Milly Rosebush thought the hardest part of starting over would be moving into the lakeside home she once owned with her ex-husband. In a small New Hampshire town where everyone knows her history, she’s determined to rebuild her life—with good food, fresh starts, and her best friend by her side.Then she finds a woman in her upstairs bedroom. Dead.
Worse, a stranger walks in to find Milly holding the murder weapon—and just like that, she’s the prime suspect.
As gossip spreads faster than a kitchen fire, clearing her name means asking questions no one in Fox Hollow wants answered. Because the deeper Milly digs, the more unsettling the truth becomes.
With the help of her cooking club—a group with sharp opinions and sharper instincts—plus a too-helpful neighbor, Milly finds that every gathering comes with good food… and a side of suspicion.
But in a town built on secrets, getting too close to the truth can be dangerous.
If Milly wants a second chance, she has to catch a killer—before she ends up on the menu.
With lakeside charm, mouthwatering recipes, and a dash of danger, the Cooking Club Murder Mysteries serve up the perfect bite of cozy crime.
At the beginning of this year, I chose balance as my word for 2026.
I’m still working on it.
When you write for a living, the line between work and the rest of your life can get a little blurry. My office is at home. My characters live in my head. And a mystery doesn't necessarily stop demanding attention because I've closed my computer for the day.
There is always something I could be doing.
Another chapter to write. Edits to finish. A newsletter to put together. A book to promote. An email to answer. And when one book is finished, there's usually another waiting rather impatiently behind it.
But there are also gardens to enjoy, trails to walk, birds to watch, family dinners, and grandkids who are growing up much too quickly.
I've come to realize that balance doesn't necessarily mean giving everything an equal amount of time.
Some days are writing days. I might disappear into a book for hours, completely caught up in the story and determined to get one more chapter finished.
Other days, writing needs to wait.
And I'm learning to be okay with that.
My family is a wonderful reminder that there is a world outside my fictional one. Spending time with my grandkids can pull me out of my own head faster than just about anything. When we're together, there are games to play, places to explore, stories to hear, and plenty of reasons to laugh.
Ironically, stepping away often helps my writing.
A walk can untangle a plot problem I've been staring at for hours. Working in my garden gives my mind room to wander. Sometimes the solution to a scene appears when I'm doing something completely unrelated to the book.
And family life has a way of finding its way into my stories, too.
Not literally, of course. My relatives don't need to worry about becoming murder victims or suspects.
Probably.
But the warmth of family relationships, the teasing, the disagreements, the way people show up for one another, inevitably influence what I write. I even write little stories starring my grandkids, which has become a completely different kind of storytelling and something I treasure.
I've also learned that sometimes balance means recognizing when I've tipped too far in one direction.
There are times when a deadline needs to come first. There are also times when the computer needs to close, even though there are still things on my list.
The list will be there tomorrow.
The beautiful afternoon might not be.
Neither will a grandchild be exactly the age he is today ever again.
I'm trying to get better at noticing those things.
Maybe that's what balance really means to me now. Not dividing every day neatly into perfectly measured pieces, but paying attention to what needs me most at that particular moment.
Some days that's a book.
Some days it's my family.
And some days it's me—taking a walk, digging in my chaos garden, or sitting quietly with a cup of tea.
I still don't get the balance right all the time.
I'm beginning to suspect nobody does.
But I'm getting better at recognizing when it's time to stop writing about life for a while...
and go make a good day.
Emmie Lyn has written several cozy mystery series and a romantic suspense series.Emmie lives in a small New England town, the kind where everyone knows your name—and your secrets. It’s no surprise that her fictional worlds are filled with the same charm: scenic, close-knit communities full of quirky, unforgettable characters. She loves crafting mysteries laced with clever twists and turns, the kind that keep readers guessing and turning pages well into the night.
She lives with her husband and a black cat who rules the house with a velvet paw and a terrible attitude. Their twelve-acre homestead is a haven for deer, bunnies, turkeys, and a chorus of songbirds. When she’s not plotting fictional murders, she’s out hiking wooded trails, or spending time with her grandchildren.
No comments :
Post a Comment
PLEASE NOTE: I do not moderate comments, but some go to Spam anyway. Rest assured, I check regularly and will publish non-Spam comments shortly!