January Newsletter 2026

January 31, 2026

Happy, Happy New Year!

I'm writing to you from not so sunny Kapaau, Hawaii. As I look out my window right now the palm trees are swaying wildly and the clouds are fat and promising more rain. We've had a mix of sun and torrential rain over the past week— at one point I was certain I saw Noah rowing past... :-) Kilauea also put on an incredible display recently, shooting lava over 800 feet in the air. Pele had something to get off her chest...

We had a rough start to our New Year— hubby threw out his back and we ended up in the emergency department it got so bad. That, combined with a very tight, unmovable deadline for my editor turned me into a bit of a panic monster.

January is normally the time people set intentions for the year ahead. I am  not  one of those people. I'm more of a 'wing it and hope for the best' kind of person. That being said, I do have a goal of completing three more books this year and maybe even reviving a passion project from several years ago. I'd also love to shed some poundage so I came up with a very doable exercise routine I can do daily from anywhere— now I just have to stick with it...

As far as WIP's go— I finished the first draft of Kawaihae Killer and will be sending it off to the editor in a few days. Normally I edit my work myself three times, send it to beta readers, then off to the editor. Since I ran out of time, I had one partial beta read but not a full reading. Hopefully my lovely editor doesn't kick me off her roster!

Also— stay tuned for February's Newsletter when I unveil Kawaihae Killer's cover. I had a lot more fun with this one now that I have a little experience under my belt, so I hope you like it. Please feel free to tell me what you think!

That's about it for me so far this month. Let me know how your January is going and I hope you have a wonderful weekend!

Photos

1. We were treated to a beautiful sunset our first night back in Hawaii

Sunset over ocean with orange and gray sky; rope fence in foreground.

2. Waikoloa Warfare hit #52 in the top 100 Amazon Charts :-)

Best seller list for cozy bookstore/library mysteries; 4 book covers with titles, author, and price information.

3. Seeing my book on a bookstore shelf was the culmination of many dreams come true!

Books on shelves in a bookstore. Titles include

4. Enjoying an ube cocktail and stunning sunset overlooking the water with the lovely Stacy Garrett

Two women smile, holding cocktails, with ocean view.

5. Kilauea in all her glory

Volcanic eruption: red-hot lava spewing and flowing from a dark landscape, smoke and steam billowing.

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