April Newsletter 2026

Konichiwa! Have you ever had one of those 'pinch me' moments? The kind where you look around and can't believe this is your life?

I'm currently on a plane heading to Osaka, Japan to spend the next week exploring a new country. My hubby has to come for work, and I get to tag along. Holy cow—never in my wildest dreams could you have convinced me 33 years ago, when we were raising our firstborn and living off food stamps and WIC, that we would be jetting off to Japan for a business trip. It's still hard to fully believe...

If you follow me on Instagram or Facebook, prepare yourself for an annoying amount of badly framed photos of Japan. If any of them look good, it's because someone else took them :-)

For All My Free Book Loving Babes Out There...

Click here for free books!

I've teamed up with several other authors again to send out a glutton of free eBooks! These are all cozy mysteries or cozy adjacent. Some of my absolute FAVORITE authors have books on here. Stella Glass, Elsie Silver, and Tansy Blackwood are some of my personal faves—check it out and maybe you'll find your next favorite author to binge!

GOOD NEWS—Actually, GREAT NEWS!

As much as I hate a bunch of emails (which is why I limit the emails I send out to you!), I was recently accepted as a contributor to a HUGE book blast on April 23rd. What this means is that there will be so so many FREE eBooks on April 23rd your TBR pile will bow under the weight of so many books. This is one of the most prestigious book blasts in the cozy mystery genre and the authors involved are so prolific I feel beyond privileged to even be sharing space with them.

Look for that email on April 23rd and please take a moment to check out the list—I guarantee you'll find at least one, but most likely dozens, of new books and authors. If I'm wrong, I'll post a photo of myself in curlers for the world to see...

Hawaiian Themed Gift Basket Giveaway!

For my April 23rd Book Blast—I'm doing a HUGE Hawaiian-themed giveaway to one lucky winner.

How it works:

1. First—open the email I send out on April 23rd (easy so far, right?)
2. Click on the link to go to the free eBook List (See? So far, so good...)
3. Find at least one book you want (this is the fun part!)
4. Download free book (get 'em all if you want!)
5. Reply with a screenshot of the book you chose to the April 23rd email I sent. (How cool for me—I love to be nosy!)
6. I will randomly pick one awesome, amazing winner to send the Hawaii Gift Basket to. (Woohoo!)

Unfortunately, this contest is only open to US addresses as it costs a fortune to ship internationally. But, fear not my non-US peeps! For those of you not based in the US you still have a chance to win something! I will also choose one non-US resident and gift all three of my eBooks as well as my novella!

Included in the gift basket: All three paperback copies of the Barefoot Sleuth Cozy Mystery Series, Cookies from Punalu'u Bakery, macadamia nuts, Kona coffee from one of my favorite coffee farms, Stickers from Seabird Coffee (yes—it's a real place!), a trinket dish and matching keychain handmade by a Hawaii-based artist, and a Kohala Divers ball cap.

Not pictured: Hawaiian-designed and created hair clips and my favorite tea (the tea is from my favorite tea makers in Oregon, and I love to expose people (not in a creeper way!) to their incredible teas!

In Other News...

Right now, I'm working on Book 4 of the Barefoot Sleuth Cozy Mystery Series. This one has been a blast to write—it includes a cantankerous Auntie, a crooked politician (go figure...), and enough sizzle to set off a glitter bomb (have you ever noticed how glitter gets everywhere ?)

Also, I've been working on a new series, but I'm still on the fence about it. If I do launch it, I'll probably do it under a pen name. It's a pretty big departure from my cozy mysteries—think paranormal woman's fiction with a female main character who develops the ability to speak to the dead after she suffers a near-death experience—and then discovers she holds the key to saving humanity.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy the free books and find a new favorite author (just don't replace me, okay?) Take care until next time!

Happy Reading!

A Few Snapshots

1. Me getting a very awkward selfie with my books on the bookshelf at Kona Stories in Kona, Hawaii
2. Community Fun Run 5K with friends (and a very reluctant hubby—we walked the whole trail...)
3. If you've read Kawaihae Killer (you've read it...right?) you may recognize this sweet little guy—this is the OG, real-life Buddy!
4. This awesome critter is a Pikachu nudibranch—I have no idea what his scientific name is. This guy was sitting on an egg sac (you can see the swirling yellow trail underneath him). So cool (and rare) to get to see!

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