It’s the 23rd of December – which means that it’s officially Mistletoe and Murder season! I always make a post on this day each year to remind you all that if you want to start your festive read, or reread, today is the perfect time to do it.

I’m now away for the holidays for the rest of the year, so this is the last post you’ll get from me in 2023. But I will be back in January, with a lot of exciting things – several really fun announcements to share with you, plans for the 10th anniversary of Murder Most Unladylike, and news about my 2024 tour dates.

I hope you have a restful and peaceful holiday season, however and whatever you celebrate (or if you don’t celebrate at all!). It’s been a hard year, and the world feels very sad and frightening right now in a lot of ways. It’s hard to write an end of year message that seems relevant or sufficient.

But there are always stories and poems that help express and make sense of what we are all going through – I think that’s the miraculous thing about stories and words, that they can reach across time and space and speak to people far beyond their writer. We all contain so many stories within us, and that makes us all so incredibly precious and worth protecting. War is always wrong, no matter who wages it, no matter the cause, and I believe that more firmly the more I read and write about it.

So take care of yourself, and the people who you love, and find stories that can give you courage and hope.

Detective Society forever and I’ll see you all in 2024!