My friends walking on the beach at Qualicum, BC. The experience was cold, but beautiful.

It’s exciting to have Bloomsbury to Barkerville: The Life of Florence Wilson at the printers and ready for release in March. It has been a fascinating experience for me to research her life and find she was adventurous but practical. She published poetry at age sixteen. It wasn’t poetry that would appeal to readers of today, but it wasn’t far from what was acceptable when the small book of poetry I have of hers was published. (Lyrics for Leisure Hours 1842). She was used to the life of the gentry and socialized with notables of her time like Charles Dickens. Her mother, Margaret Harries Wilson, wrote for Charles Dickens and so did Florence, publishing in his newspaper Household Words. Her father and mother divorced and he retreated to the Isle of Jersey. Her mother died in 1844 leaving the house to Florence and her brother. They sold it and planned to divide the money, but their lawyer had other plans and absconded with the money from the sale. Florence went to work as a governess. In the 1850s she was governess to a diplomat of the British Crown stationed in St. Petersburg, Russia. She travelled to many places in Europe sending accounts of her travels to Charles Dickens for publication. During one of her travels she was shipwrecked on a cold, November day in the Baltic Sea. She returned to England and worked for a time before she joined the first bride ship travelling to Victoria in the Colony of British Columbia. She continued to have an adventurous life—and I could talk about her for hours.

Besides that book, Murder in Aston-on-Tinch is scheduled for release on March 10, 2026. Here is the back cover description:

Claire Barclay is happily taking tourists to the sites of mystery novels in Britain. Her husband Detective Inspector Mark Evans is rushing off to sites of murder when called. They have worked out a stable homelife which is suddenly disrupted by a ten-year-old Amber. Neither had any intention of being a parent. They struggle to adjust their lives and are coming to some kind of predictable life when Claire and Amber discover a body in the church. For the first time Claire is torn between her driving curiosity to find the killer and her need to protect her newly acquired daughter. Her best friend Stella would be a help if she wasn’t a suspect. Because the murder occurs in Claire’s village, many of her friends and acquaintances are suspects. With the best logic behind her, Claire makes an error in judgment and finds herself facing an immediate and fatal threat.

I quite like the way Claire deals with an unexpected daughter and a murder.

I had a lovely visit with Christina and Warren Kinney at Mulberry Bush Bookstore in Qualicum Beach last week. I was in town with five friends having our escape from real life, and, of course, since they are all readers, went to the book store. It’s much bigger inside that it looks from outside, and the Kinneys have an amazing collection of books, including mine. I love independent bookstores!

I am in the process of moving about two blocks. I haven’t sold or bought yet, but the process takes some time and the first step is to repair everything that needs repair, and begin sorting out what needs to leave my possession. That is a huge task. I have an amazing realtor who, while she treats me as an intelligent woman, is willing to hold my hand through the whole event. This moving may take some time or it may be quick. It is hard to know.

Meanwhile, I have writing to do. I have the schedule for the May 2026 tour to the Thompson-Nicola libraries, but I will wait until it is finalized before I let you know the dates and times.

That poor primrose that came up in early January is definitely having a hard time with this 0’C weather. I hope you all are staying comfortable as possible in these difficult times.