We Moved!

But Making Friends is still right here.

I’m writing this from the recliner (recliner!) which came with my new house. After fifteen years in a large 1907 Minneapolis home that had been in my husband’s family for decades, we just moved to the suburbs west of the city.

Our new house is just eight years old. It feels clean and bright and utterly different from where we came from. I’m thrilled by it! We’re getting older, and our kids are getting older. We were ready for a change, a change that didn’t require a surprise ten-thousand-dollar project every year like our charming old house did.

So, now we live in a development, the type of which we used to think of as cookie-cutter and souless, but suddenly is actually the land of our dreams. I can’t explain this change of perspective except to say that the house is convenient and spacious and designed for people living in the internet age who want to cook dinner and watch television and look at marshlands all from the same square foot. Ahhh.

My mom came over today to check out the new digs and declared I’d see a lot of interesting birds right from my deck. I’ve never been super into birdwatching, but now is probably the time.

Anyway, a lot of our existing furniture matched the big, old antique aesthetic of our previous home. Lucky for us, the people who sold us the new place also wanted to unload their deck furniture, their kitchen table and barstools, and their living room set, which INCLUDES TWO MATCHING RECLINERS. I didn’t realize this was so important to me, but man, does it make me happy.

I’m writing this newsletter with our smallest dog tucked in beside me and my feet up. I’m about to place an order for ground flax, hemp seeds, and no-flavor fiber to put in my peri-menopausal smoothie. Life is good in this one little spot. (Bad everywhere else. I know this, and I care about it.)

Making Friends Can Be Murder, my fourth novel, is two weeks old. It sold a total of 1040 copies (in all formats) in week one, which is less than Books 1 and 2, and more than book 3. I was disappointed by the number, but not devastated. I mean, I’m grateful, right? People are reading the book. Of all my books, this one is the most universally well-reviewed. This week, it’s on a list of summer page-turners from Minneapolis-St. Paul Magazine and had a lovely review in Shelf Awareness, a trade publication for bookstores and booksellers. They call it “smart” and “twisty” and a “highly enjoyable ride for […] fans of quirky women with unusual hobbies.” 😂

While it’s had a bit of a slow start, I’m hoping the book will continue to benefit from word of mouth. Cozy mysteries are likely to do that, I’ve heard. It’s a weird and fun book. People might pass it along because one of its most frequent descriptors is “different.”

Who knows? I think I’m ready for whatever happens, and regardless, I’m going to write more about these characters and release a story featuring them in November. That’s my plan, and Substack readers will be the first to know.

In the meantime, would you like to help the book continue to do well? You can:

• Leave a review on Amazon or Goodreads. 5⭐️ is best! We’re up to 21 reviews on Amazon and 167 on Goodreads.

• Share the book with your friends and family.

• Post about it on social media.

• Buy a copy if you haven’t! Any format from any retailer helps me equally.

If you need me, I’ll be in the recliner. I live here now. My dog and I. 💙