Nancy Drew Meets James Bond

A few years ago, I had the incredible honor of having my Nancy Keene Mysteries featured in a 6-page spread in "The Sleuth" magazine, a publication devoted to fans of Nancy Drew.

I hope people will enjoy my humorous PG-rated cozy mysteries that take place in some of my favorite cities in the world. They are meant to be read by baby boomers who grew up loving the series, not preteens.

Out of the 5 that I've written, I think my favorite one is The Stolen Mask because it takes place in London and she gets to see a lot of the literary and historical sites in England where I've been. And best of all--she and Daniel Craig are staying at the same hotel! In fact, he's next door to her hotel room. When someone steals his BAFTA award, she helps him find out whodunit. At the end of the story, she gets to walk the red carpet with him at the Academy Awards. Sounds far-fetched, you may ask. A girl can dream, can't she?

It's available at all your favorite online stores. 

Here's a link to purchase:

Click Here to Purchase

Armchair Traveling

Readers and Writers, Welcome to 2018.  Are you ready to do some armchair traveling?  Where would you like to go on vacation this year?

If you've always dreamed of going on a literary tour of England, you may want to check out this essay entitled "England in the Footsteps of Its Literary Giants."  This travelogue explores the literary landmarks of England by visiting the birthplaces and environs of some of the best writers of the English language. In it, you will find the worlds of Charles Dickens, Jane Austen, the Bronte Sisters, James Herriot, Thomas Hardy and William Shakespeare, to name but a few. One need not be an English Major to enjoy this book. All one needs is a yen to travel. It's worth a visit. Here's what one reader said in a FIVE STAR REVIEW: "Charming and delightful, both photographically and descriptively. What a wonderful story of living your dreams!"

Amazon Link to England in the Footsteps of Its Literary Giants

Planning a vacation? Why not New Orleans? It's one of my favorite cities in the world and I've returned to it many times over the years. I wrote this travelogue/romance novel entitled "Honeymoon in New Orleans" about my favorite places to visit, dine, and stay overnight in The Crescent City and Louisiana. My travelogue also includes helpful websites to consider before planning your next vacation.

Amazon Link to Honeymoon in New Orleans

Would you like to take a trip to one of the American South's most beautiful city?  How about this murder/mystery that takes place there?

"In Honeymoon in Savannah: A Detective Santy Mystery," a female detective hopes to spend a quiet honeymoon with her husband in one of America’s most beautiful cities. She and her husband are both big fans of “Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil”, so they decide to make a pilgrimage to Savannah to see the sights mentioned in the book. Her time as a tourist is short-lived however when a famous chef is murdered. The chef just happens to be her cousin--so this is personal--and Clarissa can't rest until she finds out whodunit.

Amazon Link to Honeymoon in Savannah: A Detective Santy Mystery

The Regency Period and Jane Austen

Here is an excerpt from The Forgotten Sister: A Sequel to Pride and Prejudice 

My family and I are visiting Brighton today.  My sisters’ husbands have stayed behind. Everyone thinks that the fresh sea air will be good for our constitutions.  I must admit that it’s nice to get out of Longbourn for a change.  It’s so provincial.  I am hoping to see what “the real world” is like.

Whilst there, my sisters got it into their heads that they wanted to rent a bathing machine.  I had never seen one of these contraptions and was eager to learn all about them.  They are basically large covered wagons attached to a horse who tows people out into several feet of water. Once there, the the swimmer undresses inside the machines, puts on her bathing costume, and is lowered into the water by a female attendant.  Once in the water, one may swim or hang on to a rope attached to the “machine” while the waves wash over you.

I had never swam in the ocean.  I have dipped my feet into the waves a few times, but this was a first. Once inside the wagon, I found it was small, badly lit, and poorly ventilated.  The only light that came in was from small openings placed high up to deter voyeurs.  We changed into our bathing costumes and an old hag of a bathing attendant who seemed to have imbibed in the sherry a bit too much assisted us as we boldly dropped into the sea.

Mama demanded to go first.  Once in the water, she screamed, “It’s too cold!  I’m going to die of hypothermia!  Quick! Somebody get me out of here!”

Lydia said, “For heaven’s sake, Mama!”

