I was nervous about this cover, friends. My cover designer has, in the last nine years since producing the gorgeous cover for Magic Most Deadly, mostly moved on from such work (in fact, she’s busy writing her own books these days–check them out here: Amanda McCrina), and I thought I might have to do this one myself. I did the covers for Magic & Mayhem and While Shepherds Watch, as well as the entire Pauline Gray series, so it isn’t as though I have no experience with cover design, but for this, the long-awaited third novel in the Whitney & Davies series, I wanted it to be extra-special. Luckily for me, Amanda agreed to do another for me, and the result is spectacular.
Are you ready to see it? Because I am more than ready to show it!
Here we go!
Isn’t it stunning? I’m so thrilled to be able to finally share it with you all. And you know what else I am able to share with you today?
The release date!
Death by Disguise, the third novel in the Whitney & Davies series, will be released on November 8, 2022. Yes, that is only four weeks away! Just in time for your Christmas shopping–or buying for yourself to read while you relax on Thanksgiving weekend.
I started writing this book while living in Cambridge, and finished it after moving back to the States. It is in many ways my love letter to that beautiful and ancient university city, and to the friends I made there. I am so pleased to be able to share it with the rest of you soon.
The second proof copy of the print edition of Secrets of the Past arrived in the mail yesterday, and … it’s gorgeous. I’m so pleased with how it turned out.
The first proof copy had some problems with the margins, which I was able to finally sort out, and I wasn’t happy with a couple of details on the cover, things that looked fine on a computer screen but just didn’t work well on a physical book. That’s why we have physical proof copies, to work out all those little details in order to have the final product be as close to perfect as a human can get!
The really good news, so far as my readers are concerned, is that with the success of this proof, I will be able to release the paperback edition of Secrets of the Past on March 1st, right along with the ebook edition. Hurrah!
So mark your calendars for March 1st, 2022, whichever edition you prefer to buy, because you will be able to take your pick.
I am very happy to be able to announce a release date for Secrets of the Past, the third and final Pauline Gray novella. It will be available in ebook form on March 1, 2022. You can preorder it now using this link: Secrets of the Past
I am hoping that the paperback will be available on March 1 as well, but I can’t make any promises with that.
This book was one of my most challenging to write, and one of the most rewarding. I can’t wait to share it with readers! This is a bittersweet release for me–I am pleased to have brought Pauline’s journey to completion, and a little sad to say goodbye to her. I hope all of my readers find satisfaction in how this final mystery works out.
You can also add Secrets of the Past to your Goodreads list here, if you like.
I will update once I have a set release date for the paperback as well!
It’s time! My editor A.M. Offenwanger has sent back the MS from its final proofread, and that means we are awfully close to publishing. Which means it’s time to celebrate by sharing the cover and back copy!
First, though, you all remember Pauline Gray, yes?
Journalist by day, secretly writing adventure novels by night, she dreams of the day she can turn her attention to “serious” academic work rather than these frivolous stories she has to churn out to pay the rent. In the meantime, her attention keeps getting distracted by mysteries no else cares enough to solve. Pauline would prefer a quiet life, but she can’t deny aid to people suffering from injustice, not if it’s within her power to help. Her first adventure was in Candles in the Dark, but it’s by no means her last …
Pauline’s second adventure begins with a plea for help from a local woman bemused by a strange inheritance. It takes her outside of Canton, NY, into the Thousand Islands region, about 60 miles away.
This is the area my dad’s family comes from originally–when my sixth great-grandfather (Samuel Bates) came to the US from England, he eventually settled in Cape Vincent, buying a farm on the mainland as well as one of the smaller of the “thousand” islands on the river. My dad’s mother’s parents had a dairy farm in Clayton for years until they moved to Canton, and my dad was born in Clayton.
It was great fun for me to be able to explore beyond my own hometown and “visit” another area that has ties to my family roots in this story. One of the best parts of writing these novellas is getting to know all these places a bit better than I did before thanks to all the research I do! (And is there any better form of research than calling your dad and saying, “So, Dad, about that island our family used to own …”?)
But enough about the background, I know what you’re interested in is the story itself.
Introducing …
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(Are you excited yet?)
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(Is the anticipation building?)
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Diamonds to Dust, the second Pauline Gray novella, coming August 14, 2020.
It will be available all the usual places–Barnes & Noble, iTunes, Kobo, Smashwords, Amazon, in the usual ebook and paperback formats. I can’t wait to share it with you all! My one regret in taking 2019 off from non-Patreon writing was putting this story on hold. It was worth it, though–the finished product you’ll be reading is much, much better than it would have been if I’d tried to push the book to be ready sooner.