Hey there happy reader!

We’re inching closer to the publication of my new and improved small-town romance series, “The Gypsy Moth Chronicles,” and I couldn’t be more excited. As you know, I’ve signed on with Vinci Books, a London-based publisher specializing in working with indie authors like me.

I’ve shared the new cover art with you already, but here’s another look…

As soon as I have the publication date, I’ll let you know here first! 

And then, in a random and very cluttered antique store in Santa Rosa, California this weekend, I found these…

These two small dishes have gypsy moths painted on them! 

I think it was a sign letting me know that those books are going to make a splash once they hit the marketplace. Or at least I hope so…

This is one of the libraries at Oxford University…

I’ve been spending a lot of time with my work-in-progress, “Beyond the Horizon.” I’m incredibly invested in my two female protagonists, one (Maya) nearing the end of her career, the other (Miriam) just beginning hers. It’s an interesting juxtaposition; one I didn’t really plan on when I began writing this book.

It’s always fascinating to me when a novel takes a turn that I didn’t expect. No matter how many outlines I create, or how many notes I take, the characters always dictate the story – literally! I hear them telling me everything I need to know. 

The photo of the library above is a perfect example of that. When I started this novel, I had no idea what an important role it would play for one of my characters. Imagine discovering something unknown in a library within a book as ancient as the original printing press. It’s intriguing, right?

And while we’re on the topic of historical novels, who else is watching Diana Gabaldon’s “Blood of My Blood?” It’s the origin story of “Outlander,” and I’m hooked!

Hey there happy reader,

I can’t take much more of this oppressively humid summer heat. From the minute I step outside I feel like a wilted and soggy mess, and I count down the seconds until I can be back inside the air conditioning. Anyone else feeling this way? I’m longing for sweater weather!

I know that come February I’ll be cursing myself for feeling this way, but seriously… how much iced coffee can a girl drink?

I’ll stop complaining now and share some fun news… 

Here are two more new book covers for the re-release of “Perfectly Polite” and “Fabulously Flirty,” and I love them both! I think that the artist has truly captured the fun nature of these titles. I hope you like them as well!!

I look back at these books with such affection. 

I wrote them the year my sons were getting married (ninety days apart on two separate continents!) and I was obsessed with all the wedding related details that were constantly on my mind. It was a crazy time with a packed to-do list the length of my kitchen counter, and while I’m truly happy with how those two events turned out, I’m even happier that all of that is behind me!

Crazy, though… my husband and I are invited to six weddings in the coming months. I’ve got to dust my dancing shoes off and figure out what I’m going to wear, lol! Whatever I choose, I’ll post some pictures here…

For now, I’m going back down to my cave to write! My work-in-progress, “Below the Horizon,” is morphing into quite the page-turner. I can’t wait to share some of it with you in the coming weeks!

Hey there happy reader,

I feel a bit buried under piles and piles of work. Ugh!! I decided that my website needed a refresh. I mean, don’t we all after a bit?

My current website is the photo on the right, lol!!

I feel like I’m dusting the cobwebs from the corners of my website and tidying it up, getting ready for the re-release of my new book covers….and here they are!!!

I love them and I hope you do as well. 

I think the background colors really pop and reflect the season each book represents. As soon as I have the publication date, I’ll post it here first.

Is anyone else watching “The Gilded Age?” 

I am loving the attention to historical detail that Julian Fellowes puts into everything he does. From the costumes to the place settings at the very elaborate nightly dinners, everything matters. That’s why I like the task of researching history for a novel. It’s the small things that make the difference for readers.

That’s why the pieces of jewelry above are important to my Stonehenge story, “Below the Horizon.” 

These opulent artifacts were found in 1808 on the site in Salisbury Plain. They date back to the time when people were building and living at the monument. Clearly, they belonged to a woman of status and high rank. In my mind, they were worn by my protagonist, Maya. Intrigued? I sure hope so… I’m racing to the finish line to get this work to my editor!

Hey there happy reader!

As you know from last week’s newsletter, I’ve signed on with Vinci Books and they have a plan to re-release my backlist. They will publish “The Gypsy Moth Chronicles” first.

Here’s a sneak peek at my very first new cover…

I hope you love it as much as I do! 

I think it has a vintage postcard look and resembles something you might buy on a beach vacation to scribble a note or two to send to the folks back home! If you remember, “June” is the first of a five-book series, all small-town contemporary romances.

And just to clear up any confusion – I did have some people ask me this question – Vinci Books is not a traditional publisher, but rather they’re a hybrid one. 

