ANNALISA CRAWFORD, AUTHOR
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    • That Sadie Thing
    • You. I. Us
    • Grace & Serenity >
      • Grace & Serenity: Reviews
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      • Small Forgotten Moments: Reviews
    • The Clock in My Mother's House
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One Tuesday, Early - pre-order update

27/2/2024

 
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​You can now pre-order copies of One Tuesday, Early from a wider range of retailers.

More are being added as I find them.

Click below for all your options.
Pre-Order Today from all good retailers
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"A spooky and impossible situation that steals up on you until you're questioning your own life choices." - Roz Morris, author of Ever Rest

Pre-orders and a discount

13/2/2024

 

One Tuesday, Early

One Tuesday, Early is now available for pre-order on Amazon and Barnes & Noble. Other sites might have it too, so pop along to your preferred retailer and search for me!
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Pre-order on Barnes & Noble
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Small Forgotten Moments

Amazon are currently having fun discounting the hardcover editions of Small Forgotten Moments.

In the UK, copies are available for roughly half price and in the US, they are the same price as the Kindle version.

If, like me, you love the feel of a hardcover book in your hands, grab your copy today!
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Introducing... One Tuesday, Early

16/1/2024

 
I am so excited that my third novel - and eighth book in total - is almost here!

It started as a short story, based (very loosely) on actual events - but that's a tale for another day. The heatwaves and lockdowns of 2020 gave me a fresh perception of how quiet and oppressive an empty street could be - something I'm not sure I'd have been able to replicate without experiencing it first hand.
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One Tuesday, Early is due out 14 May 2024 from Vine Leaves Press.
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​You’re on your own and you shouldn’t be. Your partner is missing. The streets are empty. Even the birds have disappeared. What do you do?

It’s 6:05am one Tuesday morning, and Lexi Peters is alone. Her partner, her friends, her neighbours have all vanished without a trace. The entire town is deserted. Gathering every ounce of courage, she sets out to explore the streets, seeking any sign of life. Her only companions are a coy black cat and a lurking fog that seems to follow her every step.

On the same morning, her partner Finn awakens to an empty house. Recalling the blazing argument they had the night before, he assumes Lexi has snuck off somewhere to cool down. But she doesn’t return.

Time passes. Or not. Lexi is stranded on that Tuesday morning, while Finn hurtles through the years at increasing speed.

Can Lexi and Finn be reunited, or is it already too late?

Supporting small, independent publishers

12/1/2024

 
My New Year's Resolution for 2024 is to spotlight the small and independent publishers who bring such diversity to readers, but on a tight, sometimes minimal budget. These are the publishers who relish original ideas, strong voices, and take risks on the type of books they accept.

But the industry is harsh. The Big 5 publishers have the money to push their books front and centre in your local chain bookshop - the books in the windows and on the tables when you walk in, often with discounts that would devastate a small press.

Smaller publishers rely more on their loyal band of supporters and readers to spread the word and tell people how great they are. And they really are, genuinely and absolutely, great.

Over the course of the next few months, I'll be spotlighting independent publishers on my Facebook page. Please check in, and follow the links. You never know what hidden gem you might discover. 

Here are some ways you can help small publishers and discover brilliant new authors...

  • follow some of the publishers I feature
  • share their posts yourself
  • sign up to their newsletter
  • if you want to buy a book, go straight to the publisher's website and see if they sell direct - they'll earn the most profit that way, good for them and the author
  • review the books you read. Just one or two lines is all that's needed.
  • tell your friends about it (and encourage them to buy their own copy rather than lend it to them!)
  • I love paperbacks, but higher royalties are actually earned on ebooks because there are no printing and shipping costs, so despite what some people say, e-readers are awesome
Don't forget to follow my Facebook page to check out my spotlights!

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year...

21/12/2023

 
specially to everyone who has supported me, bought my books, reviewed them, and commented on my social media posts.

It's been an accidental whirlwind of a year. I started off with the planned publication of The Clock in My Mother's House, and then the rewriting and republishing of Cat and The Dreamer and The Boatman. The latter two were supposed to be a quick cover swap, blurb polish, and off again... But once I started reading them, I couldn't help bring out the red editing pen. In fact, I swear it appeared by magic.
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2024 sees the release of my next novel, One Tuesday, Early, which I'm so excited about and can't wait to tell you more.

You’re on your own and you shouldn’t be. Your partner is missing. The streets are empty. Even the birds have disappeared. What do you do?

More on that next year!

Merry Christmas to everyone who celebrates, and a wonderful New Year to you all x

New review for Grace & Serenity

16/11/2023

 
It's always wonderful when one of your older books gets a bit of love on a drizzly November morning.

