Hey there, lovely reader, It's raining here, and I'm stuck inside. I'm getting closer and closer to publishing the next book in the Inspector Graham series. Early feedback has been fantastic. I can't wait to share it with you. To whet your appetite, I have a teaser...
Hey there, lovely reader, Now that April has rolled around, I'm starting to prepare for my trip to the UK at the end of next month. I'll be there until September and during that time my son will be leaving for Indiana to take up a university place. Lots of changes are...
Hey there, lovely reader, I've been rotating between writing and doing my jigsaw this week. Early into a new book, I take lots of breaks to allow for ideas to pop into my head. Sometimes they arrive, sometimes they don't. And maybe it's just a good excuse to take...
Hey there, lovely reader, I hope you had a lovely holiday season and are back in the swing of things. Thank you to everyone for your well wishes about my leg, which is now mostly mended. I wear a brace on occasion, and take care when I'm out and about, but it's not...
Hello lovely people, I'm' sure you're busy setting up your holiday, so I'll be brief. I absolutely love my jigsaw advent calendar and plan on making my own next year. Sitting on my sofa with a tray and a small jigsaw puzzle to put together in the warm with something...
Hey there, lovely reader, Over the past few years, I have developed a taste for novelty advent calendars. This year, I have three running: A brain teaser a day, a tiny pot of jam a day, and a jigsaw puzzle per day. The jigsaw puzzle comprises twenty-four thirty-six...
Hey there, lovely reader, I broke open the Christmas decorations this week. The trees aren't available yet, but I can put up the rest and it seemed a good way to spend my time as I adjust to returning to the US. This week I'm answering a reader's question, announcing...
Hello! I'm heading into the last couple of weeks of my UK trip. It has been lovely to be here: I've visited with friends and family, had a lot of quiet time to read and work, and almost my favorite thing of all, I've been dealing with quite a number of manly men and...
Hello! I like to challenge myself with every book I write and The Case of the Body in the Block was no exception. Recently, for a separate project, I researched my family history. This gave me a great idea for a book and boom! Just like that, (not really 😀) The Case...
Greetings! Happy Thanksgiving to all my Canadian readers! I hope you have a lovely day. And I hope everyone everywhere is safe and warm and dry. We're in the final days before the new Graham launch. I always love this part of the book publishing process. The book is...
Greetings! We have a break in the rain here, and I'm getting closer and closer to publishing the next book in the Inspector Graham series, The Case of the Body in the Block. Early feedback has been fantastic. I can't wait to share it with you. To whet your appetite, I...
Hey there, lovely reader, Unbelievably, I have been in the UK for nearly a month. I've been super busy sorting a few things out, dealing with manly men and their trucks and tools, clearing out a bunch, visiting long-time friends and indulging in some of my favourite...
Hey there, lovely reader, Welp, earlier today, the new Inspector Graham went to my editor. We will work on it a little more, I will commission a cover illustration and a blurb, pull everything together, and then it will be released. Oh, and I have to choose a title....
Hey there, lovely reader, I'm a bit late today. That's because I decided not to write my newsletter yesterday as I normally do. I was on a roll writing the new book and I wanted to keep bashing away on my keyboard. I get hyperfixated like that at times. Sometimes...
Hey there, lovely reader, I've said it before and I'll say it again, I have some of the smartest readers out there. I know this because the standard of the questions I received from you last week was outstanding. So outstanding in fact that I will take a few weeks to...
Hey there, lovely reader, It's been very quiet for me these past weeks as I bury myself in writing. I did manage to stay up to watch fireworks on July 4th, though. They are launched from San Francisco Bay and we live at the top of the hill (mountain?) overlooking it....
Hey there, lovely reader, It's been another busy writing week. I'm cracking on. Some days things flow, other days it's a struggle. A good night's sleep always helps. 😉 What I learned this week I cracked on apace with the latest book this week. I'm still in the phase...
Hey there, lovely reader, I was planning to leave on Saturday for three lovely months in the UK, but COVID had other ideas. I'm over the worst, but evaluating my plans – whether to hop on a plane as soon as I feel up to it, or shift the trip to later in the...
Hey there! I am busy getting ready for my trip to the UK at the beginning of next month. I've decided to go for three months so I don't have to rush my plans and because we're having construction done on our house which will not be conducive to writing. This way I'll...
