As promised

Outsmarting the Mean Girls is now available on Amazon. You can order your copy from whichever domain you wish. Just go to your Amazon URL/dp/B0H75NT1CV. It's available in paperback, hardcover, ebook and audible. I'm looking forward to hearing what you think of it.

Here's a link to the US Amazon site.

I know that probably looks like a Kindle with weird eyes, they are actually earbuds intended to represent the audible version.

This is, as I mentioned before, a middle grade / tween story. Aimed at 8 to 15 year olds, mainly. But I suspect just about anyone who can read will enjoy it. I hope so anyway. It's already selling well and even has one review. I'm hoping for a few more reviews as more readers find and read it.

What now, you ask? Well, naturally I'll be writing yet another book. This time back to the Women's Fiction genre, and yes, I've already started on it but it's way too early to start telling you about it. I've finished the outline and actually started writing, however at this early stage, I know from experience it will change multiple times before it's ready to be unveiled.

Meanwhile, I urge you to check out The Souls by the Sea series, written by my friend and critique partner, Diane P. Schmidt. I absolutely loved these books, and I'm impatient to read the third in the series. You can find Diane on here on Amazon.com - and of course all Amazon sites.

I'm at it again

Writing. Well, of course I am. That's not just what I do, it's part of who I am. And I would most definitely go slowly insane if I didn't write. As soon as Ruth's Story, book seven in the Escape Route Series, went live, I started working on my next book, soon to be published.

It's my second middle-grade novel. This time I'm going it alone. My granddaughter and co-author of The Children with the Four Back Walls, Madison, is my chief beta reader, but she's also working on a novel of her own. Not to mention dealing with irritating time hungry activities like school and sports (she excels at both too).

Once I get all of my beta feedback and do one last revision, Outsmarting the Mean Girls will be available. Don't worry, I'll let you all know when that happens. I never expected to write a tween novel, let alone two. Mind you, I also didn't think I would write women's fiction either, let alone a seven book series. As an avid reader of murder, mystery, thrillers, I assumed that's what I would write myself. In fact, I thought that was what I was writing when I started my first novel, Caitlin's Escape Route.  But women's fiction encompasses a very wide variety of storylines, and I like to think there are some of the elements of mystery in at least some of my books.

As I get close to finishing a book, I usually start to worry that I won't have any ideas for the next one. Not this time, I'm already forming the outline for another women's fiction story. Thank goodness, because I wouldn't know what to do with myself if I didn't have my writing.

So, watch this space for publication of Outsmarting The Mean Girls. Even if you're not a tween, I think you'll enjoy this one.

Are you ready for Book 7?

I do hope so, because it's coming soon. 

Ruth's Story will be the last in The Escape Route Series, but not the last book I write. I think I mentioned before, I can't not write. 

As with all the other books in the series, Ruth's Story will be available in eBook, audio, paperback and hardcover. Note: The audio book is generated, presumably by AI, as part of a beta test Amazon is conducting. The voices used do sound like real people but I suspect there might be issues with heteronyms, words spelled the same but pronounced differently depending on the meaning of the sentence. 

I have an app that uses AI to read my manuscripts—listening helps to catch most of the typos and grammar issues—and an example of a word it mispronounces is 'wound' sometimes getting it right but mostly not; as in wrapped/injury. So, please be patient if you are listening to the audio version. 

You can find all my books here, and Ruth should show up before the end of this month, February 2026. I do hope you enjoy it, and please take time to review it on Amazon. Reviews not only help sales, but also help other readers to decide if the book is for them.

And now for something completely different

I have been writing, just not here. I finished the revision work on Peeling the Onion, and that's now republished. It's why I love indie publishing so much, There's no delay—well, there's a bit of a delay, but not nearly as much as traditional publishing. I've heard it can take up to two years, or more, to get a manuscript from leaving the author, to arriving with the reader. Indie publishing takes approximately three days. That's not three days to write, revise, edit, create a cover and get beta reader feedback. That's three days from when the final manuscript is submitted and the publish button is pushed.

At the same time as working on Peeling the Onion, I was collaborating with my granddaughter on a middle grade novel. I recommend for 8 to 14 years old. Although, the adults who have read it, as beta readers or critique partners, have all enjoyed it too.

It's just getting the final touch up, and I'll let you know as soon as it's published. It will be available in all formats, and on all Amazon sites, but because Madison, the lead author, lives in the UK, it will be British English as opposed to US English, which my novels are. 

Finally, to answer the question so many of you have been asking. Yes, there will be a book 7 in the Escape Route series. I've just started working on that. So, once again, watch this space.

How to celebrate my birthday?

I know! I'll publish book 6 of The Escape Route Series, Maria's Story. Kindle and Audiobook versions actually went live on September 3rd, yesterday as I write this. The Paperback and Hardcover versions went live this morning—now, that was a good birthday gift, don't you agree?

You can purchase Maria's Story on Amazon. In fact, you can purchase the entire series on Amazon. And, if you would like to give me a birthday gift, how about writing a review? Thank you in advance, reviews help to sell books. 

