Happy April! No pranks or tricks here . . . yet anyway. I'm on the road as I press send on this newsletter, doing a final college trip with my high school senior before he makes his decision. It is so interesting visiting different campuses and watching his reactions as we try to get a sense of where he'd be happy for the next four years of his life . . . An exciting and bittersweet time here. I took the photo above in one of our old barns and I love the way it captures the essence of April. We still have snow on the ground in Vermont and in many ways it's very much winter. But April is all about the sun forcing its way into every nook and cranny and working its magic. By the end of the month, I know that spring will have (mostly) sprung. I am finishing up a draft of my work-in-progress and also preparing for a trip to Paris, our first adventure in Europe as a family. I write about my literary preparation for the trip below. I also share some recipes that I made for Saint Patrick's Day, the winners of my two ARC giveaways, a preorder incentive, and some news of recent book events. Enjoy this month of the sun asserting itself and see you on May 1st! I'll have some reports on our grand voyage and I'm sure lots more news about A Stolen Child! Sarah |
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Preorders are really important to show early support for a book and I am always so grateful when readers order early and often! So, I'm going to offer a fun incentive. The first five people who email me to tell me they've preordered and where (I love hearing about everyone's favorite local bookstores) will receive a needlepoint bookmark. Making these is my way of relaxing when I'm not writing and maybe you can use yours while you relax with a new mystery novel! | | |
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During my UK semester abroad in college and then when I was living in Ireland, I spent a lot of time in Paris. We had some close family friends who lived in the suburbs and I stayed with them at various points and explored the city. I have great memories of the streets, the museums, the parks, and of course the food! This month, I finally (we originally planned to go in April, 2020) get to introduce my family to one of my favorite cities. So, I've been reading some mysteries set in Paris and elsewhere in France to prepare. What are your favorite Parisian crime novels? |
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Thanks to everyone who entered my two giveaways for ARCs of A Stolen Child! I wish I could have chosen all of you, but the random number generator has spoken and I have notified the two winners. They'll be getting their ARCS soon! | | |
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Lambing won't start until the second week of May this year for us (we scheduled it late because of our trip) but we will be getting ready for lots of middle of the night barn checks and assisting when necessary as the first photograph becomes the second photograph. Check in on Instagram and Facebook for pictures of babies once the lambing chaos begins! |
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I did two really fun book events in March. The first was "Pages in the Pub" at Still North Books and Bar in Hanover, NH, with fellow local authors Andy Borowitz, Peter Orner, and KJ Dell'Antonia. We each chose some books to recommend and were given 90 seconds to convince people to buy them and buy them they did, raising money for the Howe Library in the process. My recommendations were Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan, Anywhere You Run by Wanda Morris, My Vermont Table by Gesine Bullock Prado, Watergate: A New History by Garrett Graff, and the Manon Bradshaw mysteries by Susie Steiner. Then, I headed down to the wonderful Gibson's Bookstore in Concord, NH to join Hank Phillipi Ryan in conversation about her new thriller, The Houseguest. I feel so lucky to have so many vibrant independent bookstores close by. Speaking of which . . . mark your calendar for the launch of A Stolen Child at The Norwich Bookstore on June 20th. You can preorder a signed copy here. Stay tuned for more events as they are announced. |
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I love celebrating Irish cooking throughout the year, but especially during the month of March. This is what we had for Saint Patrick's Day supper — Potato and Leek Soup and Ballymaloe Brown Bread with Irish butter and smoked salmon. Here's a recipe you can use for the soup, though I often just make it up as I go along, sauteeing potatoes, sliced and cleaned leeks and onion/garlic, then adding stock for a nice simmer, and some cream at the last minute. You can puree all or some of the soup to get the desired consistency. Enjoy! |
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