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

After the Vermont flood

It’s been raining here in Vermont. A lot. Even before the catastrophic flooding rain of July 9-10, we’d had a lot of rain since early June. We’re fine on our hilltop and our town is in cleanup mode.The damage in towns I know well and love is nothing short of breathtaking.

It’ll take time but Vermont will recover, as it did after Tropical Storm Irene in 2011.

The photos below are from a walk we took at the bottom of our hill the morning after the storm with the river starting to recede. The beauty of this area shines through.

Now, back to writing!!

… 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

Maine Crime Master Award

This year’s Maine Crime Wave writers conference is in Portland on June 9-10, hosted by the Maine Writers & Publishes Alliance (MWPA), and I’m thrilled and excited to receive their 2023 Maine Crime Master Award. What an honor! I love Maine, I love writing books set in Maine, and I’m a huge fan of so many wonderful Maine authors.

On Friday evening, I’ll be doing a question-and-answer with outstanding author Julia Spencer Fleming, an honor in itself. Join us if you can. The chat is free — you can get all the details and RSVP here. 

Saturday is the actual conference with panel discussions and all s… 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

Happy Valentine’s Day!

Happy Valentine’s Day!

It’s a great day to celebrate and appreciate love and those we love.

Also for flowers and chocolate. 🙂

Here in Vermont we enjoy Lake Champlain Chocolates and everything Mother Myrick’s. Our roses won’t be in bloom for a while yet (our gardens are still covered in snow) but here are some Irish roses to enjoy.

Now it’s back to writing for me!… Read More

A recipe for mulled wine

A pot of mulled wine simmering on our wood stove is such a treat!

Our wood stove came in handy this past weekend when a nor’easter hit Vermont hard with extensive power outages. We were out from Friday to Sunday evening. Other people are still without power but we see hardworking crews out there and appreciate their efforts. It was quite a storm.

Back to mulled wine…

Below is the recipe included in my Swift River Valley novella, “Christmas at Carriage Hill.” By the way, it’s just $1.99 in digital and now available in audio. And A Knights Bridge Christmas is on sale t… Read More

Homemade hot chocolate

We’re expecting snow this week. No better time to repost my recipe for hot chocolate! It appears in my Swift River Valley Christmas novel, A Knights Bridge Christmas, which happens to be on sale in eBook for just $1.99.

HOT CHOCOLATE

Ingredients

1 cup cocoa (I use Dutch-processed Droste)
1/2 cup sugar (or to taste)
1/3 cup hot water
4 cups whole milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract (optional)

Preparation

Combine cocoa and sugar a medium saucepan. Blend in water. Stirring constantly, cook over medium heat until mixture comes to a boil. Let boil, continuing to stir, for two minutes. Add milk, heat t… Read More

Christmas cookies! A recipe…

I posted this recipe a couple of years ago. It’s a family favorite. When I was growing up, my Dutch father would make spritz cookies throughout the Christmas season.

My six brothers and sisters and I all loved to help.

The buttery smell of the cookies warm from the oven is a great memory and something I can recreate in my own kitchen. The cookies are relatively simple to make and fun to decorate:

SPRITZ COOKIES

Equipment: Cookie-press or pastry bag
Ingredients
3/4 c. sugar
1 c. unsalted butter
2 egg yolks
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 1/4 c. all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. salt (or less)
Directions
Ble… Read More