Rob McInroy is the author of the Bob and Annie Kelty historical crime fiction series. To date there have been four novels – Cuddies Strip, Barossa Street and Moot., published by Muirton Books and te fourth in the series, Barvick Falls, published by Tippermuir Books in autumn 2025.

The series begins in 1935 and, in the latest book, has reached 1940. A ten-book arc will take Bob and Annie to 1985.

The novels are all set in Perthshire, notable Perth and Crieff, and a sense of place is essential to Rob McInroy’s writing style.

Rob McInroy comes from a rural, working class background in Crieff, Perthshire and a strong sense of place is integral to his work. He sees writing as a window on his past, allowing the working class voices of his parents’ generation, long stilled, to be heard again. In this way, the generations connect, the traditions continue. As Hamish Henderson put it:

 

Tomorrow, songs
Will flow free again and new voices
Be borne on the carrying stream.

 

He has an MA in Creative Writing and a PhD in American literature, both from the University of Hull, and is a tutor of creative writing. He is available to facilitate creative writing workshops.

His website is here

 

Annie Garthwaite grew up in the northeast of England and studied English at the University of Wales before embarking on a thirty-year international business career. In 2017 she studied for an MA in Creative Writing at Warwick University and, during two years of study, wrote her debut novel Cecily which was published by Penguin in 2021. Cecily was named a ‘top pick’ by The Times and Sunday Times, a ‘Best Book of 2021’ by independent bookshops and Waterstones, and has recently been optioned for TV.

Annie’s second novel, The King’s Mother, was published by Penguin on 11 July 2024 and was immediately named ‘Book of the Month’ by The Times.

Louise Hare is the author of three published novels with her fourth due in February 2026. Her debut novel, This Lovely City, saw her named one of the ten best debut novelists of 2020 in the Observer. It was a featured book in the inaugural series of the BBC 2 book show Between the Covers, longlisted for the HWA Debut Crown 2020 and shortlisted for the RSL Ondaatje Prize 2021. Miss Aldridge Regrets and Harlem After Midnight follow the adventures of 1930s jazz singer Lena Aldridge as she becomes embroiled in murder mysteries on both sides of (and in the midst of) the Atlantic. Harlem After Midnight was shortlisted for the CWA Historical Dagger in 2024. As well as writing her own novels, she is a freelance editor for The History Quill and has twice been a judge for the HWA Gold Crown award, including in 2024 when she chaired the panel. She also writes a weekly Substack, The Friday Obsession where she writes about whatever happens to have inspired her that week.

It was as a child on the move with her Forces family that Claire discovered a fascination for the past that led to an abiding interest in the Wars of the Roses and a lifetime of research.

Following a degree in Medieval History, she founded and ran a school for neurodiverse children and young people. Yet history was never far from her mind. Embarking on her writing career, she returned to her historical roots with Mortal Fire – the gold medal-winning first book in The Secret of the Journal series. 

Despite saying she would never do so, Claire is currently writing two series. With The Tarnished Crown she  is back in the fifteenth-century, weaving vibrant characters with threads of history to bring authenticity to her suspenseful stories of love, loyalty and treachery during the Wars of the Roses. Book One – Wheel of Fortune was first published in 2023, with Book Two – Sun Ascendant released in 2024. Book Three – Degrees of Affinity is on her editor’s desk, and Book 4 in draft form on her laptop.

Claire is also writing the first book in a Victorian Gothic series where eerie houses and an abiding mystery take centre stage.

Now living in the South West of England, her love of history is equalled only by her delight in the natural world and the unruly sea by which she lives with her family, assorted animals and overworked coffee machine.

 

 

I write twentieth century historical fiction, based around unheard voices, or from unusual perspectives.

My debut novel, People Like Us (entitled Daughter of the Reich in the US/Canada edition) and first published in 2020 into 13 territories, is set in 1930’s Leipzig, seen through the eyes of a young girl, Hetty, brainwashed into believing the Nazi dream, until that is, she encounters Walter, a Jew.

My second novel, The Hidden Child, will be published in September 2021, and is the story of Edward and Eleanor, firm believers in the widely held pseudo-science of Eugenics, who firmly believe in genetic superiority. Their world is shattered, however, when their young daughter, Mabel, develops debilitating seizures.

I live in Surrey with my husband, children and small dog Bonnie, who is the best writing companion I could ask for. Always at my side when I write and she listens most patiently when I need to talk through a tricky plot problem. I am currently working on my third novel.