Last year I had an idea for a Christmas novella but I didn’t write the novella then. Instead, I wrote a short story for A Right Cozy Christmas Crime, a collection of Christmas themed cozy mysteries. In my story, The Gifts Grab, the Community Christmas Charity Evening is in full swing at the local market, and middle-aged librarian Lois Stone is enjoying the sights, sounds and scents of Christmas until she hears her best friend Marge’s wail of frustration. A 1914 silver-plated slipper-shaped pin cushion and a pair of 1941 women’s crystal heeled pumps have gone missing from the museum’s stall. Festive fun will have to wait for Lois as it won’t look much like Christmas until she helps her friend find the thief and retrieve the museum treasures.

Two years ago, I wrote Mistletoe and Murder, a Christmas novella that featured Lois Stone’s friend Marge. When Lois and Marge attend the Fenwater Association Christmas party in the town’s lovely Hawick Hotel, Marge gets more than she bargained for: a bothersome blast from the past, and a corpse under a chandelier.

I enjoy writing Christmas themed cozy mysteries and the idea for this year’s story has been brewing for a year now. I’ve been waiting for the right time to slip it into the Century Cottage series. I think it’s now time so I finally sat down and penned One Gold Ring. Lois and her partner Bruce have been getting closer during the couple of years since they first met so it’s time for Bruce to think about proposing. He asks Marge to meet him at the Honey Pot diner to show her the ring and get her reassurance about his choice. But a few moments of Marge’s inattention could scupper Bruce’s plans for a romantic Christmas proposal. A cunning thief seizes the opportunity Marge’s lapse affords to snatch Bruce’s family heirloom. Soon afterwards Lois arrives and joins Marge and Bruce in the search for the ring. Three heads may be better than one or two but Lois can’t find out that it’s her engagement ring they are hunting for. Will they keep the upcoming proposal a secret and find the ring in time for that romantic Christmas proposal?

One Gold Ring was released this week and you can find it here