So in addition to the usual end-of-the-year festivities and demands, I had a few tasks to take care of. (Also, a bad cold. Anyone else finding that their more recent colds make previous colds look like tiny baby bugs? I don’t know if it was reduced exposure to the usual circulating crud, or I was more worn down than usual, or what, but usually I can shake off the worst of a cold within forty-eight hours, and this time I spent nearly a week coughing up a storm. And no, it was not COVID: I tested twice. But all is well now — in fact I realized, typing this, that I probably haven’t been cognizant enough of how lucky I’ve been to have general good health.)

Most of the writing-related work was behind the scenes: my publisher and I had to prepare a business plan for the coming year, for example, and switch website providers. (If you see any odd typos or broken links, please do let me know!) But I can offer my readers a new book: The Way Through Disaster. Like my other books, it is a contemporary romance — so contemporary, in fact, that the pandemic plays a role — in which two people who initially have lots of good reasons not to fall in love do so anyway, through talking, and mutual discovery, and a lot of chemistry. Here’s the description:

Three’s a crowd. Four’s a disaster.

Natalie Boudreaux thought happiness was hers when she arrived in Atlanta. She had a fulfilling job, opportunities to make new friends, and, most importantly, a husband she loved and who loved her.

Then the pandemic hit. And now, after over a year of increasingly tense seclusion, Natalie’s husband has dropped a bomb on her: he’s cheating. Angry as she is, she’s not quite ready to call it quits on her marriage just yet. Maybe if she gets a lover herself, that will even things up in their relationship.

So, armed with two vaccine shots and her own determination, Natalie goes out looking for a no-strings-attached affair. But her search gets complicated immediately when she meets Charlie Maitland, a drummer for a jazz quartet (also a computer nerd, a doting dog dad, and a know-it-all). He is too smart, not to mention too wounded from his last relationship, to be willing to take on Natalie’s drama. But then why does he keep wanting to talk to her? And why can’t she stop thinking about him?

If Natalie and Charlie were to fall in love that would be the death of her marriage. And that would be a disaster… or would it?

This one was a great deal of fun to write (even after I had to throw out a bunch of words and start again; hey, it happens). And there is a link inside to a bonus free short story. I love being able to revisit my characters even after the happy ending, so that was fun to write as well!

You can get The Way Through Disaster on Amazon or via your preferred vendor. Feel free to leave a review, and to say hello if you enjoyed it.