Thank you Lorraine for Readers' Favorite for this new ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ review!
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​"The story is heartbreaking. The tension is palpable. The conclusion both shocks and thrills. Crawford puts you in the story, compelling you to walk in Grace’s shoes. You will acutely feel Grace’s pain and frustration, weep for her, and root for her ultimate redemption. Crawford’s descriptions are vivid and her characterizations are superb. The story is captivating and entirely believable. This is a book readers will struggle to put down, and a story that will stay with you long after you turn the last page. It is just superb writing."

Grab your copy today!

Pre-Orders are live!

18/10/2023

 

I didn't expect to be announcing this quite so soon because my initial release date was some time in November. However...

The Boatman is available for pre-order on Kindle, and will be published 28 October 2023.

What changed?

Well, at the moment, everything I do is subject to a quick and sudden turnabout. In this instance, I never intended a big launch because it's a re-release of an older book. Originally, I was just going to slide it into my catalogue and subtly point it out to people.

Then I got this lovely new cover, and the work on it was more extensive, and I decided I wanted to show it off. And November is such a long way off!
Kindle Pre-Order
For More Info
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Our Beautiful Child has become... The Boatman

13/10/2023

 
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In 2014, I published my second book - Our Beautiful Child - and at the beginning of this year, the rights reverted to me.

After a little bit of procrastination, this trilogy of ghostly novellas, has a new title, a new cover, and one or two surprises inside as well - at least, surprises if you read the previous incarnation.

You can't give me a Word document and expect me not to tinker with it. As part of a competition in my newsletter, one of the characters has a new name. Another has a new name because he had a larger role and I needed something less unassuming. Even the pub has a new name. Once I got started, I just couldn't stop.

The release date is yet to be confirmed, but I'll shout about it when the time comes. In the meantime, here's the new cover, in all it's spooky glory!

Wonderful review from Readers' Favorite

19/9/2023

 
The Clock in My Mother's House received a lovely 5* review from Readers' Favorite this week.

Reviewed by Nino Lobiladze for Readers’ Favorite:

The Clock in My Mother's House and Other Stories by Annalisa Crawford is a collection of ten short stories for fans of literary fiction and short prose with a paranormal twist.

Annalisa Crawford tells us that nothing is eternal and everything eventually comes to an end, even if it is a hotel of historical significance in "One Minute Silence." The author explores the depths of human relationships, focusing on the relationships between parents and their children. "The Fear of Ghosts" is a gripping story about the influence of heredity on human fate [...] This short story collection offers a range of well-developed characters, like old Hester in "The Woman in the Van." The author's beautiful writing style reminded me of the captivating prose of Virginia Woolf. Overall, The Clock in My Mother's House and Other Stories proudly continues the tradition of great British literature.
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Want to see why so many people love this collection?
Grab your paperback or ebook from most major retailers here!

The end of summer, but still very hot in the UK

10/9/2023

 
Welcome to my irregular update of how things are going in my life. It wasn't meant to be a weather update, but I'm British and it's in my contract to mention that... wow! we're having a bit of a heatwave. Not an official one, but the temperatures have been up around 26/27C which is hot for September.

​On Friday I was writing in the garden because I could not spend a moment longer in the house. It was glorious and I got so much done.
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There are two major things I'm working on at the moment.

We're at the developmental edit stage of my next novel, which is due out next May. My editor sent it back a week ago with the most wonderful comments about it, and I've only got a few little niggles to iron out. I'm unsure about the title at the moment, which is why I'm not going to mention it just yet. It's The Novel With No Name for a little while.
I'm also refreshing Our Beautiful Child for a republishing date later this year. I say refreshing, but really I'm slashing it to pieces. I didn't mean to, but once I started to clean things up, make a couple of interactions a little more mindful of post #metoo sensibilities, remove or rename a few of the characters, and change the order of the three novellas in the collection, it's become almost a brand new book.

Hopefully, by November (with my fingers crossed), the collection will be out with a new title, a new cover, and a smoother read.

The Clock in My Mother's House didn't win its category in the Rubery Book Award, but it did get a groovy sticker for its cover. Yes, I said groovy, it's a great word and I'm advocating it's return to common usage.

I also received some wonderful feedback from the judges, which you can read right here. You'll need to scroll down a little bit.

To grab yourself a copy, and find out why Rachel on Goodreads thinks I'm "a writer at the top of her craft", click here.
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Rubery Book Award 2023

4/7/2023

 

The Clock in My Mother's House has been shortlisted for the Rubery Book Award 2023 for Short Fiction!

