WINTER IS HERE!

And with it comes an update from my writing corner.

Jan 17, 2025

Hope you all had a wonderful holiday season and a great start to 2025! It’s freezing outside but it’s warm and snuggly in my writing cave. I think I’ll stay here until spring. In the meantime, here’s what’s going on in my writing world.

A HUGE THANK YOU!

Thank you to everyone who attended my online and/or in-person events for my latest Holly Cassidy rom-com The Christmas Countdown. It allowed me to be in the holiday spirit from early October, and it. was. fabulous. Christmas is my favourite holiday, after all, and I’m so grateful for your support!

Here I am at The Christmas Countdown launch at A Different Drummer Books in Burlington, Ontario. Did you know the shop and it’s brilliant owner, Ian, feature in the book? So do details about my Swiss heritage, and I based the fictional town of Fallbrook on my Canadian hometown. Are you sad the holidays are over? Fear not, because A Christmas Countdown is available here to get you back in the mood.

Missed the launch? Read on for details about another upcoming event!

WORDS AND WINE IN-PERSON EVENT - Feb 5, 2025

While I’m not keen on the (*inserts deep voice*) Polar Vooooortex situation, I am excited for an upcoming in-person event hosted by the Niagara-on-the-Lake Public Library.

"Wine and Words" takes place on Wednesday, February 5 from 7-9 p.m. at the Palatine Hills Estate Winery, 911 Lakeshore Road, Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario.

Come join us! You can register here: https://notlpubliclibrary.libnet.info/event/12378337

Hope to see you there.

A huge thank you to the Canada Council for the Arts | Conseil des arts du Canada, The Writers' Union of Canada, Palatine Hills Estate Winery, and of course the Niagara on the Lake Public Library for making this happen!

MY NEXT THRILLER HAS A PUB DAY!

A Killer Motive is slated for publication on September 9, 2025!

You never know who’s listening.

To Stella Dixon, sneaking her teenage brother out of their parents’ house for a beach party was harmless fun—until Max disappeared without a trace.

Six years later, Stella’s family is still broken, and she can’t let go of her guilt. The only thing that keeps her going is helping other families find closure through A Killer Motive, her true crime podcast.

In a bid to find new sponsors and keep making episodes, Stella goes on a local radio show. But when she says on air that if she had just one clue, she’d find Max and bring whoever hurt him to justice, someone takes it as a challenge.

A mysterious invitation to play a game arrives, with the promise that if Stella wins, she’ll get information about what happened to Max. Stella thinks it’s a sick joke…until Max’s best friend vanishes. And she’s given new instructions: tell nobody or people will die.

Desperate and unable to trust anyone, Stella agrees. But beating a twisted, invisible enemy seems impossible when they make all the rules…

Cover coming soon. I’d be delighted if you added A Killer Motive to your Goodreads, and/or pre-ordered, and/or asked your library to pre-order a copy now.

WHAT’S NEXT?

I have plans! So many plans. This is prime writing time for me, and my fingers are itching to get the stories out of my brain and into a manuscript.

I’ve worked on an outline for my next book, which is a thriller, but it’s too early to give much away. I can say that it’s one of my most unique premises yet. After that, I have an idea for something entirely different, in another genre. Fingers crossed I can pull it off. I also have plans for a book set entirely in Switzerland. Maybe it’s no surprise because I’m Swiss, lived there for 35 years, and am heading over soon to see my family. And escape the Polar Vortex! While there, I’ll head to Bern - my favourite city (photo below taken last spring).