Summer guests, my new book, and interviews!

View from our Chesapeake Bay house

Hello everyone! I hope you’ve had a great summer. I had some very welcome visitors—my nephew and his wife from London, my daughter and grands from Toronto, and my son and daughter-in-law from Richmond, VA. Of course, they all wanted to spend time at our house on the Chesapeake Bay, so a good time was had by all. That spot in Southern Maryland is my favorite place to be—even in winter. We often celebrate Christmas or Thanksgiving there.

I didn’t get as much writing done as I would have liked as there were so many distractions, including the Dalls wedding of the granddaughter of old friends. Formerly neighbors, the grandparents returned to Australia after retiring from the World Bank, so it was marvelous to see them again after nearly 25 years. The bride, whom I enjoyed playing with from the time she was a baby, is now an accomplished lawyer! Not only that, she’s sweet and beautiful. I was delighted to meet her handsome husband and his warm and welcoming family, too.

My panel “Writing History,” at the 2025 Creatures, Crimes, and Creativity Conference in Columbia, MD.

I’m the second from right

I did manage to write some scenes for my next book and complete a short story for a conference anthology. “Creatures, Crimes, and Creativity,” or C3, as we call it, is an annual conference in Columbia, MD, which I always try to attend. There are always old friends to catch up with and new friends to discover, as well as many interesting panels on the subject of creative writing. The panel in which I participated, “Writing History,” was well received. There’s always a two-hour author signing late Friday and Saturday afternoon, which is open to the public. Quite a few avid readers attend the conference every year, as well as writers.

I was invited to be interviewed for two podcasts this month, which was fun. Rob Southgate interviewed me for “Ink Blots” and, later, I will talk with Johna Bottorff on “Booking It With Johna.” I hope you’ll have the chance to check out my Ink Blots interview, available on Apple Podcast, Spotify, and YouTube.

My fourth book in the Sleuthing with Mortals series comes out on October 24. Odin’s Word is another fun ride with gods and a witch by the Chesapeake Bay—and often much farther afield. A monster makes an appearance at the end, too, and he will play a large role in Book 5. 

On October 24 I will be at Fenwick Street Books in Leonardtown, MD, from noon – 4 p.m. to sign my books. If any of you live in that area, I hope you will stop by.

That’s all for now. And please, if you enjoy by books, consider leaving a review. It can be just a couple of sentences, but makes all the difference to an author. Those darn algorithms … 

Dorothy