The attendant helped Mama back up into the covered wagon and wrapped her with a blanket.

To show everyone that she wasn’t afraid, Lydia jumped into the water with the confidence of Aphrodite riding ashore on an oyster shell.  “Come on,” she told us sisters.  “The water is fine!”

The rest of us followed suit.  I must admit, I did not care for it.  Mama was right: it was too cold! I didn’t stay in the water for very long and asked the attendant to help me up.  The old woman thought she’d regale us with her stories.  She said that women and men swam miles apart in Brighton.  She went on to say that men swam nude.

Once Lydia heard that, her ears perked up.  She asked the hag to lift her out and inquired, “Where exactly do the men swim nude?”

My sister Jane chastised her saying, “We mustn’t go there.  What would people say?!”

Elizabeth, my other sister, said, “Papa would be appalled.”

My sister Kitty started coughing and frantically asked to be pulled out of the sea.  I’ve been worrying about her.  She’s had this cough for a long time.  I hope she doesn’t have consumption!  I shall demand that Papa have a doctor give the poor girl a thorough checkup the minute we arrive home.

###

Would you like to read what happens next?

Please check out The Forgotten Sister: A Sequel to Pride and Prejudice 

by Louise Hathaway.

Purchase at Amazon 

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Who loves Jane Austen?

I found out that not everybody does when I was in graduate school and announced to my Romantic Literature class that I had chosen Pride and Prejudice as my essay assignment. My fellow classmates dismissed Austen's book, saying that "it was just about some silly girls wanting to get married"; one of the ladies said, "Oh, I read that in grammar school." I couldn’t help but be reminded of a letter that Jane Austen wrote to her sister, saying, “I must confess that I think [Elizabeth Bennet, the main character in the novel] as delightful a character as ever appeared in print, and how I shall be able to tolerate those who do not like her …I do not know.”

Here's some good news for Jane Austen fans: "The Forgotten Sister: A Sequel to Pride and Prejudice" is now available at the lowered price of $1.99. It's about Mary Bennet, the plain middle daughter in Pride and Prejudice, as she compares herself to her beautiful sisters, tries to get her father to notice her, complains about her mother’s melodramatics, falls in love, considers a move to America, becomes a writer, and a ultimately becomes a champion of those less fortunate. What makes this book different from other books written about Pride and Prejudice is its depiction of the social history in Britain during the nineteenth century. Mary Bennet learns about the worlds of their servants in Pemberley, poor chimney sweeps, and factory workers. Transport yourself back to the Regency era and get better acquainted with one of period's famous fictional families.

The Forgotten Sister: A Sequel to Pride and Prejudice

is available at Amazon, iTunes, Barnes and Noble,

Kobo, Smashwords, and Google Play

for $1.99 

Terrorist Attack

I was stranded in London on 9/11 wanting to get back home and now my niece is stranded in Paris after yesterday's horrible terrorist attack. It's such a helpless feeling when all you want to do is come back to the U.S. and be with your family and you can't. I write about my experiences in London on and after September 11th in the last part of this book. 

Here's what Destination Europe: The Summer the World Changed is about.

Based upon real experiences of the author, this travelogue is about two friends who travel to Europe to recover, sight see, meet long lost relatives, and find love in unexpected places. Come along with them as they follow in the footsteps of the Caesars, marvel at the beauty of the Sistine Chapel, see Monet’s garden at Giverny, and go on a literary pilgrimage in Great Britain. On their way back home, aboard a plane at Heathrow, they first hear about the terrorist attacks on 9/11. Their pilot tells them to get off the plane and gather their luggage in the baggage claim area. Where will they go? When will they be able to come back home?

This eBook is only 99 cents and is available at Amazon, iTunes, Barnes and Noble, Google Play, Kobo, and Smashwords.

