If you've been on my newsletter long enough, you know that my primary genre is cozy: cozy mystery, cozy fantasy, cozy historical fantasy mystery.  But if you've been here long enough, you also know I like to play around and try out new genres. It's how I grow as a creator. But it can be pretty confusing. Writers usually stick to one genre. It makes it a lot easier to explain your books. " I write cozy paranormal mysteries set in colonial Africa " is a great elevator pitch. " I write cozy and cozy-adjacent stories, as well as young adult, and also, I dabble in Sci-Fi and LitFic, and don't forget my supernatural thriller... "? Not so much. I see people's eyes glaze over as they back away slowly. So I decided to describe a reading flow for those who land on my website with zero idea of where to start.  I have three general categories, but regardless of the genre, all of my books have one thing in common. The Vered Guarantee : A promise that every st...

Chewing grass Dogs are pretty amazing on so many levels. For those who have / have had dogs, you know what I mean. So it's tough when their time on this earth is finished. Over the past year and a half, we've had to say goodbye to four faithful friends, claimed by old age. Each of them brought us a lot of joy and laughter, and more than a few "I can't believe you did that!" comments. In honor of those spirits who have departed, I present our dogs. Moca, the old lady of the pack and definitely the boss (Dachshund - Miniature Pincer mix) Mara, an elegant and refined lady (Alsatian - Poodle mix) Pluto, the gentle giant of the family (Great Dane - Rhodesian Ridgeback mix) Echo Eloquence, the wild child of the household ( pure Great Dane) And because a home without a dog doesn't feel right, we have since adopted this delightful Golden Doodle puppy. Introducing Marshmallow Theo Chicken Nugget (thus named by the nine-year-old who helped raise him for the first five m...

This is the official cover reveal for ... insert drum roll  ... Miss Knight's latest misadventure! I did make a slight change. Rather than start an entirely new series, I decided to tack this story onto the existing 12-book Society for Paranormals , which means this is actually the 13th book.  Fortunately for those who care about unlucky numbers, it's only the 11th book in the main series, so no bad luck is involved, unless you're Miss Knight's newest employee, in which case you have no idea in what hot mess you just landed! A supernatural sleuth, a runaway pickpocket and the son of Death must outwit shape-shifting trickster gods. Deadly relics. African gods. Perfectly steeped tea.   When semi-professional pickpocket Sharma Song applies for an apprentice role at the Cozy Tea Shoppe, she has no idea that the job involves murder, mayhem, and other inconveniences. Song is used to engaging in subtle deceptions and slight-of-hand antics, but there's nothing subtle or sli...

Back when I was small & extra-cute ... This series of short stories is partly inspired by the antics of Facebook feline legends, Felix and Willow, and partly by my totally insane, cat-like Great Dane,  Echo Eloquence  (yes, that's his actual name). Being trapped in a dog’s body is a reincarnation of Nightmare on Elm Street but not as entertaining. Big, floppy, uncoordinated, sloppy… Sloppy? Hmm. I can work with that. The human servants are planning their escape, disguising their efforts as a holiday. A travel arrangement that does NOT include me. I’m being abandoned. This is unacceptable. Yes, I realize my current body is approximately the size of a thoroughbred horse and won’t fit under the seat in front of them, but when has practical considerations ever stopped me from achieving my destiny? I wait until the servants leave the suitcases by the door, then prowl closer. Except this ginormous canine form doesn’t prowl. It stumbles and crashes and makes enough noise to awak...

It's a dog's life...   This series of short stories is partly inspired by the antics of Facebook feline legends, Felix and Willow, and partly by my totally insane, cat-like Great Dane,  Echo Eloquence  (yes, that's his actual name). I am a cat in dog’s clothing,  the reincarnation of godlike royalty in the body of a pony-sized dog. I’m not impressed with this body. It produces enough slobber to rival Niagara Falls.  Its rancid breath suggests a sky rat flew down its gullet and died midway between mouth and stomach. Truly heinous. But I am a cat , and I will make this dog body work for me. One of the few benefits of inhabiting this gross, gangly canine form is that its bark is worse than its saliva-drenched bite. It’s loud enough to raise Lazarus from his grave, crossing both time and space with the effectiveness of a supersonic jet. Exhibit A: meal time. Breakfast is 5:58AM sharp. Everyone knows this, even my servants.  But my servants need time to caffeina...

  Excuse you...! This series of short stories is partly inspired by the antics of Facebook feline legends, Felix and Willow, and partly by my totally insane, cat-like Great Dane, Echo Eloquence (yes, that's his actual name). I am Pharaoh Ramses Feline IV, a direct descendent of royalty. And this is how I spend my ninth life? Trapped inside the body of a sloppy, slobbery, stinky, unsophisticated canine? Why does it pant so much? Cats don’t pant. They glower. Worst of all, I have a sudden craving to drink out of the servants’ kitty litter, which, for some inexplicable reason, is a large bowl full of water. That’s disgusting. Unacceptable … yet somehow deeply thirst quenching. I then trot into the living room and shake my massive head, spraying walls, furniture and humans with thick strands of saliva streaked with remnants of dinner. Pure genius. It is particularly gratifying when the female servant groans in disgust, and the male servant shakes his head with despair. Hmm ... Perhaps...

Thanks for joining me for the opening scene of Brewed in Murder ​, case #1 in the Tea Taster's Guide to the Apocalypse​  series. BOOK BLURB When tea sommelier Miss Sharma Song applies for an apprentice role at the Cozy Tea Shoppe, she has no idea that the job involves murder, mayhem, and other inconveniences. Miss Song is used to savoring the subtle notes of her favorite beverage, but there's nothing subtle about the dead body in the library. Since a woman in her position can't afford to be picky, she joins her new employer Miss Knight in solving the murder while creating tea blends and mending cracked crockery. Did the butler who isn't really a butler do it? Or was it Miss Knight's father who is rumored to be a vampire? And how much Oil of Bergamot should she add for the perfect blend of Earl Grey? Tea isn’t the only thing brewing in the Kenyan town of Nairobi. Freedom fighters and angry gods clash with colonial authorities and dedicated bureaucrats, while a more d...