Biography
Ann Purser lives in the East Midlands, in a small and attractive village which still has a village shop, a garage, pub and church. Here she finds her inspiration for her novels about country life. She has only to do her daily shopping down the High Street to listen to the real life of the village going on around her.
Before turning to fiction, she had a number of different careers, including journalism – she was for six years a columnist in SHE magazine – and art gallery proprietor. Running her own gallery in a 400-year-old barn behind the house, she gained fascinating insights into the characters and relationships of customers wandering around. She had no compunction about eavesdropping, and sharpened up her writer’s skills in weaving plots around strangers who spent sometimes more than an hour in her gallery.
Working in a village school added more grist to the mill, as does singing in the church choir and membership of the Women’s Guild. She reminds herself humbly that Virginia Woolf was President of her local WI…
Six years hard study won her an Open University degree, and when she faltered and threatened to fall by the wayside, writer husband Philip Purser reminded her that he was paying good money for the course. During this period, she wrote two non-fiction books, one for parents of handicapped children (she has a daughter with cerebral palsy) and the other a lighthearted book for schools, on the explosion of popular entertainment in the first forty years of the twentieth century.
Ten years of running the gallery proved to be enough, and while it was very successful she decided to sell. The business moved down the street to another barn and owner, and Pursers stayed on in their house next to the village school – another rich source of material for the stories. Time to start writing novels.
Round Ringford became Ann’s village in a series of six novels, each with a separate story, but featuring the same cast of characters with a few newcomers each time. The list of books gives details of each story, and each features an issue common to all villages in our rural countryside. “Just like our village!” is a frequent comment from Ann’s readers.
Next: the Lois Meade Mysteries, each title reflecting a day of the week. Ann has always loved detective fiction, and determined to make it her next series. So Murder on Monday was born, followed by Terror on Tuesday, and Weeping on Wednesday. The rest of the week follows!
Mornings are set aside for writing, and the rest of the day Ann spends walking the dog, retrieving bantams’ eggs from around the garden, gossiping and taking part in the life of the village. She is never bored!
Buy Ann Purser`s books in your local booksellers and at all on-line retailers, including Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk, and Barnes & Noble.com.
Contact Ann Purser through David Higham Associates or directly by clicking here.
Member of the Crime Writers’ Association.
13 Responses to “Biography”
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Thank you for writing such fun books. After being out to shovel 16 inches of snow(I live in ski resort area) it is relaxing to sit with a cup of tea and have a read. May there always be a mystery to solve.
Hi, Eve, and thank you for sending a nice message. We are having a very snowy, cold time here in England at the moment, and, as always, everything grinds to a halt! Trains, planes and cars foul up, and farmers have a great time getting out their snow ploughs and roaring through the narrow lanes! There`s a plot there somewhere!
Happy Christmas, and a very prosperous New Year – Ann
Dear Ann,
Thank you for your wonderful Lois Meade mysteries! I’m always looking for authors with a series because once I read one good book, I want to keep on enjoying the characters! When I found you, I started with Murder on Monday…and have finished out the week and have started the numbers…and now I’m reading Tragedy at Two. I need to order #3! Is there a #4 yet? I can’t wait! I live in California, but still have a cup of tea when reading your “cozy” mysteries. Thanks again! Sincerely, Chris
Thank you so much, Chris, for saying nice things about Lois and her adventures! Yes, Threats at Three is the next Lois Meade mystery, and Foul Play at Four is in the pipeline. You can`t keep Lois away from investigations, and I hope you will enjoy these.
Have you come across Ivy Beasley and her enquiries? These have gone down well, and I am now working on the third. I love the idea of you having a cup of tea and reading cozies! Just the thing for a relaxing interval in the day….
Best wishes – Ann
Hello Ann, I am about to have my cozy set on Cape Cod (where I lived for all my life until we ran away from terribly cold winters to spend them in North Carolina returning summers to C.C to live on our boat) by a new cozies-only press Cozy Cat Press. Am also looking for an agent for another series of cozies set on Nantucket Island. Any suggestions. Just finishing Murder on Monday and cannot wait to get my hands on your others. Thanks. Nothing does the heart so good anytime as a good cozy. Thanks. Hope your daffodis are up as ours are. Cynthia
Sorry for the delay – computer gremlins. Thanks so much for your message – Cape Cod sounds a very glamorous place to live! I am interested to hear about Cozy Cat Press – sounds great! As to agents, my own is very sniffy about new clients, but you might find the Artists and Writers Year Book (sure to be on Amazon) useful, as it lists agents. Not sure if it is only UK, but there`s bound to be a US equivalent. Sounds as if you are very busy!
Yes, the daffodils are out and very cheering after a rotten winter. But there was an ominous item on the radio news this morning. A posse of policeman entered a town park in pursuit of a six-year-old and a ten-year-old who were seen picking a bunch of daffodils. They threatened them with arrest!! You`d think they had better things to do.
Best wishes – Ann
Just recently discovered your Lois Meade books at our library, but they only had 2. I’m in the process of purchasing the rest. I love them! Can’t wait to read them all.
Good luck with Lois and her tribe – and Inspector Cowgill, of course!
Best wishes – Ann
I have been reading mysteries for over 50 years and have never cried over a character’s death until today. The sad demise of Mrs Wilson Jones in The Measby Murder Enquiry moved me to tears. In two books I have fallen in love with the characters in the Ivy Beasley series. Not that the Lois Meade series isn’t wonderful, but as an older woman I can relate to Ivy and her fellow inmate, Roy. Bravo Mrs. Purser ! Keep these stories coming, they are a joy to read.
Thanks, Julie, for your encouraging message! I have to confess that as I was writing the build up and demise of Mrs Wilson Jones, I shed a few tears myself. Oh dear! – but they are real people to me …
I have finished the third Ivy Beasley book, and another Lois Meade is on its way, so keep an eye open for publication.
Happy reading! regards – Ann P
As an inveterate mystery reader, I like all types but especially love “cozies”, both English and American. Have visited the UK four times and can just see Lois Meade and Ivy Beasley. (By the way, the drawings are wonderful!!) Have just read the first two Ivy Beasley books and can’t wait for the next one. Glad there is another Lois Meade coming too. Thanks for new friends and delicious plots.le
Thanks for your message, Harriett (by the way, I have a daughter with the same name as yours, but with one `t`). I hope you enjoyed your four visits to the UK – I have been to the US a couple of times, and loved it. New York, San Francisco and Los Angeles. We went on a train from Chicago to San F., and saw amazing scenery!
Yes, Ivy is back in business almost now, and Lois is at the moment struggling with a case involving her own son Jamie, and a cello.
Best wishes – Ann P
Hello Ann
When I was “in exile” I loved hearing the rhythms of my native speech in your books (although I was only in Bedfordshire!)
Now I’m back in Northants, and have daftly signed up for a challenge on goodreads to read as many books set in British counties as we can. So I have to ask, which county do the Meades live in? It has to be Northamptonshire, Leicestershire or Rutland – when you wrote about the “lucky villages” I tried to locate it, but could still just about set it where the 3 counties meet. And is Tresham based on Leicester or Kettering, or a mix of both?
You have helpfully told us that dear Ivy is in Suffolk, so thanks for the help!
Looking forward to the next book