A Historic Gathering: Everett Woman’s Book Club

 

I had the honor of speaking at the Spring Luncheon for the Historic Everett Woman’s Book Club. Founded in 1894, this remarkable group of women not only championed literature, but also helped establish Everett’s very first public library.

From the moment I arrived, I felt warmly welcomed—especially with their chosen travel theme, which echoed the journeying spirit of my own stories.

Why Book Clubs Matter

There’s something uniquely intimate about book clubs. Authors spend so much time alone with our characters—it’s a rare joy to hear readers breathe new life into them. My novels are built for discussion, layered with questions about history, identity, and moral choice. Book clubs offer the perfect space to ask those questions aloud. And I’m always delighted to join the conversation.

Hosting a book club of your own?

I’d love to join your discussion (virtually or in person). Let’s plan a bookish gathering. Just sign up on my website!

New Novel Update: A Journey Between Worlds

Right now, I’m deep in the trenches of revising my third novel—a dual-timeline story set in Bosnia. This one is my most ambitious yet, blending magical realism, Balkan folktales, and the haunting enigma of the Sarajevo Haggadah.

Expect unexpected truths, eerie forests, and a manuscript that may be more than just ink on parchment.

Look for it in late fall 2025.

 

The Sarajevo Haggadah

 The Sarajevo Haggadah is one of the oldest and most exquisitely illuminated Jewish manuscripts in existence, believed to have been created in 14th-century Spain. It has survived centuries of exile, war, and censorship—hidden from the Inquisition, rescued during the Nazi occupation, and protected once more during the Bosnian War. You may know of it through Geraldine Brooks’ extraordinary novel People of the Book. My forthcoming novel also places the Haggadah at its heart, weaving history with folklore, and asking what stories both sacred and secret—such a book might still carry.

 

 

 

Balkan Folktales

In Slavic folklore, a Vila is a wild, untamed spirit of the forest—sometimes protector, sometimes seductress. She wears crowns of flowers and speaks the language of birds. Some say she lures the unworthy to their deaths. Others call her a guardian of memory.

In my new novel, the Vila is more than a legend. She is part of the Haggadah’s secret history—woven from ash and ink, from sacrifice and survival. She is both guide and warning. Would you follow a Vila into a forest?

 

Author’s Life

What I’m Researching This Month: Balkan lullabies & inherited grief

While working on the 1992 storyline, I found myself pulled into the strange, poignant world of Balkan lullabies. Some are gentle. Others carry encoded warnings. One line translated as:
“Sleep, my heart, or the wind will hear you.”

These lullabies aren’t just music. They’re maps of memory—how trauma is passed without words, how love survives the unspeakable.

Until Next Time…

Thank you, as always, for walking beside me on this literary path. Your curiosity, your questions, your belief in story—it means everything.