Authors Elly Griffiths and Time Team's Francis Pryor promote latest works at King's Lynn Digging For Stories event

Two popular authors were in conversation with an audience of some 200 people at an event promoting their latest works set in the area this week.

Digging For Stories, held at Lynn's Duke's Head hotel on Wednesday was sold-out, with fans of both writers Elly Griffiths and Francis Pryor attending to hear them answer questions from Waterstones events manager Tim Callaghan.

Mr Callaghan said: "The Locked Room [by Elly] is the fourteenth book in the Ruth Galloway mysteries and the cosy crime genre and the fact that they are set locally means they marry well.

"Francis has appeared on Time Team and his book The Fens is locally based and was book of the year at Lynn's Waterstones.

"History and crime are big-selling genres and books have weathered the storm over the pandemic.

"It's been a good event."

The authors signed copies of their books The Locked Room and Scenes From Pre-Historic Life and The Fens.

Audience member Susan Cameron, a fan of Griffiths, from Hunstanton said: "We've read all the books and went to the book signing back in February at Waterstones.

"Reading her books is like eating chocolate and when she signed my copy she wrote 'enjoy the chocolate.'

"She writes so gently and is so easy to read.

"It's a modern style that special crime writers like Agatha Christie have."

With a full audience in the ballroom at the hotel, Mr Callaghan spoke to the authors about their popularity and local links to West Norfolk.

Elly said: "It is lovely to be back in Lynn and I am so honoured that people would come and see us.

"Lynn is my character Ruth Galloway's homeland and territory.

"Books get us through tough times and if ever someone says my book does that, I'm honoured."

Archaeology author Francis said: "What I've always tried to do is imagine what it must be like three and a half thousands years ago and trying to recapture in this book what the past would have smelled like."

Following the event, he said: "I think it went down well by Norfolk standards.

"People seemed to enjoy themselves."

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