Exciting news, y’all! As some of you know, I’ve been working a novel–yep, it started as a pandemic project!– and it’s about to become reality! I’m so grateful I connected with the awesome folks at Acorn Publishing at the San Diego Writer’s Festival in April. They caught my vision for a novel about a woman who feels lost, in the midst of postpartum depression and anxiety, and tries to find a missing woman.
If you know me, you know I’m passionate about perinatal mental health and true crime, so why not write about both?! And yes, it includes original poetry, pays homage to Reno where I imagined it all happening, and a few of my recipes to boot. What can I say? I love what I love!
Working with their team has been a treat! I can’t wait to share the book cover with you. When I first laid eyes on it, I’m talking about full body chills. The designer nailed it! For now, the back cover blurb gives you a sense of what’s in store! And in a fun numerology moment, the release date is going to be 3.26.26. Perfect timing during National Social Work Month, and just in time for Mother’s Day! Mark your calendars: In Her Own Backyard will be available on Amazon and Barnes & Noble on March 26, 2026
In Her Own Backyard
Every street holds a secret . . .
New to the neighborhood and reeling from the traumatic birth of her second child, Marlowe Moore is barely holding it together. Battling postpartum depression and anxiety, she’s desperate for stability.
But when she learns that a woman who once lived in her family’s new home vanished without a trace, Marlowe becomes obsessed. As strange things happen and neighborly smiles feel like veiled threats, Marlowe can’t shake the feeling that someone is hiding something.
She spirals further into paranoia fixated on the abandoned case and determined to seek justice. But how can a woman who feels lost find a missing woman?
Juggling the demands of her beloved family and her harrowing mental illness, Marlowe doesn’t realize she is caught in a cat-and-mouse game that could cost her everything … including her life.