Greetings!  

Although the launch date for my next Chloe Ellefson Historic Sites mystery, The Light Keeper's Legacy, was set for early October, I just learned that the paperback version is available now!

(Attention eBook fans: Amazon has announced that the Kindle version will be available October 1st; the Nook version should be out about then too.)

The good news is, you can now get a copy of the paperback, and start reading it, a whole month early!

Also fortuitous is that there's still time to visit the places where the story is set: Wisconsin's Washington and Rock Islands at the very tip of Door County. And the story takes place in September, so now's a perfect time to visit.

In the book Chloe stays at the 1856 Pottawatomie lighthouse on Rock Island. She's there to consult on the furnishings and interpretation of the building.  The actual volunteer group that spearheaded the actual restoration process, the Friends of Rock Island, conducts free tours of the lighthouse daily from Memorial Day weekend through Sunday of Columbus Day weekend.

If you go, please say hello to Jeff Cornell, Captain of the Karfi, the ferry that runs between Washington and Rock. Jeff appears in the book as a young man helping his father Jack run the ferry -- as they were actually doing in 1982.

(Savvy visitor hint: Washington Island has a great independent bookstore, Islandtime Books, right next door to a marvelous coffee shop, The Red Cup.)

 

The early release does present a few logistical challenges. I'll be traveling for much of the next six weeks promoting my Caroline Abbott American Girl books, which were released less than a week ago.

Second, the launch parties for The Light Keeper's Legacy are all scheduled for the latter half of next month. The first, on Washington Island, is set for October 16th. The second will be at Old World Wisconsin on the 21st, and the third at Booked For Murder in Madison WI on the 23rd.

For details on these (and other) Chloe events, visit my Calendar. Please mark your calendar so you can join the celebration, hear behind-the-scenes stories, get your book personalized, and maybe even win a door prize!

(BTW, if you're wondering why a book would be available early... publishers sometimes build in lots of extra time in their release schedules in case there is a printing problem -- better early than late!)

But whether early or late, the release of a new book is a thrilling experience for any author. This one is especially poignant for me because it's about a very special place that my husband Scott and I hold dear.

We hope that, as you come to see it through Chloe's eyes, and hopefully your own, it will find a special place in your heart too.