Two new Joseph books!

I am delighted to announce that two new titles in the Young Joseph series – published by SPCK and illustrated by Andy Catling – have been released today!

Joseph and the forgetful servant

Joseph and the Forgetful Servant (featuring Ninja Cows)

Joseph finds himself in prison, with only his imaginary cows to keep him company. Soon he’s joined by a butler and a baker who used to work for Pharaoh. The butler and the baker have strange dreams. Can Joseph work out what they mean?

Joseph and the Dreaming Pharaoh

Joseph and the Dreaming Pharaoh (featuring Paparazzi Cows)

Joseph is still in prison in Egypt, with only his imaginary cows for company. Pharaoh’s butler, who promised to help him, has forgotten all about him. Meanwhile, Pharaoh is having some very strange dreams. Pharoah’s butler remembers that Joseph helped him to understand his dreams. Can Joseph do the same for Pharaoh and finally be free?

You can check out and/or buy the books – plus others in the series – on the Young Bible Heroes website

The remaining books in the series are due out in January 2018:

Joseph and the Hidden Cup
Joseph and the Fearful Family

Give My Regards To Uncle Stalin

Today I am guesting on the Crime Readers’ Association Blog. I talk about how readers sometimes read books through their own personal lens and how one reader objected to my portrayal of Josef Stalin in book 2 of the Poppy Denby Investigates series – when Stalin doesn’t even appear in the book! I do, however, present a cross-section of characters who are both pro and anti-Bolshevism in a period when people were still trying to work out what the new movement might mean. The Kill Fee is set against the Russian Revolution and the plight of the exiled Romanovs in London.Poppy meets an eclectic mix of them including a White Russian princess actress, the killer of Rasputin, and some secret agents from both sides of the conflict. Our intrepid sleuth has to find her way through it all to track down the thief of a priceless Faberge Egg and to stop a murderer from striking again. To read the whole article visit the CRA Blog here.

Publishers’ Weekly reviews The Kill Fee

Smith (The Jazz Files) returns to formidable and spunky Poppy Denby, arts and entertainment editor for the Daily Globe, in this inspirational whodunit set in post-WWI London. As Poppy goes from covering a Russian art exhibit to looking for a murderer and a missing Fabergé egg, she takes on charming and possibly nefarious Andrei Nogovski of the Russian embassy. With help from Rollo Rolandson, her boss; fellow reporter Ike Garfield; aunt and suffragette Dot Denby; and best friend Delilah Marconi, Poppy follows leads and discovers that people aren’t always what they seem. Interspersed with Poppy’s story are flashbacks that center on a young Russian aristocrat and the nanny who saves her from the fate of the rest of her family. The audience follows them as they cross the Russian landscape and wait to see how their story intersects with Poppy’s mystery. The complicated plot, involving a myriad of both White and Red Russians, is offset by the list of characters at the beginning, reminding readers of numerous important names and their allegiances. Smith weaves together a diverse cast, including both male and female characters in positions of power, and depicting a variety of ethnicities and abilities without resorting to stereotypes. Embark with upstanding, uplifting Poppy and her friends on a mystery involving jewel thieves, Russian royalty, murders, sword fights, car chases, and secret tunnel. Full review here.

Two nations. Four lovers. One destiny.

‘Two nations. Four Lovers. One Destiny.’ I’m happy to announce the publication of my latest book, Pilate’s Daughter, a historical romance set in Roman Palestine. It’s only available on ebook for now I’m afraid, so sorry to all my paper-loving friends (I know, as a paper lover myself, I feel your pain). This book was written before the Poppy Denby series, but took a while to find a publisher (Endeavour Press). But now it has! I hope you enjoy it. For all my male readers – and female readers who don’t really like girly romance – do not fear. Despite what the cover might suggest, it’s not a schmaltzy love story. It’s actually quite dark in places with political intrigue – and a few bloody battles! You can download the book here: Pilate’s Daughter

fiona-veitch-smith-pilates-daughter

Roman historical romance with Endeavour Press

I am happy to announce that I have signed a book contract with Endeavour Press, Britain’s leading digital publisher to publish a Roman historical romance called Pilate’s Daughter. Pilate’s Daughter was written before the Poppy Denby series but had not yet found a home. The novel will be released before Easter 2017. Fans of Poppy Denby should not fear, however, as book 3 in the series will still be coming out in September 2017 and another one is in the pipeline for the following year!

Pilate’s Daughter is a Romeo and Juliet story set against the Roman occupation of Palestine in the first century. Claudia Lucretia Pilate, the daughter of the governor of Judea, falls in love with Judah ben Hillel, a young Jewish Zealot who has been tasked to kill her. But Claudia is promised to a dashing young Tribune whose job it is to rid Palestine of the Zealot problem, and to complicate matters further, is having an affair with a conniving slave who is set on getting rid of Claudia. In the meantime a Jewish prophet from Galilee has been stirring up trouble, claiming to be the long awaited Messiah. Judah is torn between following the prophet and eloping with Claudia and as the last days of Jesus come to a head in Jerusalem, so does the destiny of the ‘star-crossed lovers’. The lives of the lesser-known characters of the gospels rub shoulders with fictional characters in this historical Roman romance. The Pilates, the Herods, Barabbas, Caiphas and Judas Iscariot are shown not just as walk-on parts in the Jesus story, but as real people struggling to reconcile love and duty in one of the most volatile periods of history.

Young Joseph books bounce into bookshops

Today I’m bouncing with happiness because the first three books in the Young Joseph series of picturebooks are being released in bookshops around the world.

It is always a very strange thing to see the character and story that just started as a little daydream take flesh and flourish. Many thanks to the fantabulous Andy Catling who turned my crazy ideas into pictures – and added some more craziness of his own! Thanks too to the wonderful team at SPCK, including our splendid editor, Tracey Messenger.

Between the three of us, we’ve had some good laughs. We hope that you will too when you read these books with the children in your life. But beyond that, that you’ll have a little glimpse of the deeper meaning of the stories.

To order your books, click here or on each of the covers in the right-hand side book column.

Joseph and the Rainbow Robe

The first in a delightful series of illustrated picture books on the life of Joseph for 3-6 year-olds.
In the first book of the Young Joseph series, we find Joseph living in Canaan with his dad, stepmothers, eleven brothers – and lots of scene-stealing cows! Joseph is his father’s favourite, which makes his brothers very cross, especially when he tells them about the dream he has had in which the sun, moon and eleven stars bow down to him. To cheer him up, Joseph’s dad gives him a beautiful coat of many colours – a ‘rainbow robe’ to remind him that God loves everyone – even his brothers.

Joseph and the Jealous Brothers

The second title in the Young Joseph series.
Joseph’s brothers grow more and more jealous of their favoured brother. They come up with a cunning plan to take Joseph down a peg or two by throwing him in a well to give him a fright. Eventually they sell him to passing slave traders but that’s not the end of his story!

Joseph and the Lying Lady

The third book in the Young Joseph series.
Joseph finds himself in Egypt and is sold to a very important man called Mr Potiphar. Mr Potiphar is very busy and his servants are very lazy – as a result his house is a mess! With the help of his ever-helpful cow companions, Joseph soon takes charge and has things spick-and-span in no time. There’s only one problem – and that is Mrs Potiphar, who is jealous of Joseph. What scrapes will Joseph get into next?

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