Purchase at Amazon

Purchase at iTunes

Purchase at Barnes and Noble

Purchase at Google Play Books

Purchase at Kobo Books

Purchase at Smashwords

Jane Austen

The Forgotten Sister: A Sequel to Pride and Prejudice

by Louise Hathaway

Only $1.99

Here's some good news for Jane Austen fans: "The Forgotten Sister: A Sequel to Pride and Prejudice" is now available at the lowered price of $1.99. It's about Mary Bennet, the plain middle daughter in Pride and Prejudice, as she compares herself to her beautiful sisters, tries to get her father to notice her, complains about her mother’s melodramatics, falls in love, considers a move to America, becomes a writer, and a ultimately becomes a champion of those less fortunate. What makes this book different from other books written about Pride and Prejudice is its depiction of the social history in Britain during the nineteenth century. Mary Bennet learns about the worlds of their servants in Pemberley, poor chimney sweeps, and factory workers. Transport yourself back to the Regency era and get better aquainted with one of period's famous fictional families.

Available at Amazon, iTunes, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Google Play, Scribd, and Smashwords.  Here are the book's direct links at each store:

Purchase at Amazon
Purchase at iTunes
Purchase at Barnes & Noble
Purchase at Google Play
Purchase at Kobo
Purchase at Smashwords

Where Were You on 9/11? I Was In A Plane

What a sad anniversary we Americans must face each year when September 11th comes around again.  It was a day I'll never forget, on so many different levels.  My husband and I were on a plane in London, strapped in our seats, and ready to come home after two weeks in Europe. We hadn't heard about the terrorist attacks yet until the pilot got on the intercom and told us that two passenger planes had just crashed into two towers of the World Trade Center.  Everyone on the plane was stunned!  It was too awful to be true!  Then, the pilot told us that the airspaces have been closed and we'd have to get off the plane and collect our luggage.  We didn't know where to go or what to do.

This was a special service attended by the Queen, Tony Blair, the American Ambasador,

and me along with hundreds of other commoners

I tell more about this experience in my eBook "Destination Europe: The Summer the World Changed."  This travelogue is a compilation of my happiest memories and favorite places to visit in London, Paris, Rome, and Belgium.  It also covers a literary pilgrimage I went on in England.  I haven't been back to Europe since 9/11.  In a lot of ways, those earlier days were "The Golden Age of Travel" for me. After the attack, I didn't want to ever fly anywhere again for a long time.  I hated the idea that passenger planes were used as "weapons of mass destruction".  Who would do such a horrible thing and how did they get away with it?  September 11th has definitely changed my feelings of safety in the rest of world; but what a glorious time I had in Europe before that fateful day.  Come along with me as I follow in the footsteps of the Caesars, marvel at the beauty of the Sistine Chapel, and see Monet’s garden at Giverny.

Available for $1.99 at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, iTunes,  

Google Play, Smashwords, Oyster and Scribd

Destination Europe

Destination Europe:

The Summer the World Changed

by Louise Hathaway

Based upon the writer's real experiences in Europe, this travelogue is about the adventures of two librarians who go to Europe. For 30-year-old Nicole, it’s her exciting first trip there. For 40-year-old Isabella, it’s a chance to recover from her husband’s recent death. Come along with them as they follow the footsteps of the Caesars, marvel at the beauty of the Sistine Chapel, see Monet’s garden at Giverny, and go on a literary pilgrimage in Great Britain. Feel their frustration and grief aboard a plane on September 11, 2001 where they first hear about the terrorist attack. Where will they go and when will they be able to come back home?

This eBook contains three travel essays previously published:

England in the Footsteps of its Literary Giants

Chasing My Roots: New World Finally Meets Old World

Where were you on 9/11?

Only $1.99

Here are the direct links to purchase this book:

To purchase at Amazon
To purchase at iTunes
To purchase at Barnes and Noble

To purchase at Google Play

To Purchase at Smashwords

Travel Tips

Summer is just around the corner and it's time to start thinking about where to go on vacation.  I wrote a free travelogue called "Planning A Vacation?  Why not Chicago?" that is available at iTunes, Barnes and Noble, Kobo, and Smashwords.

 
I also wrote "England in the Footsteps of Its Literary Giants," about my pilgrimage to the birthplaces and environs of some of my favorite British authors.  It is only 99 cents and is available at Amazon, iTunes, Barnes and Noble, Kobo, and Smashwords.

Many of my novels take place in my favorite travel destinations, so you may also like: Honeymoon in Savannah, Honeymoon in New Orleans, The Ghost in the Plantation, The Buried Treasure on Route 66, The Stolen Mask (takes place in London), and The Missing Bachelor Farmer (takes place in Lake Wobegon).  They are available at Amazon, iTunes, Barnes & Noble, Google Play, Kobo, Smashwords, Scribd, and Oyster.

