 I feel like I've been waiting forever for this one! In March of 2017, I decided to try my hand at writing a cozy mystery. I'd read several, including my friend and release buddy, Sarah Fox's and I loved the set up. In May of 2017, I submitted the first book. It wasn't until August 2017 (which is actually fairly quick in the publishing world) that I heard back from Kensington Publishing. The idea of trying a new genre, and succeeding, was really amazing. I was so thrilled to be working with John Scognamiglio and Kensington/Lyrical. Though I needed to write two other books for the series, the time between then and today stretched out. Now, finally, it is here and I'm so thrilled to be able to hold it in my hands and share it with all of you. I hope you enjoy Molly's story, the mystery, and the town of Britton Bay. For romance lovers, I have a feeling you'll be fond of Sam. Thank you to everyone who read, liked, reviewed, talked about the book and for all of the support I've had. I'm very excited to be part of the cozy world and hope you can drop by Facebook tonight to celebrate with Sarah Fox and I at our Cozy Seaside Celebration.
 Happy Friday everyone! Hard to believe that my first cozy mystery will be out in the world on Tuesday. Hope you'll give it a try. I've been thinking a lot about how much emotion songs invoke and how, sometimes, it takes a whole book to do the same. When I have teasers made, I always think the image and words together capture that similar kind of emotion. Like a snapshot of the powerful moments in my books. I just wanted to share some of those images today because I like looking back at them and remembering that I created those moments in print even though others helped me capture the meaning with their artistic wizardry (talking to Tanya and Nicole here ;)
 Yesterday, I took my fifteen year old to the Surrey International Writing Conference. This is a great event. I've never been able to go for more than one day but every time I've gone, it has been memorable. Back in January of 2013, I started this website and blogging and it was after I'd gone to my first SWIC. I'd met an agent interested in signing my picture book. At the time, I knew nothing about publishing. Now, there are days I still feel like I don't know nearly enough but what I do know is yesterday, I was able to go and feel comfortable, like maybe I belonged. It was interesting to see my daughter connect with Tanya Lloyd Kyi for a blue pencil session because all of those years ago, she gave me a confidence boost before I had a sit down with my first agent. I'm sixteen books in and none of them are picture books so it definitely shows that the road doesn't always lead where you expect it to. It's hard to remember that every journey is different and accept that if you just follow your own road, you'll end up where you're meant to be. Going to the conference with my daughter again made me nervous and excited. It's incredibly inspiring to watch her navigate this path but it's also hard. It can be a bumpy road but as I watched her interact with industry professionals and take notes, I realized, she knows more at fifteen than I did the first time I attended the conference.I didn't know, five years ago, that I'd have a collection of romance novels published, some self, some traditionally. I didn't know I'd be working with my third agent or that publishing wasn't easy. I didn't know it requires a village of people to support you and keep you moving forward. What I did know, was that I loved to write. That hasn't changed. Being there, yesterday, with my oldest, reminded me that no matter where the road leads, we were both there for the same reason. That love of and passion for writing. It's easy to forget that some days. Her enthusiasm helps me remember, her drive pushes me forward, and her attitude inspires me. I don't know where I'll end up, but I feel pretty lucky to be standing right here, where I am.  
I might not have the little blue check mark beside my name anywhere and I don't have a quadrillion followers, but I'm really excited that I'm nearing 1000 likes on my Facebook author page. This is huge to me. It means that slowly and steadily, I'm gaining readers and friends who love books and I'm so grateful for that. So grateful that I'm doing a giveaway!
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