“Publisher’s Weekly” explained it best. In an article about how British publishers are adapting and expanding into the US market, they said that new companies, “…like Vinci Books, a digital first publisher, works with independent authors using POD (print of demand) as a test case.” That means that if an e-book sells, they have large distribution channels and can ship physical copies out quickly to fill the need in the marketplace. For me, signing on with Vinci frees up more of my time that I can then dedicate to writing, and that makes me very happy!

I think that after Vinci publishes my first series, they may look to re-market “Perfectly Polite” and “Fabulously Flirty,” because while those books are standalones, they do share characters… the protagonists of those novels, Julie and Caroline, are best friends. I can’t wait to see what their art department comes up with for new covers for both!

Interestingly, the cover of my first historical novel was created by Stuart Bache who is now Vinci’s creative director. 

Something tells me that the cover for that novel, as well as the cover for “The Woodcarver’s Secret” (also designed by Stuart when he was still freelancing) won’t change at all, and that’s fine by me. I love the artwork on both of those books!

And I’m anxious to see what these creative minds dream up for “Below the Horizon,” my Stonehenge title. Of course, that all depends on when I finally finish writing it…

For now, I hope you are seeing the fruits (literally) of your garden. Our tomato plants are starting to look promising. I’m looking forward to juicy tomato sandwiches very, very soon! What do you have growing in your vegetable patch?

Hey there happy reader!

I’ve been writing and self-publishing since 2017. I’ve learned a lot along the way and have met amazing authors and readers in the most unexpected places. But nothing could have prepared me for the email I received from the publisher of Vinci Books…

Vinci is a British publishing company, specializing in works written by indie authors like me. They’ve asked me to come join them and have taken on my backlist – all my currently published titles – and will be rebranding them with new covers, as well as producing audio books and foreign translations. They will also be distributing my books in both brick-and-mortar stores and libraries…

YES! IT’S A DREAM COME TRUE!!!

The idea is to give me a chance to concentrate on my writing and let someone else deal with the social media, advertising, and sales aspects of book publishing.

I am so happy to turn that part of this job over to a group of professionals – it means more time to create and less time crunching numbers.

I have my first team meeting tomorrow, so I’ll have more to share as time goes on. 

Vinci is interested in my next book, “Below the Horizon” as well, and their artistic director is the person who designed two of my previous covers – “The Wick and the Flame” and “The Woodcarver’s Secret.” I’m excited to see what his cover concept will be for my Stonehenge project.

I guess it all boils down to this: I would not have been chosen for this bounty without all of YOU! 

I am grateful every day and look forward to bringing you more stories as time goes on. We’re in this together!

I hope it’s sparklers, hot dogs, and ice cream for all!

Hey there happy reader,

I’m just back from a writer’s retreat in Colorado, and it was awesome! There was yoga and hiking every morning and time to write each afternoon. Before dinner we’d all come together to have “writer’s chair,” a chance to read our new work and offer valuable critiques and suggestions to one another.

I’d been to Colorado before to ski, but not at the elevation level where I was hiking at Gem Lake. 

I now know with undeniable evidence that my peak climbing range stops at 7,200 feet. As we went higher, aiming for 8,800 feet, I had to stop. I got dizzy and worried that I’d hold up the group, so I slowly – and I do mean slowly – made my way back down! I survived, however…

More importantly, I was able to spend concentrated time organizing my thoughts around my work-in-progress, now titled, “Below the Horizon.” 

The Stonehenge book has been a challenge, partially because I couldn’t come up with a title that seemed to fit the story and the message I am trying to convey. No one knows what happened to the people who lived there and built that monument because they disappeared… they vanished below the horizon! The title came to me during a yoga class. I had cleared my mind of all the chatter and, voilà! There it was!!

I owe a huge debt to the women above… 

We met in Guatemala and continue to encourage and support one another on our individual writing journeys. They are each so talented and I will share their projects with you when they become available. Every person in the group is writing something significant and I feel so blessed to know them. They are a gift that keeps on giving – and they are great travel partners as well.

Hey there happy reader!

I’ve just returned from our annual family vacation. This year we chose to go to Vermont, thinking about cool, crisp nights and barely warm days. Wow! Were we wrong!!! It was brutally hot… and did I mention that the house we rented was off-the-grid, had no air conditioning and no WiFi connection? Have you been with your adult children without an internet connection? Let me tell you… there were some very tense moments!

We had to take some very drastic measures… like actually talk to one another, lol! 

Plus, no internet led to epic rounds of Catan and Bananagrams. Plus, these two little guys enjoyed just about everything that was outdoors.

They launched nerf rockets, played soccer, ran barefoot in the grass and slept well at night. What more could this happy Gigi ask for?

And for my husband, being in a place with no light at night was like heaven. He’s an amateur astronomer, and his latest telescope takes amazing digital pictures of galaxies far, far away…

I had the chance to enjoy my entire family sitting around the dinner table, joking with one another and generally just having a good time. But now the break is over, and I’m back to work.