Happy traveling and I hope my books inspire you to go to many of my favorite places.

Free eBooks

This is "Read an eBook Week" at our publisher, Smashwords.  Now is your chance to sample the type of books we have to offer for FREE.  Use coupon code RAE25 at checkout.  Just click on the links to the following books:

We have a romance novel

High School Reunion: You Can Go Home Again

A Murder Mystery

The Body on Ortega Highway: A Detective Santy Mystery

A Book about Genealogy

Chasing My Roots: New World Finally Meets Old World

A Travelogue:

England in the Footsteps of its Literary Giants

And 2 Literary Essays with Pictures:

The Oedipus Complex in D. H. Lawrence's Sons and Lovers

Nags, Sluts, & a Deep-Breasted Soulmate from the Shining City: 

the Women in Thomas Wolfe's The Web and The Rock

Travel to England, New Orleans, Savannah, and on Route 66 with our books

If you are anything like my cowriter and I, now is the time of year when we think about where we want to go on our next trip.  We've been lucky enough to travel and see some amazing places in Europe and America. Many of our books take place in some of our favorite vacation destinations.

Here are our books that are part-travelogues.  They are all available at your favorite online bookstores such as Amazon, iTunes, Barnes and Noble, Google Play, Smashwords, and Kobo:

Have you ever wanted to go to England and trace the footsteps of its literary giants?  Then, you might want to take along this ebook (includes pictures) which is available for just 99 cents:

England in the Footsteps of its Literary Giants

Another book we've written that takes place in England is The Stolen Mask: A Nancy Keene Mystery.  It is about a teenage sleuth, (very similar to Nancy Drew) who goes to England with her father and finds out that James Bond (AKA Daniel Craig) is staying at the same hotel they are.  When his acting award is stolen from his room, Nancy is hot on the trail to help find it.

The Stolen Mask: A Nancy Keene Mystery

eBook available for $1.99

My husband and I love New Orleans and we have visited there more times than we can count.  We wrote two books that take place in the Crescent City:

The Ghost in the Plantation: A Nancy Keene Mystery

eBook Available for $2.99

Also in Paperback

Honeymoon in New Orleans

eBook available for $1.99

After we read Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, we wanted to make a pilgrimage to Savannah, Georgia to visit all the places mentioned in the best seller. Honeymoon in Savannah: A  Detective Santy Mystery takes you on a guided tour through this city where a famous chef has been murdered! This has turned out to be our most popular book.

Honeymoon in Savannah: A Detective Santy Mystery

eBook available for $2.99

Also available in paperback

Every Saturday night, my husband and I listen to A Prarie Home Companion.  Two years ago, we made a pilgrimage to check out some of the places Garrison Keillor bases his News for Lake Wobegon stories upon.  We even got to meet him!  When we were there, I wrote this book, which includes pictures. Anyone who has listened to Keillor's radio show shouldn't miss this tale of missing bachelor farmer!

The Missing Bachelor Farmer: A Nancy Keene Mystery

eBook available for $1.99

Also available in paperback at Amazon.com

Are you still with me, dear reader?  If so, you might like to take a trip on Route 66 with our teenage sleuth, Nancy Keene. This time, she finds herself on the Mother Road discovering romance, intrigue and coming to the aide of a little old lady in distress. 

The Buried Treasure on Route 66: A Nancy Keene Mystery

eBook available for $1.99

Also available in paperback at Amazon.com

Sometimes our readers ask us, "Where did you get the idea for this story?" Most of our books are about our own experiences and our book "The Stolen Mask: A Nancy Keene Mystery" works on the premise of "What would you do if James Bond was at your hotel?"  This actually happened to us: in 1987, before I retired, we were splurging at a very expensive hotel in London and I just happened to look out at the garden from our upstairs hotel room window--and Lo and Behold, there was James Bond!!  Not really, of course, but it was the actor Timothy Dalton, who played the famous secret agent. He was drinking champagne with some other people and toasts were being made.

