The Writer's Blog

Happy Spring! In Chicago we always fall prey to false springs where we enjoy beautiful weather for a day or so and then get hit by temperatures in the 30s again. Rinse and repeat. Speaking of spring, my new mystery novel, Clean Kill, is being released on May 14. Here’s a blurb:
Home to ten newly recovering alcoholics, Olive Street House is a safe haven in their bewilderingly new sober lives. But when one of the residents is murdered, Resident Manager Nicky Sullivan, a former Chicago homicide detective, seeks justice. Soon more women with similar profiles are murdered and each of them has some connection to Nicky. Working with her former detective partner and his beautiful new partner, Joanne Parker, Nicky searches for a serial killer with a vendetta against her. The police consider her a prime suspect and she knows she's also a prime target of the killer, as is Parker, with whom she's now in a relationship. Nothing prepares her for the shock when the killer is found, putting into question who in the world she can trust. With themes of redemption, recovery, and courage, CLEAN KILL is an absorbing novel that will appeal to fans of Sarah Peretsky and Sue Grafton.
 
Sounds exciting, right? You can pre-order through May 14, before it releases. I’ll formally send the book into the world at my book launch on May 16 and you can find details in the Events tab of this website. Women & Children First bookstore has hosted all my launches and I’m grateful to them for every one.
 
Since I finished writing Clean Kill I’ve taken a pivot away from crime fiction. The book I’m working on now is historical fiction and the novel’s title is Sparrow’s Nest. It’s set in 1929 and 1933 Berlin, right before and after Hitler seizes power. I’m having a great time writing it. I don’t know why, but it feels like I’m writing more freely, more authentically than I have with crime fiction. It will still be a while before the book is ready to come out. You’ll be sure to hear about it when it is.
 
On the health front, I’ve been diagnosed with a weird condition called Giant Cell Arteritis, which involves inflammation of the temporal artery. Left untreated it can cause blindness, which freaked me right out. I think we caught it early enough that I don’t have to worry about that. I’m still on steroids and am receiving once a month infusions of another drug and that will go on for over a year. Other than that, I’m feeling great. 
 
I’d love to hear from you at any time. You can always reach me through the contact tab. Anyone who reads my books is a star in my world and I love talking writing and story with my readers. Until next time, be well.