Images from my recent hiking trip

I've been to Barmouth - the 'Little Gibraltar of Wales.'

Image from Barmouth.org.uk

I've not long been back from a hiking trip in mid-wales, this time in the southern region of the Snowdonia National Park. We stayed just above the town of Barmouth, with some great walks right on our doorstep. With all the glorious weather we've had this summer and early autumn, we hoped we'd be in for a treat, but unfortunately the weather had other ideas, with not just one, but three different storm systems heading our way. To say it was wet and windy would be an understatement, but we got out there and it was great fun, if you like that sort of thing. As far as hiking goes, I'm fond of the phrase, 'there's no such thing as bad weather, just the wrong clothing,' and we were well prepared. The weather even cooperated a few times, enabling me to bring a few images back with me that I like, and wanted to share.

For those interested in photography, I've just switched from my Canon full-frame gear to the Fujifilm mirrorless X-System, which uses a crop sensor and is much lighter for hiking with, yet still offers great image quality. I hope you enjoy the photos with captions. Click on any image to enlarge them.

Looking into the Mawddach estuary from Barmouth Bridge.
William Wordsworth called it the sublime estuary, and JRR Tolkien
 was so taken with the town of Barmouth that it became his model
for the fictitious town of Hobbiton in The Lord of the Rings.

Barmouth Bridge - a Grade II listed wooden railway viaduct with
pedestrian foot bridge. High winds were a challenge as we crossed
the bridge during the full force of Storm Ali.

Looking towards the Mawddach estuary with Cadair Idris mountain
range in the background.  

Some interesting light amidst the storm clouds one morning, looking
towards Cadair Idris from the balcony outside our accomodation.

More interesting sunlight through the storm clouds.

Heading back to our accommodation on the Panorama Walk above Barmouth.

Taken during a hike from Barmouth to Tal-y-bont on the Ardudwy Way.

A seascape taken from Fairborne, which is on the other side of Barmouth Bridge.

Letters from the Dead - Out now!

New Jefferson Tayte book

My new Jefferson Tayte Genealogical Mystery is out now in paperback, audiobook (performed by Simon Vance) and for Kindle worldwide. If you're following the series and plan to read it, I very much hope you enjoy it. If you're new to the series and just like the sound of this book, it can also be read as a stand-alone story without having to have read the earlier books first. For more information, and to order a copy, please follow this LINK, which will take you to the Amazon product page in your country.

Reviews

Here's what some readers are saying about the book on their blogs so far. You can follow the links to read the full reviews.

‘The end of the Scottish adventure is a white-knuckle ride and, as always, I thoroughly enjoyed this story. Steve Robinson carefully strands his stories together and they are a joy to unpick.’ — Ignite Books.

http://ignitebooks.blogspot.com/2018/08/steve-robinson.html

‘A story that, at times, had more than the touch of an Agatha Christie about it. If you have not read any of Steve Robinson’s work and are a fan of historical and genealogical fiction or merely just love a good mystery story, then you won’t go wrong with this series.’ — Go Buy The Book.

https://gobuythebook.wordpress.com/2018/08/04/letters-from-the-dead-by-steve-robinson/

‘Even better than the beautifully descriptive passages is the way Robinson builds the mystery and plants the clues. I am usually pretty good at predicting the outcome, but with this book I confess to being wrong every time.’ — Jollett Etc.

https://jollettetc.blogspot.com/2018/08/book-review-letters-from-dead-by-steve.html

‘I found myself literally holding my breath as each mystery unfolded, and genealogist, Jefferson Tayte, uncovered the clues. Steve Robinson is always a must-read author. I thoroughly enjoyed Letters from the Dead and could not put it down!’ — Old Bones Genealogy.

https://www.oldbonesgenealogy.com/genealogy-mysteries-2018-whats-new-part-2/

Further information now on my website

If you would like to read some background information about the book, including the inspiration behind it, how I set about writing the story, and some of the research that went into it, please take a look at the information page on my website HERE. I hope you'll find it interesting.

Out 14 Aug! Letters from the Dead

My new Jefferson Tayte book!

I'm very excited to finally be able to say that Letters from the Dead will be out next month! It's the seventh book in the series, but as with all the other books, it's a full story in itself, so you don't have to have read the previous books to enjoy it. It will be released worldwide on 14 August for Kindle, and in paperback and audiobook formats, the latter of which has once again been performed by multi-award winning narrator and actor, Simon Vance.

The present-day narrative is set in Scotland in the Southern Highland town of Comrie, and as with most of the books in the series it has a past narrative, which this time is set in Colonial India, specifically Jaipur, in the 1820s. I'd always wanted to write a story set in India around the time of the Honourable East India Company, and I had a great time conducting the research required to bring this colourful era to life. I also set out to write a full on murder-mystery with this book, with a traditional cast of suspects, so if you plan to read it, I know you'll have fun trying to work out whodunnit.

Do you like my bears? The one on the left of four in the image above is my birthday bear, brought to the hospital for me by my dad on the day I was born. The avid-reader bear in his cardigan on the right has been stuck into the new book since the box arrived in the post the other day. He looks pretty gripped, so that's a good sign. If you join him in reading it, I hope you'll be gripped, too. I'll be introducing the other bears on my Facebook page soon, where I'll be running lots of competitions to win signed Jefferson Tayte paperback and audiobooks, one of which will be the month-long #BearsWithBooks competition, which starts on 14 July, so if you'd like the chance to win a signed book, do pop along to my Facebook page HERE.

