Teaser Tuesday: Big News

Way back in March and April, some of you canny folks noticed that my Weekly Reading Round-Ups were leaning heavily towards the 1920s, with a high proportion of non-fiction in among the novels. The official announcement came out in Publishers Weekly yesterday, so I’m finally at liberty to say….

You guessed right. I’ve been writing a 1920’s-set book.

It’s the tale of the intertwined lives of two cousins, beginning in England in the 1910s and stretching up through late 20’s Kenya. It’s a little Downton Abbey and a little Out of Africa. There’s also a modern woman trying to figure out what exactly happened back then and what this means for her and what she thought she knew about her family and herself.

I can’t tell you how thrilled I am to finally be able to tell you all about it! I don’t have the details yet about release date or anything like that (I’m still writing it), but, at a guess, it will be sometime in late 2012 or early 2013.

Some of you may have noticed that Deanna Raybourn is also writing a book set in Kenya in the 1920s. We discovered this over drinks back in May and had a “Wait? Really??” moment. (Then Deanna sent me her entire list of research books, because she is that wonderful.)

Clearly, Kenya in the 1920s is the place to be….

36 Comments

  1. Angie on September 6, 2011 at 9:26 am

    Branching out! Congratulations! Can’t wait to read it!

  2. Tracie on September 6, 2011 at 9:27 am

    SQUEE! How exciting! The 1920s is my favorite time period and you are one of my fave writers, so this book is a marriage made in heaven as far as I’m concerned!

    Do you have a title for this novel yet? Will this be a standalone book or the beginning of another series?

    I eagerly await the release of your new masterpiece. Happy writing and thanks for sharing all of the details with us!

  3. Lauren on September 6, 2011 at 9:31 am

    Thanks, Angela! I’m very excited to be trying something new.

    Tracie, the working title is “Ashford Park”, but it will probably be renamed before it makes it into print (my working titles are never the real titles). It’s quite definitely a stand alone.

  4. Ashley on September 6, 2011 at 9:38 am

    Congrats! I look forward to seeing the 20s from your characters’ viewpoints! If it’s got your name on it, I’ll pick it up! 😀

  5. Georgia on September 6, 2011 at 9:44 am

    Sounds exciting. Does that mean you will be sunsetting the Pink series soon?

  6. Angie on September 6, 2011 at 9:50 am

    How exciting!! Enjoy your writing, I know it will be such a joy to read and I can’t wait!

  7. KatrinaG on September 6, 2011 at 9:53 am

    Wow. That’s going to be an interesting read and I’m really looking forward to how this plays out.

    Does that sound a little ominous/cool? It wasn’t meant to. It’s just that I think the setting lends itself to some inherent conflicts around race and colonialism. And you haven’t neglected to depict that before (I’m thinking of your treatment of India in the Pink series), so I’m curious as to the role that these issues will play in your story.

  8. jeffrey on September 6, 2011 at 9:56 am

    England, France, India…..AFRICA ??
    That sounds truly fascinating!

  9. Gina on September 6, 2011 at 10:19 am

    So exciting! I’ve always been interested in that time period. Happy writing!

  10. Caitlin on September 6, 2011 at 10:31 am

    Excellent! I really can’t wait to read this new book – it sounds very interesting 😀

  11. lauren on September 6, 2011 at 10:36 am

    im stoked already! i cant wait to read them! thanks for giving me something else of yours to devour with my brain 😀 that sounded odd lol

  12. Michelle on September 6, 2011 at 10:44 am

    Great news…I gues you’ve been brushing up on Alexandra Fuller books (wonderful).

  13. Michelle on September 6, 2011 at 10:46 am

    Great news…I guess you’ve been brushing up on Alexandra Fuller books (wonderful). Also Peter Fuller’s accounts of Botswana are funny and fantastic!

  14. Rebecca W. on September 6, 2011 at 12:12 pm

    Wow, such great news! Looking forward to reading it, whenever that may be! 🙂

  15. Chartreuse on September 6, 2011 at 12:51 pm

    Was your trip to Wales associated with the “Ashford Park” project? I was hoping that it had to do with Fluellen, but I’m looking forward to “Ashford Park” too. And I have to wait for up to a year and a half before adding Lauren Willig to Wilbur Smith, H. Rider Haggard, and other “African” authors — hope there’s plenty of Pink coming out between now and then.

  16. Sara G. on September 6, 2011 at 1:28 pm

    I’m excited to see that both you & Deanna Raybourn are writing in the same time period! I love both of your book series, so this is exciting! 😀 woo! can’t wait!!

