What I’m Reading
I do most of my reading on my Kindle, but when I’m driving or doing things around the house I love listening to audiobooks. Over the past few months, I’ve finished several books I enjoyed. I thought I’d share a few of them here in case you’re looking for something good to read, or listen to. Here are a few mystery recommendations, plus one non-mystery I thought was special. It’s Not Her – Mary Kubica I just finished this one and it kept me turning the pages. The setting is a seedy remote lakeside resort (sort of reminded me of…
Keep readingNo Longer a Dream
It’s been my dream to publish a novel. Now that dream is a reality. Misery Cove, a mystery set in a fictional, coastal town in Michigan, finds Erin Brady forced to confront a past she thought she escaped. Her return home to bury her estranged mother sets off a cascade of unsettling events. It’s a story of dark waters and quiet lies. If you enjoy mysteries, I’d love for you to check it out. –Jan
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Where Stories Begin
There’s a small Michigan town my sisters and I still visit. A place we’ve known for decades. They love it. I have mixed feelings. The lake is beautiful, but the town around it has never tried too hard to be anything other than what it is. Maybe that’s part of its charm. Still, the town with its miles of beaches and old motel stayed with me enough to shape a fictional place called Misery Cove. The book I wrote isn’t about that town, but the mood of it. The feeling of coming back to a place you thought you outgrew,…
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Coming Soon – Misery Cove
This past week, I signed off on the final proof of Misery Cove—a surreal moment after months (actually years) of writing, revising, and reworking. Some people call it a galley, others a proof, but either way, it’s the version that heads to print. Next, my publisher let me know the official release date, which may still be a few months away, but the finish line is in sight. In the meantime, here’s the cover. I couldn’t be more excited about how it turned out. It captures the mood and atmosphere of Misery Cove in ways I didn’t expect—quiet tension, hidden…
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Authentic Voices
Lately I’ve noticed a difference in some of the mystery series I’ve been watching. Along with the usual clever plots and twists, some of them are also casting actors who bring their own lived experiences of disability to the screen. The star of Professor T lives with OCD. The lead in Code of Silence is deaf. The star of Patience is autistic. In each case, the actor draws on their own experience to play the character. I love this shift in casting for two reasons. First, it values authenticity by choosing actors who bring personal insight rather than asking others…
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One House, Four Lives
Old houses intrigue me, and I notice them wherever I go. It started when I was about twelve with an Italianate-style house in the faded resort town where my dad built a cottage. It’s had four lives. I’ve only witnessed the last three. My favorite was the one with the ghost story. Back in the mid-1800s, a lumber baron built his home on top of a bluff overlooking the town harbor. Ten bedrooms, high ceilings, French doors, and a widow’s walk so he could keep an eye on the lake, and his nearby boatyard, lumber mills, and mines. It was…
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