Now the big question remains, will there be a book 7? And the answer is, I don't know. I'm toying with a few ideas. Currently, I'm doing a cleanup job on my memoir, Peeling the Onion. I published that twelve years ago, and did so without any critique partner to help me catch the typos and more. So, I'm doing some revision, removing the more boring stuff and adding content to fill in the years and bring it up to date. I will republish the new version in a couple of months. 

Meanwhile, I'll chew some more on the ideas for a book 7.

Book 5 of the Escape Route Series - Victor's Story - Now available on Amazon!

As promised, and earlier than expected, thanks to my efficient beta readers, Victor's Story is now available. This link will take you to the Kindle version on Amazon.com. It is also available in audio, paperback, hardcover, and for Kindle Unlimited, on Amazon.[Everywhere].

Victor is book five in the Escape Route Series. If  you haven't read any of this series yet, why not? It's really good. Okay, maybe I'm biased, why not judge for yourself? While the underlying theme is escape from domestic violence (DV), there is far more to each of the books. 

Obviously, because the author (that's me) is a survivor of DV, all of the instances related in the books really did happen. 

My hope is that by relating these stories, and the escape and recovery, I can help others in similar circumstances. And, if you are lucky enough to have never been a victim, you can still enjoy the stories.

Naturally, I don't mean enjoy DV, I mean enjoy the fact that the victims escaped the abuse and rebuilt their lives, while at the same time having other interesting and exciting adventures.

To bring you up to date. Book 1, Caitlin's Escape Route follows two sisters, both survivors of domestic violence. They set up an escape route to help other victims get away from their abusers. Believe me when I tell you, it's not easy to leave such a situation. The fear of even worse violence is always there. Add to that the shame a victims feels, at allowing themselves to get into such a situation in the first place.

Each of the books in the series follows one of the victims Caitlin helped, as they attempt to rebuild their lives, and figure out why they allowed themselves to be treated so badly.

As I mentioned before in a previous post, you don't have to read these books in any specific order. But you do have to read them! Go on! And if you have a free minute, I would really appreciate a review on Amazon or Goodreads, or even both. Reviews do help to sell books, and they help other readers to decide whether or not they want to buy them.

Book 5 in the Escape Route Series coming soon

I'm excited to announce, Victor's Story will be published later this month, or early in August.

The fifth book in the Escape Route Series, follows Victor as he escapes from an abusive relationship and attempts to rebuild his life.

As I mentioned in a previous blog, I find it hard to force myself to take a break from writing. But, with Victor out for a final beta read, it was essential that I do just that. Luckily I had booked three weeks in Europe, briefly passing through Ireland, to the North of England to visit my son and his family, then skipping across to the West of France to spend time with my daughter and her family, a final couple of days in Ireland with my siblings and back home to the US. 

This was the first trip in 20 years that I had managed to talk my husband into accompanying me. It was exhausting but absolutely wonderful. Now I'm trying to shake the jet lag and get my head back into my writing. 

I have one last polishing task to do before pushing Victor out for all of you to enjoy. And yes, to answer a question a number of you have asked, there will be a Book 6, but I'm not sure if that will be the last in the series. Perhaps, but if so I will have to come  up with something else to write. But first, in order to get Victor out to you, I need to clear this brain fog caused by international travel. That's why I turn to my blog to get my fingers and my head back in the game.

Writing is such a strange activity. It's very solitary, probably one of the reasons I do it, I like being solitary, not just on my own, but in silence. I tried having music in the background while I write, but it distracts me. Then, you invent people, and their stories—stuff that never even happened to people who never existed, and you write, or in my case, type it all down. What on earth made me think anyone would be interested in reading fiction my crazy mind conjures up? Mind you, not all of it is entirely fiction. Everything I write is written based on personal experience, observation, or second hand experience, that is, things that family and friends have experienced and related to me, woven into something I hope is readable.

The bit I don't like about being a writer, is the marketing. Oh, I don't mind writing a blog about the upcoming publication. It's the selling of the books that is so difficult. As I said in previous blog posts, it's difficult to ask people to be beta readers. Asking someone to give up their time to read a manuscript, and then comment on it for my benefit—that's hard. It feels very demanding. But asking people to pay out money to purchase a book you have written, a book they may not enjoy. That is very difficult. As a result, I don't do very much of that. I do create some Facebook ads. and I am making an effort to master Amazon Ads, not nearly as easy. But I don't do all of the other marketing work recommended by writer groups. So, I guess it's kind of surprising how many books I have actually sold, in the US, UK, Canada and of course, Ireland.

Thank you all for being my readers! Please consider leaving a review on Amazon, that really does help to sell books.

If you haven't read any of the books in the Escape Route Series, here is a link to them on Amazon (the US site). They are also available on all of Amazon's other sites. They are best read in sequence, but that is not necessary. I have made an effort to make each book readable on it's own merits. All of the books are available in Audio, eBook (Kindle), Paperback, Hardback and of course, Kindle Unlimited.