THE INVESTIGATOR’S JOURNAL

I have been sitting on this secret like a cat on a warm windowsill, pretending I’m not vibrating with excitement. But today! Today I finally get to slide the cover across the table, clear my throat dramatically, and say: look . Look at her. This is the official cover for Murder at the Midsummer Feast , the first book in the Vale & Stone: Consulting Detectives  series — and yes, it smells faintly of citrus, summer sunlight, and Extremely Questionable Baking Decisions. A Litt

There’s something people don’t tell you when you decide to write a “cozy gothic murder mystery.” Namely: Everyone has an opinion about what that phrase is supposed to mean. Cozy readers expect warm drinks, low stakes, and the guarantee that the cat survives. Gothic fans want decaying manors, ancestral curses, and at least one scene where someone drifts dramatically down a hallway with a candle. And mystery diehards… oh, they have spreadsheets. Meanwhile, I’m over here like: “

Welcome to a Town That Probably Should Come With a Warning Label Every town has quirks. Mine has… more . The kind of “more” where the fog doesn’t simply roll in—it sweeps dramatically across the street like it has a main-character complex. Church bells chime at hours no church committee ever approved. And at least one cat is always perched on a wrought-iron railing, judging you with the withering disdain of a Victorian magistrate who’s deeply disappointed in your life choic