Hey there! It's still pretty chilly in the mornings at 7 a.m. when I go out for my walk but the blooms and blossoms are beautiful. These are from my deck guarded conscientiously by Shaun the Sheep. What I learned this week The above beautiful photo is of Audrey...
Hey there! Happy May! In one month today, I touch down in the UK for two months. While I'm there, I will be traveling with family and also continuing the project I started last summer – to clear a family member's house of no longer wanted items. I'm looking...
Hey there, lovely reader, Last month was a banner month for me, my most successful since I started writing nine years ago. It's very exciting for me to see so many people around the world discover Annabelle, Graham, Roxy, and Diana for the first time, especially in...
Hey there, lovely reader, I'm taking the week off writing and will start again on April 1st, but have a few announcements to make. If you celebrate Easter, I hope you eat as much chocolate as you wish (which may be none, of course – I prefer hot cross buns) and...
Hey there, lovely reader, I enjoyed one of my twice a year visits to the movies last weekend. I forgot my earbuds which was troubling for the previews, but the film I went to see was gentle and quiet for which I was grateful. The film was One Life about the story of...
Hey there, I am bereft. After twenty years, my hairdresser is retiring. He lives in Miami and has decided not to travel to the Bay Area anymore. When I first went to him, I had hair down my back and I wanted a change. I dropped my kids off to preschool and without...
Hey there, lovely reader, I was having lunch with a friend last week and we were talking about how, twenty years ago, when we were raising very young children, computers for kids were still in their infancy. We discussed how lucky we were that our children loved books...
Hey there, lovely reader, It was New Years Eve 2022. I was heading to an early morning doctor's appointment. It was dark. No one was about. It was raining. As I went down the hill, I noticed rainwater accompanying me on my journey, but I didn't worry too much. I got...
Hey there, lovely reader, Good morning! We're into the second week of the new year and I'm cracking on with Diana #5. Yesterday I got some writer's block on a scene and was also noodling another plot point. I started to procrastinate. I ended up buying a few things on...
Hey there, lovely reader! I hope you had a lovely holiday season and are now recovered and raring to go! I barely stopped over the winter break (reason for that will be in next week's newsletter) and it's full steam ahead here. 2023 is in the rear view mirror. And now...
Hey there, lovely reader! Are you nearly done with your holiday prep? I don't have too much to do having such a small family and it's just about done. 🦌 We are limiting gifts this year to one from each person (3) plus our Secret Santa gifts, also three. Our Secret...
Hey there, lovely reader! Ack, I managed to plant my bulbs this week but forgot to water the Christmas tree. I love a profusion of daffodils in spring, but gosh, do I procrastinate putting them in. I finally got it done at the weekend, but then realized the tree was...
Hey there, lovely reader! Gosh, it's noisy here today. We've got a couple of world leaders meeting for a summit two miles away and the air is full of planes and helicopters. Add a few police sirens and this author is struggling to concentrate. Today, I have updates on...
Hey there, lovely reader! Ka-pow! Boom! Pshewy! That's the sound of my brain exploding. I am spending part of this week attending an author conference (online.) I am particularly interested in new technological developments especially as they relate to book marketing,...
Hey there, lovely reader! As we move into the holiday season ?, I am thinking of next year – what I want to do, achieve, who I want to spend my time with, how I want to move forward with my life. I reach a milestone birthday next year, a number I find...
Hey there, lovely reader! Fall is here. ? It was ninety degrees last week. ☀️ Goodness. This week I have some more thoughts on artificial intelligence, some fun for you, and an announcement. Also the latest on the impossible jigsaw. ? Comma, comma, chameleon When I...
Hey there, lovely reader! I went to the pictures last week to see Kenneth Branagh's A Haunting in Venice. I don't go to the movies that much. It's too loud. I am probably the only person who takes her earbuds with her, switches them to noise cancellation, and can...
Hey there, lovely reader! The mornings are getting cooler. I had to put a jacket on to go for a walk this morning. I usually like to get out for an hour before everyone else and before it gets to hot and before I write for the day. It sets me up well. I listen to...
Hey there, lovely people! It's a beautiful day here in Northern California. The skies are a deep, clear blue, the temperature is just right – not cold, but not energy-sapping hot, either. It truly feels like the dog days of summer and I'm here for it. I am...