  17. Céline on September 6, 2011 at 3:09 pm

    Waow!!! Wonderful!!!! Just like everyone else, I can’t wait to read it!!!!! 🙂
    Congrats!!!!
    (and I add to Georgia on the Pink series question… did you put Miss Gwen’s story on hold to write this book or do you manage to write two books at the same time?)

  18. Sheila on September 6, 2011 at 3:46 pm

    This is certainly wonderful news. I am really looking forward to your take on the Happy Valley hijinks, colonialism, etc. Oh happy day!

  19. Elizabeth aka Miss Eliza on September 6, 2011 at 3:47 pm

    I can’t wait!

  20. Cho on September 6, 2011 at 3:50 pm

    YAY! More Lauren Willig books! Can’t wait 😀

  21. RosieO on September 6, 2011 at 3:57 pm

    Looking forward to it. How exciting!

  22. Anne Edwards on September 6, 2011 at 4:57 pm

    Wonderful news, Lauren. Thanks for sharing. We’ll be IMpatiently waiting for it to be completed and published. How exciting for you, too! I love the books you’ve written, but suspect it’s particularly fun for you to try a different era and slant. Keep it up!

  23. stephanie ball on September 6, 2011 at 5:00 pm

    Wonderful! I cannot wait

  24. Pam on September 6, 2011 at 7:40 pm

    Oh goodness this is exciting. Sounds fabulous–good luck with (and enjoy) the research and writing, I can’t wait to read it!

  25. Amanda B. on September 6, 2011 at 9:24 pm

    This is sooo exciting, I can’t wait!!! I’m sure it will be wonderful!! I am hoping to go on a mission trip to Kenya to help my mom with a medical team and to visit some friends. Kenya has been very close to my heart lately, especially with so much going on there. I am so happy for you!!

  26. Liz on September 7, 2011 at 11:59 am

    This sounds fabulous! Can’t wait to read it!!

  27. Am7 on September 7, 2011 at 2:41 pm

    Interesting with some authors a colonial setting might be awkward but I thought you did India rather well.
    Now are any of these people Selwicks?
    Or Alsworthys?
    or Pinchingdales?
    (etc.)

  28. Jeanne Jenike on September 7, 2011 at 4:55 pm

    suzanne arruda has a wonderful series of 1920’s kenya Jade del Cameron is a fiesty heroine. Carola DUNN has her funtastic Daisy Dalrymple cosy mysteries set in 20’s England and the awesome Jacquline Winspear has her MAISIE Dobbs series set in 1930’s England. so well written.

  29. Lora on September 7, 2011 at 5:52 pm

    The saying was “Are you married or do you live in Kenya ?”

  30. Carole on September 8, 2011 at 6:37 am

    oooh! I’m super excited!

  31. Sheila on September 8, 2011 at 8:19 am

    To Jeanne: very sadly, the Jade series is at an end, at least for now. Publisher wouldn’t sign on for more, which is a huge loss, I think. Anyone who likes Lauren’s books, would surely like these also.
    To Amy7: I had the same thought, I t would be fun,even in a cameo sort of way.

  32. AngelB on September 8, 2011 at 8:33 am

    Congratulations Lauren!

  33. Jessica Mac on September 9, 2011 at 3:26 pm

    Super exciting news!! Can’t wait!!

  34. Amy N. on September 10, 2011 at 11:12 am

    Wow! Would this be the same period in time as the movie “The Ghost and the Darkness”? I’ve never viewed “Out of Africa” so I guess I better get moving. Congratulations on your newest endeavor! Oh, BTW, did you happen to watch the History Channel’s “Expedition Africa: Stanley and Livingstone” where 4 current day explorers followed in the steps of Stanley as he searched for Livingstone? It was so fantastic I read “Into Africa” by Martin Dugard.

  35. MiriamD on September 10, 2011 at 11:15 am

    Yay! More Lauren is more better! Mazel tov!

    I recently used the Literature Map to find authors similar to “Lauren Willig”, and it came up with Jacqueline Winspear, who was available through my library’s ebook system. So now I’m going through the 1929-based _Maisie Dobbs_, and lo, here more news of 1920’s goodness. How nifty! (And now I’m wondering how much the Great War has affected these new people)

    I can’t wait!

  36. SusanN on September 12, 2011 at 9:33 pm

    Yep, if you and Deanna Raybourn will be there, you can both count me in for the Kenya expeditions!

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