I’m excited to announce that my next book, ALL THEY NEED TO KNOW, is slated for publication, by my fabulous publisher Lake Union Press, in September of this year. The past year and a half has been eventful, to say the least. I relocated from the East coast to the West coast, wrote a book and started another one (more on that later), while overseeing a gut remodel of a 1940’s house here in Sacramento, California. And it’s just me, folks—my hubby was in New York for most of that time transitioning from his career as a TV reporter at WABC-TV in NYC to the next chapter of his career, as a consultant. Frankly, I surprised myself with all that I accomplished. Didn’t know I had it in me. The secret, as with anything in life, is to do what you love. When you pursue your passion you swim with the current.

The story line in ALL THEY NEED TO KNOW was inspired by events in my own life. Like my heroine Kyra, I was once in a marriage where I felt trapped and unsafe. I fled my past, traveling across the continent and reinventing myself in a new locale as does Kyra, though perhaps not in quite as dramatic a fashion as she! Nor did I rescue a dog along the way, though the canine character of Ranger is based on a dog I once owned. Ivan, the wonder dog, a Samoyed-shepherd mix, was the smartest dog I ever met. He could open doors by turning doorknobs with his front paws, and once after I caught him on the kitchen counter raiding the bread box, he learned to shut the bread box after he’d opened it and hide the bread wrappers so his thefts wouldn’t be readily discovered. He’s long since gone over the Rainbow Bridge, but I enjoyed reliving the path he blazed during his lifetime through Ranger. Below is a brief summary of the plot.

On the run from her abusive husband, art teacher Kyra Smith stumbles into Gold Creek with her rescue dog Ranger. When she’s befriended by a group of local women who call themselves the Tattooed Ladies Club, she believes that the old California Gold Rush town might be the perfect place for a fresh start.

The Tattooed Ladies help her find a place to live and get a job as a police sketch artist, but she soon learns that these generous women all have problems of their own: There’s Frannie, the tattoo artist who becomes a mother figure to Kyra but whose relationship with her own, mentally ill daughter is fraught. Suzy, the fashionista grandma who is as good with people as she is with hair at the salon she owns but whose grown son seems to want nothing to do with her. Marisol, who despairs of ever meeting a man like the heroes of the romances she sells at her bookshop. And Jo, the wedding photographer, whose enviable marriage to her college sweetheart is threatened by an unexpected event.

Kyra tries to repay their generosity by being as good a friend to them as they’ve been to her. Just as her new life starts to take shape, her ex shows up with vengeance on his mind—and she must call upon the strength and wisdom she’s learned from the Tattooed Ladies to put her old life behind her, once and for all.

In the coming months I’ll post a sneak peak in the form of a sample chapter as well as news of any giveaways. When ALL THEY NEED TO KNOW is available for pre-order, you’ll be the first to know. For those you who’ve been asking “When is your next book coming out?” thank you for your patience. For those of you who are as of yet unfamiliar with my works, hopefully this one will be the pathway to discovering them.

What was the most recent book you read that you would recommend? I just finished reading a delightful and heartwarming novel, THE LIBRARY, by Bella Osborne, which I highly recommend.