August 3, 2026

THE CRYING KILLER

It was purely by accident that I started writing true-crime-inspired thrillers. The year was 2016, and the man who'd terrorized boys in my hometown in the 80s—culminating in the murder of Jacob Wetterling—had finally been caught.

I needed an outlet for the terrible memories (both at home and in the community) that that arrest resurfaced. Unspeakable Things, my first bestseller, was born.

I did something similar with The Quarry Girls, which gave me vent for the childhood fears that took root when I learned of the abduction and subsequent murder of the Reker sisters in St. Cloud, Minnesota, in 1974, a few neighborhoods over from where my family was living at the time.

The Crying Killer, out August 18, is my first return to the sub-genre since The Quarry Girls. The novel was inspired by the Weepy-Voiced Killer, a serial killer who terrorized the Twin Cities in the early '80s. Like all my books that start from the point of real murders, the story focuses not on the perpetrator but rather on the effect of crime on the survivors left behind and the community ripped apart.

It doesn't take a genius to see why I keep returning to this theme in my writing. I was a scared kid who wanted folks to do more to protect each other, especially the children. I wanted the shame to be carried by the perpetrator, not the victims. And I wanted justice.

In my fiction, at least, I can finally find all three.

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May 26, 2026

The Story Behind THE BLACKTHORN WOMEN

Those of you who've been with me for a while are familiar with The Catalain Book of Secrets, which I self-published over ten years ago after every traditional publisher turned it down. In fact, some of you may have contributed to the Kickstarter that allowed me to indie publish in style (I'll be forever grateful to you).

What you may not know is that it's my most personal book after Unspeakable Things. I grew up in a harrowing household (some nights I was so scared that I slept under my bed) that was also, confusingly, full of laughter, incredible food, and love. It wasn't until I was 46 years old that I finally worked up enough courage to talk to my parents about the former so that we could focus more on the latter.

Drafting what would become The Blackthorn Women was a necessary step in finding that courage. It's the story of how trauma gets passed down from parents to children, and how what we don't deal with always, always deals with us. We can either choose to face it in the light or we can keep sacrificing the life we could have to it.

I knew dragging our family darkness onto the table was going to be the most difficult conversation of my life. When you bring someone a terrible truth that they already know but have built their life around suppressing, they have two choices: 1) accept that truth, which requires exploding what they've built, or 2) make you the enemy so they can go on living in their bubble. I suspect most folks would choose the latter, and my parents and sister were no exception. We've been estranged ever since that conversation. (I first posted about that conversation a couple years ago here.)

I wouldn’t change what I brought to the table, but that doesn’t soften the heartbreak. I especially miss my mother, who'd always been fierce and brilliant and funny and is a key reason I was able to become a writer. Strangely, re-editing this book last year—a decade after I'd written it—brought me a great measure of comfort. It reminded me that while there are few things more frightening than abandoning the stories that protect those who've hurt us, when we do, something larger than us begins to shift. 💙 It also reminded me of the time-bending, absolutely healing power of a gathering of women who are done carrying another's shame as their own. Rock on forever, witches.

The Blackthorn Women is 90% the same as the Catalain book. It's tighter, more gothic, with much, much better editing and a gorgeous cover, and it will always be a book of my heart. I hope you'll check it out.

“The Blackthorn Women is an unputdownable gothic thriller that delves into the tangled relationships between sisters, mothers, daughters, and lovers. It’s a haunting testament to the magic we all have to heal what’s broken.” —Wendy Webb, the #1 Amazon Charts bestselling author of The Witches of Santo Stefano

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April 16, 2026

New York Times Bestseller

The Verdant Cage is an instant New York Times bestseller! I'm overwhelmed. If you've seen my TEDx Talk, you know that writing has both sustained and saved me. It's my church, my office, my shelter, and I've been immeasurably grateful to make a living off of it since 2021. But little girl Jessie still fantasized about hitting this milestone. Growing up in rural Minnesota, living miles from the nearest town on the end of a dirt road, part of her writing dream was seeing her name on the list. And now it's happened!

Thank you to Madison Pelletier, who did a magnificent job editing this book, Liz Wayant for the gorgeous cover, Jill Marsal for making the deal, independent bookstores and libraries for spreading the word, and especially readers who gave this book a chance. I am forever grateful. ❤️

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