Jane Smith, novelist
Novels for long evenings by the window
I write the Pellmarsh novels: warm, slow-burning mysteries set in a small harbor town where everyone knows your name and nobody knows your secrets. Order a signed copy, read a new short story every month, or join the Readers’ Club.
My desk, most mornings before six.
A Pellmarsh novel
The Salt Clock
Jane Smith
The new novel
The Salt Clock
When the old tide clock on the harbor wall stops at twenty past four, the ferry pilot finds a letter hidden inside its case, addressed to a woman who left Pellmarsh forty years ago without a word. Book three of the series, and the one I have waited longest to write.
Format
Hardcover
Length
352 pages
Every copy
Signed by hand
From my desk to yours
Books, stories and the club
The Pellmarsh novels
The series, in order
Each book stands on its own, but the town is best met from the beginning. Here they are in the order I wrote them.
Book one
2021
The Lamp at Pellmarsh
A new lighthouse keeper arrives in winter and learns the lamp has been lit every night for a year, though the tower was locked.
Book two
2023
Nine Days of Weather
A storm cuts the town off for nine days, and one family supper turns into the longest night of the year.
Book three
Out now
The Salt Clock
A stopped clock, a hidden letter, and a woman who left forty years ago. The signed hardcover is right here, on this site.
Signed copies
Signed by hand, one copy at a time
Every hardcover from this site is signed and dated by me before it leaves, and I am happy to write a dedication for someone you love. Then it is wrapped in paper and packed in a sturdy card mailer.
- Signed and dated on the title page
- A dedication to anyone you name
- Wrapped in paper, shipped in card
Online readings
Come to a reading from anywhere
I read aloud and answer questions live online a few times a month. Make a cup of tea and join from your sofa.
First Thursday
7pm Eastern
Reading night
A chapter read aloud, then an hour of your questions from the chat.
Free, open to all
Second Sunday
4pm Eastern
Readers’ Club Q&A
A longer, unhurried talk about the book I am writing now, with the drafts on the table.
Club members
Last Saturday
9am Eastern
Write-along hour
Bring your own project and a warm drink. An hour of quiet writing together, cameras optional.
Free, open to all
The link for each reading goes out by email the week before.
About the author
Written at a desk by the sea
Jane Smith grew up in a harbor town much like Pellmarsh and has written before breakfast for twenty years. She lives by the sea with John Smith, a kettle that is never quite cold, and far too many unread books.
From a reader
I read The Salt Clock in two sittings and went straight back to book one. Pellmarsh feels like a place I have actually been, and I miss it between books.
Pull up a chair in Pellmarsh
Signed hardcovers ship within three working days, wrapped in paper. Stories and club pages open the moment you join, wherever you read.