Hannah Dennison's Honeychurch Hall mystery series set on a crumbling Devon estate has been described as Downton Abbey meets Midsomer Murders. It could just as readily be called Midsomer Murders meets The Antiques Roadshow.

Whatever TV show you liken it to, Honeychurch Hall is for those who enjoy story lines that incorporate secret chambers, hidden treasure, eccentric aristocrats and inevitably - murder.

You can listen on the link above or on iTunes or Stitcher.

Want to know how Steven Spielberg helped Hannah get her writing career started?

Keep Reading for full show notes of the entire conversation . .

Show Notes Summary

In this interview you'll discover:

How Hannah became captivated by vanishing history as a child.

What part Steven Spielberg played in getting her writing.

Why "cosy" mysteries are so popular.

The mystery in her own life that could be a plot line for a book.

Her list of "Not To Be Missed" stately homes to visit. (You''ll find surprises.)

Her favourite binge reads and current recommendations.

Hannah can be found at at www.HannahDennison.com

And on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/HannahDennisonBooks/

For more detail, a full transcript follows:  A "close as" rendering of our full conversation with links to key points.

And now to Hannah:  Hello there Hannah and welcome to the show. It’s great to have you with us.

Mystery writer Hannah Dennison

In your Honeychurch Hall series you bring a fresh vibe to the nostalgia around the disappearing world of stately homes.

Tell me, was there ONCE UPON A TIME moment when you as a young girl or young woman became aware of vanishing history?

Very much so.  My sister and I we grew up amongst the shadow of the ruins of Old Basing House in Hampshire. Old Basing House was one of the last strongholds of the English Civil War in the 17th century. As kids we were allowed to play in the secret passage ways and climb up the turrets – of course you can’t do anything like that now – and that sparked my interest in old buildings and vanishing buildings which has stayed with me.  And I’m a great supporter of the society for preservation of historic buildings and that sort of thing.

Old Basing House - historic battle

It comes through very strongly in your books and your heroine the former TV host Kat Stanford worked on a TV antiques show and she also has a crazy Barbara-Cartland like romance writer Mum. What is it that you like best about these key characters?

When you’re a writer you are part of every single character you write whether or not it’s a  villain or a victim  and Kat Stanford is based on my daughter is extremely sensible, very grounded, nothing like me.

And then the mother character – there has always been a part of me that wished that I was as wild and reckless as Iris who is the romance writer type. I’ve always wanted to write crazy things. Being a writer you are able to live out your fantasies in your different characters

Honeychurch Hall’s young heir Harold Rupert who is one day going to be the 16th Earl of Grenville has an obsession with the fictional World War I ace pilot Biggles.  I wonder - where did he spring from?

Full disclosure here. I wanted a young boy who was a little bit quirky and originally he was going to be a Spiderman character.  One of my daughters had a friend who was crazy about Spiderman and I don’t think I saw him out of a Spiderman costume. I never saw his face for about two years until he grew out of it.  And then one day one of my friends, Clare Langley Hawthorne, who is also a writer - she writes historical mysteries and has twin boys - said to me you know you could do something like Biggles,

That is much more exciting and more fun, because her sons were completely into Biggles It was just a little different.  As it turns out there are lots of books about Biggles and I really loved the flying aspect I’ve always been obsessed with planes and it was much more fun.

There was an article in the Daily Mail  that showed t...