I can’t believe how fast the year is flying by! Not that I’m complaining, I absolutely abhor the dark and dreary duo otherwise known as the months of January and February. I just love and cherish everything about springtime but especially the flowers with tulips being my favorite of the spring flowers, especially yellow and orange colored ones (the same goes for roses)

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The biggest and best news to date is that Red Clay Ashes was reviewed by the Vietnam Veterans of America’s online book magazine in January (you can access the review by clicking here). It was such a thrill to have my Vietnam War novel reach another whole audience, the veterans themselves. I had a couple of Vietnam veterans subsequently email me, one of whom immediately ordered a copy of Red Clay Ashes and shared his thoughts and review of it after he read it.

Of course, I’d like my books to go viral, to be read by millions of people, but until that happens, it’s moments like the above that make me feel that my writing is both enjoyed but also valued.  But I’d still if Red Clay Ashes could become a Read with Jenna or Good Morning America pick sometime in the future.

If you're new to my site and my books in general, here's a synopsis for Red Clay Ashes:

Present-day: Who was Hazel Cerny? That’s the question her daughter Bee asks herself after her mother’s death upon discovering that Hazel was not the long-time recluse Bee had always thought her to be but actually an award-winning Vietnam War journalist. And that Bee’s earliest years were completely different from what she had believed them to be.

1967: Hazel Cerny has always wanted more in life, more than what her small Pennsylvania town and societal norms of 1960s America were willing to offer her. Following her graduation from college, she decides to throw caution to the wind and travels to Vietnam, determined to pursue her journalistic aspirations. Through grit and luck she becomes a war reporter, making her mark in a field predominantly male, breaking down the psychological barriers and mindsets that for too long had said, “you don’t belong here.” From the chaotic streets of Saigon, to the tunnels of Cu Chi, to the Tet Offensive, Hazel covers it all. She becomes the type of journalist most people only dream about becoming. And encounters a love that most people only dream about finding. But with love comes loss and everything else that war often brings.

Red Clay Ashes is available for purchase in both paperback and Kindle formats on Amazon (and remember, even if you don't own a Kindle, you can still buy the eBook version with the Kindle app for iPhones/iPads). If you purchase a copy, I thank you with all my heart in advance for your support. It means everything to me!

“When a woman comes to Vietnam to cover the war, she's called a 'girl reporter.' When a man comes here, he's just called a reporter. I want to change that."

Red Clay Ashes

Book Clubs  

If you've read any of my books and belong to a book club, I'd love to join your group sometime! I've been a guest at two book clubs in the past (one virtually, one locally to Pittsburgh) and would love to connect with new readers so please reach out!

Books I've Read 

All the Broken Places by John Boyne

I never read The Boy in the Striped Pajamas (I did see the film adaptation). However, when I read that the author John Boyne had written a sequel of sorts, one in which tells the story of Bruno’s sister both after the war but also her as an elderly woman in modern time, I was immediately intrigued. I didn’t overly care for the present-day parts in but Boyne’s storytelling of Gretel’s life immediately after the war in France and then Australia was utterly powerful. A greater number of recently published historical fiction novels are focusing more on the German people’s reckoning with and guilt over their country’s horrific past and actions in the Second World War (as I did with my second novel, The Dead Are Resting) and Boyne did an incredible job with this theme. And just like with Jacqueline in Paris, he really brought to life post-war Paris (where Gretel and her mom go after fleeing Berlin following Germany’s surrender where they pretend to be French).

The Lindbergh Nanny by Mariah Fredericks

And an honorable mention goes to Mariah Fredericks' novel which is about the horrific kidnapping and murder of Charles Lindbergh's baby told through the voice of the baby's nanny, real-life Betty Gow.

And I know I say it every time, but if you have read either of my novels, The Tears of Yesteryear and/or The Dead Are Resting (and when you do, Red Clay Ashes), please leave a review for them on Amazon and Goodreads. It needn’t be long or eloquent, a sentence or two is perfect. But as someone who is independently published, reviews, not just ratings, are everything and help in spreading the word out about my books. So, if you enjoyed either or both of them, please let fellow bibliophiles know by writing a review.

Actual written words, not just clicking on a

star rating mean everything to me.

New book ideas...

I’m pretty settled on setting my next book in Egypt, I’m just still working out the ideas. But here’s a teaser for what I’m possibly envisioning. And don’t try to take the photo literally- it’s more what it represents, or the time period I should say it represents.

I also updated my website, so be sure

to check it out! Until next time!