Recent Posts
Sign up for my newsletter on the CONTACT page
December 2025 Newsletter
I hope your Thanksgiving was wonderful! Mine certainly was—I enjoyed a performance of The Christmas Story at the Straz Center for the Performing Arts in Tampa with my daughters, granddaughter, son, and daughter-in-law.
Before Tina and Luna headed back to Cincinnati’s chilly weather, we spent a lovely day exploring the new Mote Marine and Research Center in Sarasota.
When do you usually put up your tree? We decorated ours the day after Thanksgiving, and it was such a joy to have Becky, Tina, and Luna here to help.
Holiday Luncheon Brings Cheer, Books, and Community Support
On December 6, 14 members and 4 guests of our Florida Gulf Coast Sisters in Crime chapter gathered at Pier 22 for our annual Holiday Luncheon. We celebrated our outgoing board members and welcomed our incoming 2026 board members. We enjoyed a festive book exchange game—everyone left with a new read for the new year!
Continuing our tradition of giving back, this year our chapter supported SPARCC – The Safe Place and Rape Crisis Center. The Sarasota Ex Libris book club (my book club of over 20 years) also contributed to the generous donations of toys, books, and games from SPARCC’s wish list—spreading joy to children this holiday season. I delivered the trunk load of donations, which the shelter staff gratefully received.
New Release: The Wedding Planner's Secret
The Wedding Planner's Secret was released on November 4th and has received some really nice reviews and five-star ratings! Here’s a few excerpts:
“A cozy mystery involving threats, perils, and romance, you’ll enjoy every minute of it.”
“With quirky characters, unpredictable twists, and a sinister truth waiting to be unearthed, this mystery keeps readers intrigued until the very last reveal.”
“I love how the cozy mystery vibes mix with emotional healing and a hint of romance.”
“Teresa Michael has penned an incredible small-town cozy mystery that I couldn’t put down.”
If you’ve read it and liked it, please add your review to the mix. If you don’t have it yet, you can pick it up at your favorite booksellers. Books make excellent holiday gifts.
Barnes & Noble: The Wedding Planner's Secret: A Harrington House Mystery - Book 2 by Teresa Michael | eBook | Barnes & Noble®
Bookshop.org supports local indie bookstores: The Wedding Planner's Secret a book by Teresa Michael - Bookshop.org US
Upcoming Promotions:
The Wedding Planner’s Secret will be featured on December 18 as a part of N. N. Light’s Book Heaven Best Books of 2025 Bookish Event. Check out all the books released in 2025 and enter the giveaway to win a $30 Amazon gift card. There’s lots of great books featured between December 15th and 31st.
The winner will be drawn on January 5, 2026.
https://www.nnlightsbookheaven.com/best-books-bookish-event
#bestbooks #booksoftheyear #bestbooks25 #giveaway
My Gift to You -- Free Kindle ebook -- Mistletoe and Missing Persons
Happy Holidays and Happy 6th Birthday to Mistletoe and Missing Persons – a holiday novella and book 2 in the Mariposa Café Mystery Series and my second published book. If you haven’t picked it up yet, here’s your chance to get the Kindle version for free on December 22 and 23.
A Skeleton in the Gallery, a Mystery under the Mistletoe
The holidays have arrived in Mariposa Beach, and Libby Marshall is ready to deck the halls of her cozy café. But when a new neighbor—enigmatic gallery owner Steve Devereaux—moves in, the season of cheer takes a chilling turn.
As shopkeepers string lights and hang mistletoe, a shocking discovery emerges: a skeleton hidden in Devereaux’s gallery. Could it be the remains of a teenage girl who vanished more than forty years ago?
Libby, a former prosecutor turned sleuth, is once again pulled into a mystery that threatens to unravel the town’s holiday spirit. With Detective Jack Seiler by her side (and heating things up in more ways than one), Libby must race against time to uncover the truth before the clock strikes midnight on New Year’s Eve.
With the quirky, loyal crew of the Mariposa Café lending their talents, Libby learns that friendship, courage, and a dash of holiday magic might be the key to solving a decades-old crime.
https://www.amazon.com/Mistletoe-Missing-Persons-Mariposa-Holiday-ebook/dp/B081Y2FHYN
Works in Progress:
I’m working on book 3 in the Harrington House B&B series and book 5 in the Mariposa Café Mystery series. This year, I participated in Novel-November. It’s a creative writing event that encourages participants to write a 50,000-word manuscript in a single month. Although I didn’t hit the mark, I produced 32,668 words during the month of November—that’s a lot of words for me! I hit the mark of averaging 1667 words a day until midway through the month, when I fell behind. But I’m proud of the progress I made. Now I have to go back and make sense of it and do lots of revisions! I’ll probably give Nov-Nov another go next year.
More on my work in progress in the next newsletter. I think you’ll like both of them. Although I’m further along in the B&B sequel, I’m enjoying getting back into Libby’s head and all the fun characters in Mariposa Beach.
What are you reading?
I’ve read 76 books this year. How’s your reading coming along? I just finished listening to the psychological thriller, The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides. I believe that Theo Farber is an unreliable narrator. Do you agree? I just finished reading The Pastor’s Wife by Lyndee Walker, a domestic thriller, and not what I usually read from her. Interesting, especially since I grew up in the Baptist church, and some childhood memories resurfaced - amazing how books can do that! I like Walker’s collaborations with Bruce Robert Coffin in the Mosely and Turner files.
I enjoyed the third installment in the Lady Petra Inquires series by Celeste Connally, Revenge Served Royal. If you enjoy Regency, you’ll love this. It’s Bridgerton meets the British Baking Show with a murder. I enjoyed Louise Penny’s latest Inspector Gamache adventure, The Black Wolf. It’s a continuation of last year’s The Gray Wolf and I’d call it an environmental thriller. Nelson and Alex DeMille’s latest collaboration, The Tin Men, was bittersweet since it was the last book Nelson worked on before his death. I’ve enjoyed his books over the years. I got The Lost VanGogh by Jonathan Sandlofer in the bookroom at Bouchercon this year. I picked it up because I like art. I enjoyed it, and I think I’ll track down his first book, The Lost Mona Lisa. Tara Lush always produces the most humorous Florida mysteries. Swamp Princess was no exception—loads of fun to read. Fireproof! Adventures of a Health and Safety Officer is a fun read by my fellow Sisters in Crime member, Jenny Ramaley. Give her debut novel a read. It’s fun, and I learned a lot about hazardous waste. The last book I finished was Melinda Leigh’s third book in the Midnight series, Midnight Betrayal, a romantic suspense.
Happy Holidays - Thank you for reading my books and being there with me on this writing journey.
Wishing you all the very best in the New Year.
If you have a moment and liked my books, please leave a review on Amazon and/or Goodreads. Authors depend on reviews to get the word out about their books. It doesn’t have to be long—just a sentence or two, which is greatly appreciated.
You can always reach me at teresamichaelauthor@gmail.com or through my website at https://teresamichaelwrites.pubsitepro.com or my Facebook Author page here
Please follow me on Goodreads. Teresa Michael (Author of Murder in Mariposa Beach) | Goodreads
If you’re not a subscriber, you can sign up for this newsletter here
Until next time – take care. Thank you for reading my books