I’m going to be attending a writer’s retreat later this week in Colorado with the women I met in Guatemala earlier this spring.

I can’t wait to see them again and workshop my new novel with this group of talented women. It should be another amazing experience!

We’ll be hiking here at Gem Lake. I can’t wait!

Plus, I’m sitting on some news. It’s big. Explosively so… and all will be revealed very, very soon!

Hey there happy reader!

I’ve been spending some time with a bottle of bubbles and a toddler with endless energy, and it’s been both meditative and educational. Seeing the world through the eyes of a grandchild is special for sure, but the rhythmic motion of dipping the wand into the bottle and blowing bubbles together has given me the chance to slow down and just watch that tiny bit of liquid soap float away on the air.

On a rainy, humid afternoon we sat on the porch of our house for an hour, watching the clouds build and simply blowing bubbles. 

I listened to my grandson’s sweet little voice as he told me about his favorite things (basketball and Bluey.) He was joyful each time a bubble lifted toward the sky. Time slowed down just a bit; I didn’t think about my long list of responsibilities or the errands I needed to run.

I just blew bubbles…

It’s a lesson I’m taking with me into my writing practice. 

Words are like bubbles. Sometimes they float and sometimes they sink (that’s what a good editor is for!) The joy is in the method, the action of creating a story. I know that when I get into the groove of my work, there’s no better feeling… and that’s where I am now with “The Stones.” I’m getting closer to sharing it with you and there’s nothing better than knowing that I have something very special coming your way. As soon as I have some cover art, I’ll post it here first!

I do hope that wherever you are, the sun is shining. 

Here in the northeast, we’ve been in a long rainy spell. I don’t mind it much when I’m this busy writing — I just hope for a beach day every now and then. It doesn’t matter what the weather is… any time you have to yourself is a good time to pick up a book and read!

Hey there happy reader,

Do you ever feel overwhelmed with tasks? So much so that you want to throw a blanket over your head and forget everything for a while, crawl into bed and just read a good book?

That’s how I’m feeling today! 

I have so many errands and small jobs to complete that it almost seems impossible to get it all done. I have to try and remember my favorite life guide and author, Anne Lamott’s best advice – just go “bird by bird.”

This book, with its invaluable life lessons, has saved me on more than one occasion from myself. 

Anne tells the story of her brother, who when having ignored a school assignment where he was to write a research paper, waited until the very last minute to begin. Sensing his son’s panic, their father offered some sage words. “Go bird by bird. One bird at a time.” Simple, but true. We can all do well to remember that we can only do one thing at a time…

Which brings me to my current work-in-progress.

I’m doing my best to hunker down and get my most recent draft in good enough shape to share some of it with you! As you may remember, I wasn’t happy with my first pass at this novel, so I started over. I can report that things are going much better this time around… hopefully I will have an excerpt or two to share over the summer months ahead.

I’m headed to my office now. I’ve reached a tense moment in the narrative, and I want to get back to it before I tackle cleaning my outdoor furniture before Father’s Day!!

Hey there happy reader!

New York City is buzzing with the basketball championships… the Knicks have moved forward for the first time in fifty years, and the excitement is palpable!

It reminds me of my college days, covering women’s basketball for our campus newspaper. 

Every shot, every missed pass or three-point play is cause for either elation or defeat. And the last five minutes of the game are stomach-churning! Combine the NBA playoffs with this week’s Manhattanhenge, and you can understand why New York is the city that never sleeps!

Of course, Manhattanhenge brings me around to my work-in-progress about the OG… Stonehenge! 

I’ve been working away at this book, and I must admit… it’s the most complicated and detailed novel I’ve ever written.

It’s turning out to be part historical, part suspense, and part romance. There are two female protagonists, an uprising of a society, a race against time to uncover the truth of what happened to the original inhabitants of Salisbury Plain, and the reveal of a secret that impacts the past and the present. Whew!

Luckily for me, I’m heading to reunite with my “Guatemala Girls” at the end of the month. 

This group of talented writers – we met at Joyce Maynard’s writer’s workshop—is reconvening in Colorado for an intensive four days of writing, meditation, and yoga.

I’m looking forward to sharing creative energy with these women. When we are together, we are a force of nature. There’s lots of idea sharing, constructive critiquing, and tons of laughter. It’s the recharge we all need! And as soon as I’m back, I plan to share an excerpt or two with you!

What do you do to refresh your own batteries? Garden? Bake? Visit with friends? We all need a way to shed the overwhelming responsibilities of our lives and find the thing gives us the “jolt,” or the little bit of magic that keeps us sane… wouldn’t you agree?