KISS THE MOON now in audio!

One of the most rewarding parts of being a writer is when new readers discover, and love, one of my earlier titles. That just happened again with Kiss the Moon. I loved writing this book, working with all the great people at MIRA Books early into their foray into single-title publishing. Fun times.

And now, at least, it’s available in audio, read by Marguerite Gavin!

Many thanks to Tantor Media, and enjoy.

A decades-old mystery is about to reawaken…

Lost in the frozen woods of New Hampshire, Penelope Chesnut discovers the wreckage of a small plane. An aviator herself, she sees clues to a con… Read More

THE CABIN now in audio!

The Cabin, one of my most popular romantic suspense novels, is now available in audio for the first time!

Many thanks to Tantor Media, and to narrator Marguerite Gavin.

I’m excited and I know many of my audiobook readers are, too, because they’ve been asking for this to happen.

Here’s a peek at the story:

Texas Ranger Jack Galway knows his wife Susanna loves him, so when their marriage hits a rough patch, he supports her decision to take their two teenaged daughters to Boston for a break. But when a few weeks turns into several months, Jack heads to Boston to get his family back.

P… Read More

Ah, Boston, for real or in fiction

Boston has served as a setting for a number of my books. I think of it as my city, although I live on a hilltop in northern New England. I attended college in Boston, and Joe and I lived in a cute (as in tiny) Beacon Hill apartment when we were first married. We went back for a year when our daughter was small. Now our adult children and our grandchildren live in the Boston area.

Let’s just say my love of this great city continues and my frequent visits inspire new scenes, characters and stories.

I was struck recently by this quote from iconic author Mary Stewart:

“If you create a place properl… Read More

Light, fluffy scones (a recipe) for Christmas

High atop Mt. Washington

The magnificent White Mountains in New Hampshire feature in a number of my books. I’ve hiked up various peaks and hope to do more this fall. The most spectacular (and difficult!) so far has been Mt. Washington. Our bright, sunny morning turned into dense, swirling fog and high winds by the time we reached the summit. Fortunately, unlike the other peaks in the Presidential Range (named after US Presidents), Mt. Washington has a cafe at the top.

Tech wizard and billionaire Noah Kendrick hikes Mt. Washington in That Night on Thistle Lane, the second book in my Swift River Valley series:

“I could pa… Read More

The Elusive Finian Bracken

Irish priest and whiskey man Finian Bracken has become a reader favorite. A man with a tragic past, serving a parish in a struggling Maine fishing village, he appears as a key secondary character in every Sharpe & Donovan tale.

And he started and has remained one of my most elusive characters.

The clock was ticking on my deadline for Saint’s Gate, the first book in the series and I took a three-week writing retreat in a little hideaway cottage on the southwest Irish coast, an experience it itself. I didn’t know at the time if Saint’s Gate would be a standalone novel or the fir… Read More

SAINT’S GATE on sale in August

Saint’s Gate is on sale in eBook through August for just $1.99. It’s the first book in my Sharpe and Donovan series. Set on the southern Maine coast with a touch of Boston and Ireland, it was a fun, challenging book to write.

I wrote a chunk of Saint’s Gate in a hideaway cottage on the southwest Irish coast. Finian Bracken, a recurring character in the series, came to life on one of my long walks during that memorable three-week writing retreat.

You can read about creating the elusive Father Bracken here.

Saint’s Gate centers on Emma Sharpe and Colin Donovan, two people is… Read More

Hanging out with Maine crime writers

I’m back on my Vermont hilltop after a weekend at the Maine Crime Wave conference in Southern Maine. What a fantastic group! So much fun.

The weekend kicked off on Friday evening with my Q&A with author Julia Spencer-Fleming after I was named this year’s Maine CrimeMaster. I’m honored, humbled and grateful. I enjoyed the Q&A. Julia was insightful, entertaining and well prepared. She surprised me with a few of her questions! It was a great crowd, a welcoming mix of readers and writers (of course, writers are readers, too!).

Saturday was a nonstop day of panels and more fun. It was a pleasu… Read More

Goodbye to maple sugaring season

When I was growing up in rural New England, I always looked forward to maple-sugaring season. We’d tap trees and boil up the sap on an open-air fire, finishing it off inside on the stove. We were lucky to get a couple of mason jars of syrup and savored every drop. With the warm temperatures, the maple-sugaring season is done for this year. I hope it was a good one.

It was natural for maple-sugaring to feature in my first book with MIRA back in 1998. Kiss the Moon has been reissued with various great covers and continues to be popular with readers. I love this one.

MIRA and I have parted ways a… Read More

On to spring!

March arrived here on our Vermont hilltop with a lot of snow. Thirteen inches on Saturday! It’s a great time of year to enjoy winter sports. Snowshoeing and cross-country skiing are our favorites. Joe and I don’t downhill ski or snowboard.

My Black River series is set during a cold New England winter. I wrote most of Cold Pursuit, the first book, during a particularly snow winter. Just looked out the window for inspiration.

When I was writing The Cabin, also set during winter, I realized as I was writing a chase scene the villain would leave footprints if there was snow. And there was s… Read More