Way back in 2011, I was putting the finishing touches on The Marinara Murders and didn’t have a new project to work on. I had an idea for the next Beautyman mystery, but my head was full of a science fiction novel.

I’ve never written science fiction, but I couldn’t get it out of my system. So I took a leap and started writing. It ended up going really really well.

The book gathered dust during my election campaign that year, and then I picked it up again. Hannah’s arrival the next year actually helped me pick up the pace, bizarrely. I got up with her at 5:30 every morning and after she went back to sleep, I’d often stay up and write (fueled by coffee). (She gets up at 7:00 now, which means I get less writing done in the morning, but let’s face it–I’m not complaining about not getting up at 5:30.)

I finished the book this winter and have been editing it ever since.

It is so close to being ready for all of you.

This week I’ll be announcing the title and showing off the beautiful cover, which features art by Chandler O’Leary.

The book will come out in less than a month after that.

After all that time with it, I’m so excited to share it with everyone.