A Trio of Things

One bad and two good, so that balances out, yes?

Dearest readers,

I’ve got a few things to share…. Let’s start with the scary one and then move on, shall we?

You can get more details about the unfun I alluded to in the previous newsletter in this article. (That link should work, but, if you get a paywall, a much shorter version based on it here.)

(I scribbled over the face, because I don’t want to see it in my archives. Or ever again, really.)

So that’s been a….stressful thing. Turns out it’s hard to focus on writing while something like this is going on. But we’re back in court tomorrow and hope that the protective order will be extended for three years; we’re told that’s the best outcome we can hope for.* (*Updated: Order still in place while we wait for a hearing in late July—at that point, we hope it will be extended to permanent.) And we have cameras now and all our neighbors have been fantastic. I’m beyond proud of Christopher for serving on the board and doing such a great job, and for speaking out about this now. We both feel strongly the community should know (and stop voting for this man). It truly came out of the blue, because C resigned the board 8 months ago, so as not to have to deal with this person and his disruptive tactics. Down ballot races matter!

Okay, on to something nice! I talk a lot about the Lexington Writer’s Room here, but I do want to share this wonderful feature story that Jeff Hoagland produced for Kentucky Educational Television recently.

Warm fuzzies back again.

And, last but not least, I have some exciting news! The Frame-Up, aka my magical heist novel, will be out February 13, 2024. And I have a book description to share!

ABOUT THE FRAME-UP

A magically gifted con artist must gather her estranged mother’s old crew for a once-in-a-lifetime heist, from the New York Times bestselling author of Stranger Things: Suspicious Minds.

Dani Poissant is the daughter and former accomplice of the world’s most famous art thief, as well as being an expert forger in her own right. The secret to their success? A little thing called magic, kept rigorously secret from the non-magical world. Dani’s mother possesses the power of persuasion, able to bend people to her will, whereas Dani has the ability to make any forgery she undertakes feel like the genuine article.

At seventeen, concerned about the corrupting influence of her mother’s shadowy partner, Archer, Dani impulsively sold her mother out to the FBI—an act she has always regretted. Ten years later, Archer seeks her out, asking her to steal a particular painting for him, since her mother’s still in jail. In return, he will reconcile her with her mother and reunite her with her mother’s old gang—including her former best friend, Mia, and Elliott, the love of her life.

The problem is, it’s a nearly impossible job—even with the magical talents of the people she once considered family backing her up. The painting is in the never-before-viewed private collection of deceased billionaire William Hackworth—otherwise known as the Fortress of Art. It’s a job that needs a year to plan, and Dani has just over one week. Worse, she’s not exactly gotten a warm welcome from her former colleagues—especially not from Elliott, who has grown from a weedy teen to a smoking-hot adult. And then there is the biggest puzzle of all: why Archer wants her to steal a portrait of himself, which clearly dates from the 1890s, instead of the much more valuable works by Vermeer or Rothko. Who is her mother’s partner, really, and what does he want?

The more Dani learns, the more she understands she may be in way over her head—and that there is far more at stake in this job than she ever realized.

You can preorder wherever you like to do the thing, starting now!

And, if you want to toss in a preorder for Christopher Rowe’s next book, The Navigating Fox, you could do that too.

When I’m back in your inboxes next—soon!—it’ll be to share all the skinny on The Youngbloods Audible Original series. In the meantime, keep your fingers crossed for us tomorrow.