already available for preoorder... in print or digital (all the links are in the button below). I have been waiting a long time to share Harriet with you. I hope you love her as much as I do! A.M. Stuart  |
A.M. StuartOut now! The first of The Harriet Gordon Mysteries, SINGAPORE SAPPHIRE Archives
October 2020
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