Everyone is writing about looking forward to their writing projects for 2026. I’ve decided, since 2025 went by so quickly, that it might be fun to see what I actually did accomplish since I unretired and ran the local art gallery, leaving little time to write. I thought 2025 was a lost year for my writing, but actually it was filled with many activities and pieces of composition that I had forgotten about when I thought I’d not accomplished much.

Yes. Could you follow my thinking after that previous, convoluted sentence?

I write the first Thursday of every month at the Writers Who Kill blog site. Over time, I’ve come to realize that I enjoy the community of 23 mystery writers at Writers Who Kill. We read each other’s work, make an occasional correction, and often comment on the finished product.

Last year, I wrote about the books I was reading, place names in mysteries, life imitating art, creativity, The Great Gatsby, book covers, time, trees, and Banned Book Week. I almost forgot. I also wrote about Hosta, rabbits, and squirrels. They inhabit my backyard and aren’t the best of neighbors. And I did an interview with the incomparable E.B. Davis about my latest book, Fabric of Lies. From this eclectic list, you can see where my mind went: everywhere.

On my own blog, I hosted authors James M. Jackson, Jennifer Sadera, Jenny Dandy, Cathi Stoler, A.M. Loweecey, Micki Bare, Debra H. Goldstein, Jane Loeb Rubin, Sharon Lynn, Rebeca Saltzer, Richard F. McGonegal, Vinnie Hansen, Rose Kerr, and Sharon Marchisello. They’ve written wonderful mysteries! I also reviewed Rebecca Saltzer’s Wall Street mysteries, Charles Finch’s The Hidden City, John Grisham’s The Widow, and Michael Connelly’s Nightshade.

As for appearances, I did five book talks at libraries, book clubs, the art center, and retired teachers meetings. I signed books at the Peoria Barnes and Noble, at the Warren County Public Library, and at the local indie, Wordsmith Bookshoppe. I went to Bouchercon in New Orleans since my third art center mystery was nominated for an Anthony Award, and I  took a class in hiding clues in mysteries.

All of the above had nothing to do with actually drafting a book. But when you’re an author, you must do your own promotion. You are also part of a writing community, so you need to give back and help other authors. While my appearances for the year were down, my writing still went on and on.

Finally, Fabric of Lies, my sixth Endurance mystery came out in November. At least I managed to get one completed book in, and reviews have been positive. If you’ve read Fabric of Lies, please consider writing a brief review at Amazon or Goodreads or both. Recent comments from readers say this is the best book yet. I must admit, it did talk about a topic I feel strongly about: newspaper deserts.

So, this is where I was in 2025. Even though I wrote only one mystery, my sales continued to rise above the previous year. Wow. And for that, I thank all of my readers. Looking forward to new projects in 2026. Stay tuned.

Fabric of Lies (2026) the 6th Endurance Mystery

What happened to the Blackburns?

Grace Kimball and Jeff Maitlin are now married, and into their lives comes an unsolved mystery from 30-some years earlier. In 1981, Matt and Gemma Blackburn disappeared from the house next door to Grace and her then-husband, Roger Kimball. At that time, the Blackburn’s two-year-old, Anthony, was in the hospital recovering from pneumonia. Now, it’s 2014, and a thirty-five-year-old Anthony Blackburn returns to Endurance to find out what happened to his parents and solve a mystery deeply embedded in the history of the town.

Meanwhile, Jeff Maitlin, Editor-in-Chief of the Endurance Register, is threatened with a takeover of his local newspaper. The newspaper has been owned by the same family for four generations, and it would be a disaster for the tight-knit community to lose their local news and local ownership. But Jeff is fighting against a huge competitor—a corporate vulture hoping to steal everything of value and destroy the fabric of the town and Jeff’s beloved newspaper. Can he win? Can Grace help Anthony Blackburn solve the mystery of his parents’ disappearance?