This collection of short stories continues to astound me with all the love it receives from reviewers, so I'm delighted that the judges of the award have selected it for this honour.

The category winners are announced late this week/early next week, with the Book of the Year following soon afterwards.

​Please keep your fingers crossed for me!
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To purchase from all retailers, click here.

Wishing Shelf Book Award - the feedback!

14/6/2023

 

A couple of months ago, Small Forgotten Moments won Silver in the Fiction (Adult) section of the Wishing Shelf Book Awards...

... and today I received the feedback, and I'm aboslutely delighted.

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‘A smartly plotted mystery with a cast of memorable characters. A SILVER MEDAL WINNER and highly recommended!’ The Wishing Shelf Book Awards
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“I loved the mystery surrounding Zenna. It’s sort of creepy but in a good way. The writing style is lyrical, accessible, and totally gripping. Excellent novel.” 

“You get to know Jo so well in this story. Loved all the suspense and trying to work out what was going on with Zenna. This is a story of lost memory, slow awakenings and, above all, suspense.” 

“The writing style is easy to follow, the plot is complex – but not too complex. Possibly ‘clever’ is a better word to describe the plot! But it’s the protagonist who steals the show! I thought Jo was fascinating, her art, her memory loss, her way of looking for answers. All in all, a wonderful story I’d recommend to readers who enjoy smartly-plotted novels.”

“The story unravels in a smart, evenly paced way.” 



Huge thank you to everyone who read my novel, and helped to organise the awards - they are a fantastic way to raise awareness of the brilliance of small and independently published books .

Are you a Kindle Unlimited reader?

5/6/2023

 
If so, you might be interested to know that my short story collection That Sadie Thing is available through KU!

With thirty-one 5⭐ reviews on Goodreads, and a 4.51 average rating, people seem to like it.
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​"A collection of dark and twisty, melancholy short stories. I devoured them in one sitting!"

​"
Crawford excels at exploring the internal, emotional world. Riveting story telling and insightful explorations of the human psyche."



Read That Sadie Thing with Kindle Unlimited today
And for readers who prefer a physical copy, That Sadie Thing is available from most retailers.
Buy That Sadie Thing in paperback from all retailers

Cat & The Dreamer available now

29/4/2023

 
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​Julia was fifteen when she survived a suicide pact. Her best friend, Rachel did not.

Now aged thirty, haunted by the trauma and guilt of that day, Julia hides within daydreams and lets real life pass her by. Yet even her dreams aren’t the refuge she hopes for. Cat, a surreal composite character. is determined to thwart Julia’s attempts to move on and find happiness.

This dark coming-of-age for adults will resonate with anyone who is still waiting to feel grown-up.
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Buy now from all your favourite retailers
After what has felt like forever, my first-born novella is finally refreshed, rewritten (just a little)  and on sale again. And for the first time, it's available in paperback.

Here's what a few people are saying:

"Beautiful prose takes us to the heart of this sensitive topic with an ending that made me question everything I'd read before." - Anne Goodwin, author of Lyrics for the Loved Ones

"Annalisa Crawford has such a gift for twining the supernatural and surreal into reality so you don’t know which is which, a method that brings out the haunting nature of human nature. Eerie, yet wildly beautiful." - Martha Engber, author of Bliss Road

"Readers with a preference for character-oriented literary fiction ... will relish the poignant experience and the hopeful ending." - Rosh Reviews

Click here for all available retail options, to add to Goodreads, and to BookBub.

Cat & The Dreamer - pre-order your copy today!

4/4/2023

 
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​Yes, that's right - with a new cover, new blurb, and (accidentally and unplanned) 2000 new words, Cat & The Dreamer is available for pre-order!

Currently only available to pre-order on Kindle, I'm hoping other links will go live in due course.
Reserve your copy
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Review from Martha Engber, author of Winter Light:

Ethereal moments drift through this ghostly novella about a girl, then a woman, trying hard to escape a life-changing, almost life-ending, moment in her youth.


Quiet, chilling, this slender tale is absolutely thrilling!

Annalisa Crawford has such a gift for twining the supernatural and surreal into reality so you don’t know which is which, a method that brings out the haunting nature of human nature. Eerie, yet wildly beautiful.
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Annalisa Crawford, Author

Dark contemporary fiction with a hint of paranormal
​"Besides Annalisa's clever writing style, I enjoy the unpredictable plots and the characters that are so very normal, yet tragically broken in some way or another."

 © 2012-2025 Annalisa Crawford
Photo from Mark AC Photos