Dear Reader,
Hope the New Year is off to a good start for you!
I like the sound of 2025, maybe because it reminds me of that old hit In the Year 2525 by Zager and Evans. Remember that one? The main character in my mystery series, Ronnie Lake, probably knows all the lyrics by heart, because she’s such a fan of music from the 1960s, ’70s and ‘80s.
I have some exciting news about Ronnie – the brand new Kindle covers for the books from my new publisher, Vinci Books, in the U.K. They’re beautiful and I can’t get enough of looking at them. For example, here’s the old Stunner cover, which I did love for a long time.
And here’s the new one that I love even more. It’s “stunning,” don’t you think? 🙂
Stunner was the first book I ever wrote. And Sylvia by 1950s blacklisted author Howard Fast is the novel that inspired me to write it.
Writing under the pen name E.V. Cunningham and published in 1960, Sylvia tells the story of a California detective hired by a rich businessman to look into the background of his future wife. He travels far and wide as he digs deeper and deeper into the secrets of her past. This story grabbed me, and I wanted to write my own version in today’s world with Ronnie Lake looking into the background of her beloved widowed brother’s new fiancé. My story is completely different from Howard Fast’s Sylvia, but I was fascinated by the premise of a PI investigating back through the years to learn about a person’s mysterious past and how she started out in life.
Here’s something else that’s special about the new Stunner. My old Book 2 was the short novella Delilah: A Ronnie Lake Cold Case. It has now become a bonus read in the new Stunner. Years ago, a fellow author invited me to write something short for an anthology, something inspired by a famous song, and I picked Tom Jones’ Delilah.
For those of you who like to review books and haven’t read Stunner, I’m happy to send you a copy if you’d consider writing a short, honest review. Just reply to this email to let me know.
There’ll be more news about the other books in the series in future newsletters.
Best wishes for you in 2025!