Once again, I've fallen behind on my posts, but I have a good excuse. Several, actually. June was a busy month.  In case you missed it, there was my interview with James Patterson.  In addition to a bunch of appearances throughout the month, I was working on the next Zoe and Pete mystery, tentatively titled Helpless . It's proving to be quite the challenge.  At the end of the month, I received word that Death By Equine had made the cut and has been named one of THREE finalists for the Dr. Tony Ryan Book Award! I'll be traveling to Lexington, Kentucky, in November for the announcement of the $10,000 winner.  I also received my first editorial letter from my new UK publisher for the first book in my new Lake Erie Mysteries series. I wasn't sure what to expect. New editor. New publisher. The United Kingdom. But I couldn't be more pleased with her insights and suggestions. So for several weeks, I put Helpless on the backburner and focused my full attention on revisions...

Late last year, at the urging of one of my readers, I submitted Death By Equine for the 2021 Dr. Tony Ryan Book Award. I filled out the application, sent in the required copies of the book, and promptly put it out of my mind.  Then early last week, I received an email notifying me that my novel had been named one of six semi-finalists for the award! I was over the moon! The three finalists will be announced later this month. Cross your fingers! At least I'll be so busy that I won't have much time to obsess over whether Death By Equine makes the cut. Fatal Reunion may have been released on May 10, but the launch events begin in earnest with my launch party at Mystery Lovers Bookshop on Sunday, June 12, followed by Lunch with the Author at The Gathering Place on Wednesday, June 15, the James Patterson event on Thursday, and a publishing panel at the Kittanning Library on Saturday.  For details and even more events, check out my website .

I'm about to hit the road to Lancaster, PA, for the first in-person Pennwriters Conference since 2019. This weekend I'll be on a publishing panel and teaching one or two workshops (one for sure; another is on standby in case another instructor can't make it). I'm less anxiety-ridden about this trip, having survived the one to Bethesda for Malice three weeks ago. My people skills aren't so rusty this time! Before I leave, though, I wanted to share the rest of the BIG NEWS in my life and career.  First, last week I signed a two-book contract with HarperCollins UK (One More Chapter) for a new series set along Lake Erie!  If you look back at one of my more frustrating posts , you'll read about my ongoing battle with proposals. THIS new series was one of those. Thanks to my fabulous agent, Dawn Dowdle, it has found a wonderful home. You'll be hearing more on it in the near future. And finally, next month I'll be sharing the stage at the Steamfitters Event Cen...