I’m almost done writing the last chapters of the final book in the 1979 portion of the series, but editing, cover design, etc. will take until at least autumn 2025. With luck, it will go on sale in time for Christmas next year.
For those of you waiting impatiently to know what’s next for KD Stuart, Matt Hunter, and their friends…and enemies, rest assured you will find out. I have not abandoned them. Chestnut Cove: Revenge and Rapprochement picks up days after the end of Chestnut Cove: Belles and Balls. I promise an eventful end to Matt and KD’s quest. Stay tuned for more information in 2025!
I know how many of you are waiting not so patiently for my next novel. Well, your wait is over because the paperpack is available at Amazon! The Kindle version will be out on October 27. Click on the graphic below to link to the Amazon site. And now for some details…
After a brief trip back to 1955 to learn about John and Sandra Stuart’s history in Chestnut Cove: Love and Lessons, we return to 1979 in Chestnut Cove: Belles and Balls, which picks up shortly after the end of Chestnut Cove: Poseurs and Portraits. When we last left KD Stuart, she had confirmed information proving the hit and run which claimed the life of Elizabeth Kohler in 1958 had been deliberate murder. Now, with no legal evidence against the perpetrators, KD and Matt Hunter–KD’s godfather and Elizabeth’s fiancé–must find another way to bring the killers to justice.
Other returning fan-favorite characters include John and Sandra Stuart and their other children, Doug, Maggie and Chris, as well as the Jones family and new Chestnut Cove Inns clerk Laura and her grandmother. Then there are the foils, including John’s mother and stepfather, Jeanette and Winston, as well as nemisis Vaughn Michaelson and his cronnies. There will be a few corporate and political twists and turns and some downright dirty dealings. I hope you enjoy the ride right up to the end!
Now it’s time for me to get back to writing and editing. Enjoy this one because it will be about a year before my next book is ready. In it, we’ll retreat to the past again to meet one of the most important characters in the Chestnut Cove world: Elizabeth Kohler. Set in 1958, Chestnut Cove: Devils and Daughters will introduce you to the young woman who stole Matt’s heart at college and take you through the tragic events which shook the lives of Matt, John, Sandra, and, of course, little KD and her namesake greatgrandmother, the elder Kathryn Stuart.
While Devils and Daughters is suffering through the editing process, I’ll continue forging onward toward 1980 to write the followup to Belles and Balls. So be on the lookout for Chestnut Cove: Devils and Daughters about this time next year. Until then, I hope you enjoy reading my first three Chestnut Cove books!
It’s here! The paperback version is out on Amazon. The Kindle version will be out tomorrow, December 3. I’ll embed the Amazon link for it in the cover graphic at the bottom of the page if you’re interested in buying a copy.
Now, about Chestnut Cove: Poseurs and Portraits. The story takes place in Elkford, a typical town in the foothills of the southern Appalachians, in 1979. As the story picks up, it has been something of a tumultous last couple of years for the Stuart family and their business, Chestnut Cove Inns.
Their eldest child, Kathryn, has graduated college but remains away from Elkford, feuding with her father. Their son, Doug, is finishing his first year of college. Third child Maggie, completing her sophomore year of high school, is becoming more and more like her step-cousin, Giselle, not something the Stuarts want.
On the business front, John Stuart and his cousin, Matt Hunter, have finally come to an agreement on a couple of things which caused a small amount of tension between them, with the effervescent and brilliant Matt pushing for more daring approaches to problems while the more conservative and staid John wants to hold to the more tried and true.
Still, the Stuarts and their extended family and friends and business associates remain the backbone of Elkford. The family maintains a long reputation of generosity and fairness, making them beloved by most of the people of Elkford. However, a twenty-year-old tragedy haunts the family. In Chestnut Cove: Poseurs and Portraits, one young woman will seek to expose the truth, long hidden by deception and lies, but to do so may require her to become the greatest poseur of all.
Also, coming in 2020, Chestnut Cove: Love and Lessons. More on that soon!
