Hidden Truths finally has a book cover and release date!
This book has been six years in the making! I first wrote Hidden Truths as a short story for my daughter about seven years ago. She was living in China over her nineteenth birthday. Knowing the boxed gift I sent might never reach her, I also wrote a short story featuring her favorite cryptid.
The story was about a girl who tracked Bigfoot to redeem her mom’s character. I modeled Ellie Mae slightly after my daughter and Jake after her boyfriend. I created Ellie Mae with an intense need to protect her mom’s integrity—to stand up for her while her dad turned a blind eye. But I also created Ellie with bitterness and vulnerability because this story is really about Ellie’s relationship with her dad and her desperate need to fix what had broken.
The Past
Two months after her birthday, my daughter moved home from China and a few months after that, we were on a road trip through Kentucky and Tennessee to deliver furniture to my son. The interstate was closed due to a rock slide, so we veered off the beaten path and wound our way through country side, impressed by the beauty of the hills, valleys, gorges, and wildlife. We began reminiscing about her story and the what ifs of a large, monstrous creature living in the most obscure areas in the Appalachians.
Fun, road trip conversation!
My daughter’s short story suddenly morphed into something much deeper and richer. Honestly, the short story was never enough room for Ellie Mae to tell her story anyways.
I panstered a lot of the novel, so that led me down a number of rabbit holes. However, diverging from the main plot offered insight and backstory. I don’t regret it one bit, but it took me longer to create a cohesive story. This past spring, with finished project in tow, I joined Thomas Umstadtt’s Book Launch Blueprint course. Taking on all the roles of a publishing house was a bit intimidating, but who doesn’t love a good challenge!
At the same time, I found an editor through ACFW’s list of editors and a cover designer through Reedsy. I thoroughly enjoyed working with these professionals and the creative control. Especially with the cover design. What do you think? Lynn Andreozzi did a fabulous job!
Imagine an eighteen-year-old tromping through these forests searching for answers surrounding her mom’s death. She encounters the monster from her childhood, only not in the way you might think. And how about that hawk, soaring and symbolic of a promise.
The Present
Hidden Truths is scheduled to release October 15, 2023!
I’m busy working on an audiobook and some other fun stuff.
October is Raptor Month!! Raptors include falcons, vultures, eagles, hawks, condors, owls, kestrels, kites. You meet a few different raptors in this story. Ellie’s dad is a vet who specializes in wild birds.
If you would like to join me in raising funds to help a raptor rescue, consider purchasing Hidden Truths during the month of October. The greater the book’s success, the more funds we can raise. Consider joining my newsletter and watch for a special post on raptors.
Another way to help or enjoy the story is to request an Advanced Reader/Review Copy. All I ask for in return is an honest review Amazon or Goodreads. This will help ensure the book’s success at launch. You can get your copy here. Last day to request will be October 14, 2023, and there are a limited number of copies, so be sure to snatch one up.
What current readers are saying:
“This. Is. So. Good.” –Denise, an avid reader.
“This is so cozy and I love the way you describe your characters. Very compelling.” –Mel Cabre, creature designer.
Until the Book Releases, Enjoy The Art of Peacekeeping: Jake’s Story
A Hidden Truths Prequel
What do you do when your best isn’t good enough? When you’re the target of someone else’s pain? When Jake Harris’s mom crosses the line and hurts not only him but one of his favorite people, he prepares to walk away. But how can he leave his siblings and the only life he’s known? How will he get past his abusive mother without making things worse?
The Art of Peacekeeping is an emotional coming of age story that touches on the devasting effects of abuse and the fear in making difficult decisions.
Get it free when you sign up for the email list. Also get the first 3 chapters of Hidden Truths.
The Future
Coming Soon!
Abandoned Legacy: A Living Lore Novel
Curse or Fate. Both require sacrifice.
What do you do when the man who gave you away pulls you into a world of mysterious legends and curses to clean up the mess he left behind?
Eighteen-year-old and Berkeley-bound Andrew Pearson wishes he could run. But with parents bent on using real experiences to teach life lessons, he finds himself on a plane to the New Jersey Pine Barrens with one goal in mind: sell the creepy, three-hundred-year-old manor and return to civilization as soon as possible.
But Legacy Manor is different than Andrew expects. So are the people who manage its B&B, including Haley, their free-spirited daughter who is determined to save her home and help Andrew understand his unique family history. When a grandpa he never knew reveals a curse that will use Haley as a pawn, Andrew is forced to choose between his future and hers.
As a plot to destroy a creature who calls Legacy Manor home unravels, Andrew makes a life altering decision—one that will not only challenge his views on life and love, but will explain a centuries-old connection between his family and the local legend of the Jersey Devil.