Description:

From acclaimed author Steve Robinson comes a thrilling new Jefferson Tayte mystery.

When genealogist Jefferson Tayte is hired to prove the identity of a black sheep in his client’s family tree, he unwillingly finds himself drawn into a murder investigation with nothing more to go on than a 150-year-old letter and a connection to a legendary ruby that has been missing for generations.

As more letters are mysteriously left for him, Tayte becomes immersed in a centuries-old tale of greed, murder and forbidden love that takes his research from the wilds of the Scottish Highlands to the colour and heat of colonial India.

A dark secret is buried in Jaipur, steeped in treachery and scandal. But why is it having such deadly repercussions in the present? Can Tayte find the ruby and prevent the past from repeating itself before it’s too late?

This is the seventh book in the Jefferson Tayte Genealogical Mystery series but it can be enjoyed as a stand-alone story.

Letters from the Dead can be pre-ordered from Amazon HERE.

The blurb is out. Read all about it!

Book description for my new Jefferson Tayte Genealogical Mystery, Letters from the Dead.

After what seems like a very long time indeed, I'm very pleased to be able to tell you more about my new JT book at last! The back cover description has now been released. You can read it HERE where you can also pre-order your copy so you receive it the day it comes out, or on my blog below.

I hope you like it. :)

From acclaimed author Steve Robinson comes a thrilling new Jefferson Tayte mystery.

When genealogist Jefferson Tayte is hired to prove the identity of a black sheep in his client’s family tree, he unwillingly finds himself drawn into a murder investigation with nothing more to go on than a 150-year-old letter and a connection to a legendary ruby that has been missing for generations.

As more letters are mysteriously left for him, Tayte becomes immersed in a centuries-old tale of greed, murder and forbidden love that takes his research from the wilds of the Scottish Highlands to the colour and heat of colonial India.

A dark secret is buried in Jaipur, steeped in treachery and scandal. But why is it having such deadly repercussions in the present? Can Tayte find the ruby and prevent the past from repeating itself before it’s too late?

This is the seventh book in the Jefferson Tayte Genealogical Mystery series but it can be enjoyed as a stand-alone story.

Cover reveal for NEW Jefferson Tayte mystery

Here it is--the front cover for my new book, Letters from the Dead!

The shiny new cover for my seventh Jefferson Tayte Genealogical mystery has been finalised, and I'm so pleased to be able to share it with you. I love it! Nice and moody. Now I really can't wait for the book to be out on 14 August. Here's a link to the book on Amazon for pre-orders and more information, which should be ready very soon.

Do let me know what you think. :)

My 7th Jefferson Tayte Mystery is called...

New Jefferson Tayte Genealogical Mystery coming this summer

I'm very pleased to announce that the seventh book in my Jefferson Tayte Genealogical Mystery series is going to be released in all formats worldwide on 14 August. It's called Letters from the Dead.

The cover design and blurb are still being worked on, so I can't share much more with you just now, but I can tell you that JT finds himself in Scotland this time, drawn into an ill-fated family's search for a priceless gemstone that takes his research to India at the time of the British East India Company, where he unravels a tale of greed, murder and forbidden love.

Needless to say, I'm very excited about this book. I've wanted to write about British India for some time now. It's such an evocative period in British history, conjuring a strong sense of adventure and excitement, which are two things I set out to capture when I began writing the story. I'm very much looking forward to seeing the cover design, which of course I'll share with you as soon as I can, along with the back cover description as soon as it's ready.

If you'd like to pre-order a copy so you receive Letters from the Dead on the day it's released, please follow the Amazon pre-order link below, which will take you to the book's product page in your country. If you're able to share the news and help spread the word, that would be great. :o)

Pre-order Letters from the Dead here.

Harper Collins Japan to publish IN THE BLOOD

I'm very excited to share with you the cover design for the Japanese language translation of IN THE BLOOD, the first book in my Jefferson Tayte Genealogy Mystery series, which is due to be released by Harper Collins Japan in February.

Because things don't always translate well from one language to another, the title has changed for the Japanese market. The lettering on the cover says 'A Secret of the Family', which I think sums up what the story is about very well. Harper Collins said: 'The reason is that the story develops around a secret of one family, which has been kept for several hundred years.' It was also chosen because 'Japanese readers tend to like dark and mysterious histories of a family.' IN THE BLOOD is certainly that.

I really like the cover design. It speaks of the past, and of old documents, and I've also just heard that the book will include a map or Cornwall where the story is set, and a Fairborne family tree. I can't wait to see a copy.

From the back cover:

Two hundred years ago a loyalist family fled to England to escape the American War of Independence and seemingly vanished into thin air. American genealogist Jefferson Tayte is hired to find out what happened, but it soon becomes apparent that a calculated killer is out to stop him.

In the Blood combines a centuries-old mystery with a present-day thriller that brings two people from opposite sides of the Atlantic together to uncover a series of carefully hidden crimes. Tayte's research centres around the tragic life of a young Cornish girl, a writing box, and the discovery of a dark secret that he believes will lead him to the family he is looking for. Trouble is, someone else is looking for the same answers and will stop at nothing to find them.