Hey there, lovely people!, I'm back from the UK and back to business here in the US. Got a bit waylaid by the obligatory virus one picks up while travelling and also by a kitty who was pleased to see me, but I am back at my desk and beavering away. What's next? My...
Hey there, Phew! Have I been hot, dirty, and dusty these past few weeks? I am helping a relative declutter her home. It's been hard, physical work – quite the opposite to the type of work I usually do – but very satisfying and, I hope, helpful. Help...
Hey there, Golden Gang, Another week has passed, and I've had a lovely week. Friday evening fish and chips with a friend, afternoon tea in the cottage with another. The mornings are getting lighter and the evening sunsets from my cottage are wowsers. What goes on...
Hey there! Counting down to my trip to the UK ??. Lots of appointments, seeing friends before I leave, writing reminders for things that need to happen while I'm gone. I won't be back until Thanksgiving ? in November and that feels like a long way away. A newsy...
Hey there, It was so great to hear from so many of you last week about my jumble sale dress. I'm so glad you enjoyed the story. It was fun to write. I live in earthquake country, just a few miles from a fault line. These past few weekends I have been updating our...
Hallooooo! Gosh, it feels like I have been gone a long while. I hope you are doing well, and enjoying your summers. I've been hearing from some of you about your trips to Cornwall and Jersey. Seeing the photos makes me very happy. What I've been doing I have been as...
Good day gangsters! I often get asked where I get my ideas from. And I always answer, “real life.” A couple of examples: I had to take Star to the vet on Saturday. Phew. It was a two-person military operation. We got her some medicine to put in her food...
Hello! I am so pleased to announce that the eighth book in the Inspector Graham series, The Case of Sampson's Leap has hit the Amazon shelves. Please read on. There is an extract from the book below, purchase links, and what to do if you haven't tried this series yet....
Hey there! The Case of Sampson's Leap will be out earlier than expected. I originally said November, but it's ready and will be published next week! The Case of Sampson's Leap will be available on Kindle, in paperback, and via Kindle Unlimited. In a few days, I'll...
Hey there! Wow, here we are mid-October. Time is flying. I don't know about you but last year I got caught scrambling in December buying Christmas presents and food when so much had already sold out. So this year, I got myself sorted nice and early. When I had sent...
Hey there! Man, it seems like a while since I last landed in your inbox. Things have been cracking on a-pace. My nest has emptied and it feels more permanent this time, but I'm happy the boys and their friends are back living their lives as young people should. I...
Hey there! As you read this, I am attending Dickens Camp held virtually at the University of California, Santa Cruz. I've been wanting to attend for several years now and while not far from my home, attending the lectures and seminars while still being able to sleep...
Hey there! I had my first in-person social event in sixteen months last weekend. And it was like going on vacation. So lovely to see people again and hang out. There were even hugs. Remember those elbow rubs? I thought I'd let you know what else I've been doing. What...
Hey there, a few months ago, I asked my readers which book I should write after finishing Fireworks in France . The resounding feedback was that it should be an Inspector Graham. And so it was that on Monday, I got back in the saddle and kicked off the next story...
Hey there, this week I have a fabulous offer for UK readers and a cheeky video for you to watch… I can't stop watching this… Shortly after I finished writing The Case of the Forsaken Child, a piece of news came to my attention. Guernsey Police recently...
Hello! I am so pleased to announce that the seventh book in the Inspector Graham series, The Case of the Forsaken Child has hit the Amazon shelves. The Case of the Forsaken Child is available on Kindle, in paperback, and is in Kindle Unlimited. What reviewers are...
Greetings! I'm getting closer and closer to publishing the next book in the Inspector Graham series, The Case of the Forsaken Child . Early feedback has been fantastic. I can't wait to share it with you. To whet your appetite, I have a teaser below. The Case of the...
Hey there, something big happened this past week. No, not that thing. Another thing. I celebrated 24 years living in the US. I still remember the journey clearly – collapsing into seat 34C on the Virgin Atlantic flight on October 30, 1996, the grilling I got...
Greetings! I hope you are having a lovely week. The new Inspector Graham went off to my editor at the weekend, a day early! This step is always totally exciting. I thought I’d share a little about my new baby with you. The title… Choosing a title for a book can be a...
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