FROM KAUAI & MAUI

FRIENDS!

This recent trip gave me so much to bring home.

At the Kauai Writers Conference, I had the opportunity to learn from Steven de Souza, meet fellow writers, talk about Shoreline Secrets with an agent, and speak about my own publishing journey. Sharing about the stories my children and I once made up together reminded me how far those little beginnings have taken me.

Visiting my longtime friend Charley on Maui made the trip even more meaningful. There is something comforting about spending time with someone who has been part of your life’s earlier chapters.

And somewhere between the learning, conversations, ocean walks, and exploring, I began my second Follow the Marigold book. Hawaii is finding its way into the story, along with Charley, before Marigold’s adventures continue in Oregon’s Applegate Valley. Here's the first book, Shoreline Secrets.

I came here hoping for inspiration, and I’m leaving with new pages, treasured memories, and fresh excitement for the work ahead. What a privilege to keep learning, keep exploring, and keep writing.

PACIFIC COAST SECRETS

Some journeys start with a map. This one started with a butter-yellow VW bus named the Marigold, a retired private investigator who refused to sit still, and a cozy mystery series set on the Oregon Coast. When I first imagined Nora Brennan rolling down the Oregon Coast, I had no idea how much of my own heart would ride along with her. I live in Alaska now, but Oregon has always been a homecoming for me. Writing Pacific Coast Secrets gave me a reason to go back and look at those familiar places with fresh eyes. This past summer I did exactly that. I drove Nora's route from Seattle down through Astoria, Cannon Beach, Newport, Bandon, and Gold Beach, then turned inland to Jacksonville, Oregon. I stood where she stands in the book. I noticed the small things she would notice, like a weathered sign, a quiet harbor at dawn, and the way locals watch a stranger walk into the coffee shop. Every stop sharpened the story, and every person I met reminded me why I wanted to write it in the first place.

Shoreline Secrets Release Date Is December 1

I am thrilled to share that the first book in the Pacific Coast Secrets cozy mystery series, Shoreline Secrets: Marigold Travels the Coast, releases on December 1. It follows Nora, sixty-three, newly divorced, and newly free, as she trades her old life for the open road. She plans to enjoy the view. The coast has other ideas. A decades-old archaeology field camp, a long-lost treasure, and an unpublished manuscript pull her into a mystery she never saw coming. It is a calm book with deep water in it. Think salt air, strong coffee, good people, and secrets that have been waiting a very long time to surface. I will not say more than that. Nora would never give away a case early, and neither will I.

Writing Real Oregon Friends Into a Cozy Mystery

Here is my favorite secret about this book. Some of the people you will meet in it are real.

I had so much fun writing my Oregon friends into the plot. Their laughter, their stories, their little habits, even the way they say certain words all found their way onto the page. A few of them know exactly where they appear. A few of them are going to find out on December 1, and I cannot wait to hear about it. I also tucked a good bit of myself into these chapters. My curiosity, my stubborn streak, my childhood love of pirate treasure, and more than one quirky habit I probably should not admit to in public. Nora is not me, but she and I would get along famously over a cup of coffee. That is what makes a book feel unique to me. When real friendships and a real personality live between the covers, the story stops being just a story. It becomes a keepsake. I love it, and I hope you will too.

Planning Book Two in Jacksonville, Oregon

The Marigold is not parked for long. This spring I am headed back to Jacksonville to start planning book two.

Jacksonville captured me on this last trip. The historic streets, the old gold rush stories, the vineyards rolling out toward the hills. It is the kind of place where every building seems to be hiding something, which is exactly the kind of place Nora loves. Best of all, I will be planning this next mystery alongside my friends from the area, and yes, they will be in the book too. We will be walking the town, swapping stories, and probably arguing over who gets to be the suspect. I already know it is going to be one of the best parts of this whole adventure.