END OF YEAR REVIEW: And good riddance, too!

No one will be too sorry to see the back end of 2020, and my family is no exception. While I had a very productive COVID lockdown—writing, finishing and publishing my fourth Agatha Christie Book Club mystery, which I'm so proud of—the rest of the year was, to quote the Queen, 'annus horribilis'.

For my family, 2020 kicked off with the worst bushfires in living memory. The nearby rainforest was burning (yep, who knew that could happen?!) and we had already evacuated once, on the eve of my eldest son's graduation. It was a scary few months but I was able to pour some of that fear into And Then There Were 9, which is set at a forest retreat in the midst of a roaring bush fire. Talk about cathartic!

Then COVID came along.

With two asthmatics in my house, we had to be super careful, but luckily Australia has navigated the virus well and we are coming out the other end with less than a thousand deaths across the nation. But Mother Nature hasn't quite finished with us yet, giving us two more mighty wallops! First there was a massive hail storm that tore holes in my lovely roof, then came the flooding. And it's still raining now, rivers of water and mud swamping my property as we speak. Just to keep us on our toes! 😉

What's Coming Up in 2021

You can see why I'm really looking forward to a fresh new year. Who knows what else the world has in store for us, but I do know what I have in store for YOU. Next year there will be a whole new series to enjoy—my most exciting and ambitious yet—as well as a new Posthumous Mystery, followed by a fifth Agatha Christie Book Club. Stay tuned for more on all of that.

Until then, I want to end the year on a really positive note. My family is still happy, healthy and hanging in there. I know we've been very lucky, and are beyond blessed, and I hope you all are too.

To thank you for your enduring support I'm offering one final book sale for the year. Read on for more details on that…