STONE BRIDGES in two weeks!

Time’s been slipping away as I recover from my shoulder injury, and I just realized Stone Bridges will be in stores in two weeks. I’m so excited! It’s the latest standalone installment in my Swift River Valley small-town New England series. Pre-order your copy from your favorite bookseller today! Click here for handy links.

Be sure to let me know what you think when you’ve had a chance to read Adrienne and Adam’s story. I had a great time writing it, mostly here on my New England hilltop. Check back for more info. I’m running behind with everything giv… Read More

Claim the Crown in eBook and back in print!

When I “discover” an author, I love to dive back into his or her backlist and read…well, everything. I’m not alone! Many readers have asked me how to get their hands on books I’ve written that are now hard to impossible to find. Claim the Crown is at the top of that list, and I’m happy to say it’s now available in eBook for the first time and again in. print. I did a bit of updating but for the most part it’s the same as the original. It’s my first “single-title” novel and it hit stores the same month my son was born. HeR… Read More

Loving winter, dreaming of spring

We’re deep into our Vermont winter, with snow and a frigid temperatures in the forecast. I do love New England winters (except when they drag into April!), but I find myself dreaming of spring at the moment. I spent most of the day writing by the woodstove and now I’m thinking about what I want to plant this spring, and where we want to go.

Joe and I love to travel in early spring. It’s an amazing time to take long walks on Irish lanes, with lambs prancing through grassy fields and colorful wildflowers popping up everywhere. The photo with me in my orange Irish raincoat was taken on a … Read More

Happy 2019

Happy New Year! The first week of 2019 is in the books and I hope yours was a great one, and the rest of 2019 is filled with what makes you happy. Fun, family, friends, adventures, creative pursuits, hikes in the Irish hills…I’m in!

Right now I’m in “monk mode,” as Greg McKeown puts it in his brilliant book Essentialism. This means I’m on a tight deadline. I’m running a bit behind given our multi-day power outage and then a nasty post-Christmas stomach virus, but all is well on our hilltop in Vermont.

This photo’s a favorite from 2018, from a … Read More

After foliage season

The “leaf-peepers” have gone home and my corner of northern New England is quiet. I love the bustle of foliage season–and its spectacular beauty–but there’s something special about this time of year, too. With the leaves off the trees, the landscape opens up. I see more of the river on my walks and runs. Fewer cars pass by, taking back roads to check out the Vermont scenery. I haven’t been asked directions in a couple of weeks.

I don’t take my phone with me as often on these quiet days. No music, no podcasts, no audio books. I let my writer’s mind … Read More

Autumn in Vermont

Oh, what a time of year to live in Vermont. So beautiful! Lots of “leaf-peepers” on the roads, enjoying the colorful foliage, apples, pumpkins, mums and everything wonderful about fall. I’ve been writing, noodling new projects and hanging out with our gang. Nothing like a two-year-old laughing at fallen leaves.

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On the Wild Atlantic Way (Ireland)

We’re just back home after two weeks on the southwest Irish coast. We loved every minute! Enjoy these photos and short video of one of our more peaceful outings, to a favorite spot on the Beara Peninsula.

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The latest from my hilltop in Vermont

Only a week ago I was on my way to Rutland, Vermont, for a wonderful signing and talk for Impostor’s Lure at Phoenix Books, a fabulous independent bookstore. I love this store! Rutland is a small city about an hour west of me, with a great downtown. I don’t get there often enough.

The night before, I was in North Reading, Massachusetts, at a historic library for a fun chat another “full house” of readers. As in Billerica on the 21st, everyone in North Reading and Rutland was so welcoming, gracious and generous. And they all asked great questions! 

The heat and humi… Read More

On the road!

Made it to Boston yesterday despite a flat tire. Well, not on the highway. In the driveway as I was getting myself together to leave. Fortunately Joe tackled it. It wasn’t straightforward because the wheel was bent (hence the flat tire), but it got done. Nice drive south on a beautiful day. I took myself to lunch to celebrate Impostor’s Lure hitting stores. Maybe not glamorous but quite pleasant! I found a nice throw at West Elm, too. Then a pleasant walk along the Charles River to take a moment to be grateful for this day. (Photo above is from my walk.)

The highlight of the day, though, w… Read More

Creating Finian Bracken

Irish priest and whiskey man Finian Bracken appears in every book in my Sharpe & Donovan series, starting with Saint’s Gate. He has a tragic past: he lost his wife and two young daughters in a sailing accident just as the distillery he started with his twin brother, Declan, was taking off. Finian ends up in a struggling fishing village on the southern Maine coast, befriending FBI agents, lobstermen, grandmothers, innkeepers and one particular English art thief.

Finian came together for me as a character one rainy afternoon when I was tucked in an Irish hideaway for a writing retre… Read More