It was around this time that Timothy Dalton got the news that he would be "The Next Bond". So, that's where I got the idea to write this story in which I have our teenage sleuth, Nancy Keene, going to London with her father. She plans to go on a Jane Austen pilgrimage and do some sight-seeing while her father is attending business meetings, so this novel is partly a travelogue of England and some of the places my husband and I have been to.  It's also a  "mystery" because Nancy turns "sleuth" and is hot on the trail when someone steals James Bond's (Timothy Dalton's) acting award that looks like a mask.

The Stolen Mask: A Nancy Keene Mystery

Available for only $1.99 at the following online stores:

Amazon

Barnes and Noble

Apple iTunes

Smashwords

Google Play

Kobo

D. H. Lawrence

I wrote a critical essay on The Oedipus Complex in D. H. Lawrence's novel Sons and Lovers and was delighted when my cousin Dominique Van Rentergem told me that I could use one of his paintings for the eBook's cover.

Here's what it looks like:

  

The Oedipus Complex in D. H. Lawrence's Sons and Lovers

by Louise Hathaway

I think the cover perfectly captures the feeling of the book, which is about a mother and son who have a destructive bond that causes a tremendous amount of grief for the son when he grows older and wants to date and love women.  Will his mother ever let him go?

My essay has pictures that my husband took when we went to the famous author's birthplace in Eastwood, England.  If you ever want to see this house and museum, I provide some points of interest around Eastwood and describe a wonderful hotel we stayed in that was nearby.  My husband and I also went New Mexico to see where D. H. Lawrence lived and was the happiest in a three-room rustic cabin near Taos.  The property also has a little chapel where his ashes are buried.

We spent three weeks in England, tracing the footsteps of major British authors. I write about this literary pilgrimage in the eBook below:

England in the Footsteps of Its Literary Giants

by Louise Hathaway

Both are available for only 99 cents at all your favorite online bookstores

Pride and Prejudice

This eBook is a scholarly essay about marriage expectations in the Regency period as expressed in Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice.  It explores the different relationships between the sexes in the novel, and what the options were for women who were not yet married during this period. Accompanied by photographs taken by the author when she made a Jane Austen pilgrimage to Winchester and Chawton, England, this is a must read for all the “Janites” out there.

How can anyone not love Jane Austen?  I found out that she was looked down upon by “serious students of English Literature” when I was in graduate school and I announced to my class in Romantic Literature that I had chosen to write about Pride and Prejudice.  My fellow classmates dismissed the book, saying that it was just about "some silly girls wanting to get married."  I couldn’t help but be reminded of a letter that Jane Austen wrote to her sister, saying, “I must confess that I think [Elizabeth Bennet, the main character in the novel] as delightful a character as ever appeared in print, and how I shall be able to tolerate those who do not like her …I do not know.”  I hope this essay will help the skeptics take another look at her novel and reconsider.

Marriage in Pride and Prejudice

By Louise Hathaway

eBook available for 99 cents at the following online bookstores:

Amazon Apple B & N Smashwords


Kobo Google

Nancy Drew Meets James Bond

I've been busy writing my next Nancy Keene book, "The Case of the Stolen Mask".  This book, a humorous, PG-Rated tale written for nostalgic women baby-boomers like myself who grew up loving Nancy Drew mysteries, has my teenage sleuth going to London and staying in the same hotel as Daniel Craig (AKA James Bond) when his BAFTA award is stolen from his room.  When Nancy is not on a Jane Austen pilgrimage or visiting Buckingham Palace, she channels Agatha Christie, Sherlock Holmes, and Rumpole of the Bailey to help her solve the mystery.

Check out my other Nancy Keene Mysteries at all your favorite online bookstores:

The Missing Bachelor Farmer

The Ghost in the Plantation

The Buried Treasure on Route 66

Traveling to England

What is your idea of a dream vacation?  Mine was going to England and seeing the birthplaces and environs of my favorite English writers: Dickens, the Brontes, Jane Austen, James Herriot, Shakespeare, and D. H. Lawrence. A few years ago, my dream came true and my husband and I went to England for three weeks. When we came back, I wrote this essay, then my husband and I looked at our pictures from the trip and chose the ones to go with it. I hope you like it as much as we did.

It's available at most of your favorite eBookstores and costs only 99 cents.

Amazon Apple B & N Smashwords