When You Cannot Stay In Your Lane... and You Write a Mystery Novel
Mar 17, 2026 10:01 am
I cannot stay in my lane.
In authorland, that means that I can't stay in the same genre. Even when I sort of stay in the same genre (aka romance), I never stay in the same micro-genre. I might write some romantic women's fiction, then dabble with a romcom, then write in YA. It's a legitimate marketing problem and, if I would stay in one zone, I would make more money. But then, I might also hate everything, and that wouldn't be good for any of us.
What this means for you, dear reader, is that when the Unlikely Heroes series (romantic women's fiction) ended, I could not stop myself from writing a cozy mystery novel (move over, SUV, I'm coming into a new lane). I've never done it before and, frankly, it was much harder than I anticipated. (Though I have flirted with mysteries in a couple of my books, namely From Gunpowder and Click.)
Why, you may be asking, if you've bothered to get through the first few paragraphs of this newsletter, did I write a mystery novel? I'm so glad you asked!
First off, I had an idea. Pesky things, ideas. Especially when you're trying to be a good girl and stay in one lane.
Secondly, I've always kind of loved cozy mystery novels. This is in large part because my mom absolutely adored mystery novels. I believe that if she'd lived long enough (she died of a brain tumor at age 61), she might have written one herself. In fact, she loved to tell the story about how Mary Higgins Clark started writing mystery novels after her divorce (Note: it occurs to me that I should fact check this... one moment please... ahem, after her husband's death she began writing novels to support her family). Anyway, my mom (herself divorced, not widowed) loved Mary Higgins Clark and she loved her origin story. My mother read a lot of mystery novels, and we would often listen to one in the car on long drives.
So I suppose it had to come down the bloodline at some point.
This, my friends, is that point.
And because Mom loved mystery novels so much, I decided to name the main character after her. And so, my friends, I would love for you to meet Cori Johnson, my newest amateur female sleuth.
Here's a taste of the opening paragraph of my mystery novel, (as yet unnamed, though it will surely have something to do with chocolate and death). Prepare yourself for delicious hot chocolate recipes and equally delicious (aka appalling) chocolate puns. And, yes, there will be a cat.
The front door creaks when I open it. Mystery theater style.
I make a mental note to order a cheerful bell and get some W-D 40.
Just because I bought an old Victorian house doesn't mean I want everyone who comes in here thinking they're about to join a group of quirky-but-suspicious characters to figure out who killed their prestigious host.
I just want to sell chocolate. And used books. And escape from the grief of losing my mom. No creepy doors need apply.
And so it begins. I'm currently in the process of editing and polishing and then I'll have more for you.
For now...
From Ashes is available in audio!!!! You should probably buy it...
When volunteer firefighter Aiden Billings gets stuck with a flat tire in rural Kentucky, he’s not happy to have to drag his young daughter to a tire shop for the afternoon. But when the pretty receptionist glances his way, a sliver of his heart cracks open—something he hasn’t felt since his wife died five years earlier.
Nora Evans, however, has a past she’s not keen on sharing, and with good reason. She’s barely crested out of her life of drug use and abusive relationships, and is ready to heal. On her own.
Will the two of them be able to get past the grief that has crippled their hearts? Or will it all go up in flames?
Leaving everything behind, Callie makes a life-changing move to the small town of Seneca Springs nestled on the banks of Cayuga Lake in beautiful Finger Lakes Wine Country. Taking on a daunting renovation while navigating the complexities of small-town life, Callie forges lifelong friendships, eats more than her fair share of delicious food, and tries not to meddle in the lives of her guests. The only thing hindering her newfound happiness is the attraction she feels for Nick, a rough-around-the-edges construction worker who is determined to get under Callie’s skin.
A late-night delivery will tear them apart, but a quintessential nor'easter snowstorm might just force them back together....
There's nothing worse than getting shot … unless you are forced to shoot your attacker.
At least that's what police officer Katelyn Ashford thought before her fiancé tried to attack her at her own wedding. She never thought she'd become a runaway bride. Even worse, she woke up in the stranger's bed in a place she'd never been.
Is it the worst thing to ever happen to Katie or the best?
As head of security for one of the biggest pop stars in the Pacific Northwest, former Army medic, Logan Anthony has seen his fair share of damsels in distress. Even though he's not the soldier he was before his injury, there's something special about this tough but fragile woman that brings out his protective instincts.
Katie knows she has to put the pieces of her life back together. She and Logan make a formidable team. Unfortunately, there seems to be no way to escape Katie's frightening past.
Happy endings are a lie, and Laurel Samuels knows better than to fall for them.
Struggling to hold her family together as her mother faces a life-threatening illness and her teenage daughter goes wild, Laurel is desperately holding on to the only pieces of her world that make sense, the love of her family and that of her hometown. But when the soldier who abandoned her, just before she found out she was pregnant, makes his way back into her life, everything collides. He’s haunted her dreams for the last fifteen years, and not all of them were nightmares.
Dan Walters has lived a soldier’s life, traveling the world and serving his country for the last fourteen years, until an accident left him injured and unable to serve. Almost a year after the accident, he’s made peace, mostly, with the loss of his profession as he returns to civilian life. When a private investigator shows up on his doorstep with documents pointing him back to an unknown family in Tylerville, his world takes an unexpected turn. The woman he loved, who had never left his heart, needs him.
Will true love find a way to forgive deception, suffering, and tragedy? Only in Tylerville … where miracles are the norm.
Natalie Reynolds is the sporty one in the family. She’s outgoing and a little impulsive. Natalie is beyond excited when Uncle Carl leaves his sporting goods store to her, Melissa, and Emma. Months after the grand opening, it’s time for Ruby Shores to celebrate Homecoming. They even got a former football player to come watch them play, and Natalie knows all about him.
Peter Martin grew up in Ruby Shores but after years in the NFL and a career-ending injury, he comes home to figure out his next steps. When he walks into the sporting goods store, hoping Carl has some footballs for him, he’s surprised to see three women running the shop.
Natalie and Peter are immediately smitten by each other, but should they be in a relationship with the paparazzi following Peter around and him trying to figure out his life? Can these two make it work with so much on the line? Will these two run the play or will the relationship land just out of bounds?
I’m thirty days away from getting out of Oak Valley and putting this town in my rearview mirror.
I just signed a contract with one of the leading design firms in the country, which means Nashville in thirty days and a future that finally feels bigger than one stoplight and a town gossip network with the efficiency of the FBI.
That's why I refused when Sophie asked me for a favor.
“Just one consultation,” she says after spotting the new owner of the Oak Valley Inn being cornered on Main Street by the town gossip arguing for her favorite shade of blue on the exterior.
Against my better judgment, I agree to meet the guy in charge. I figure I can leave him with a few tips on surviving the historical board and get back to packing.
Turns out the guy running the renovation isn’t new in town.
It’s Ryan Calloway.
My former best friend.
And the guy who left me stranded at prom almost ten years ago.
Now he’s back in Oak Valley with a renovation budget, a deadline, and a color palette that looks like greige with a trust fund.
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