I’ve been keeping a secret for a few months now and I’m so excited to share that in April 2025, the Countess of Harleigh series will soon have a tiny…
little…
Novella! (What did you think I was going to say?)
George and Frances Roll the Dice is for everyone who wanted this sleuthing couple to have a honeymoon. I wanted it too, but one book tends to lead me to the next and none of them allowed Frances and George to get away on their own. Then while writing book eight, I noticed that they kept referring to a mythical honeymoon they’d just returned from, and I realized that was my opportunity. The book had to fall between books seven and eight. And it would have to be short, or I’d never have time to write it. So, it became a novella—a book seven and a half.
I couldn’t think of anything more romantic than a villa on the Normandy Coast, so that’s where I sent them. Of course, I couldn’t let them have a quiet, peaceful honeymoon. There had to be some trouble. And a murder. I knew Trouville and Deauville were famous for beautiful beaches, horseracing, and polo, but I wasn’t sure how to bring that bit of chaos into the mix. I didn’t consider a gambling aspect until I learned about Arnold Rothstein, a racketeer, crime boss, businessman, and above all, a gambler.
Rothstein fixed horseraces, poker games, and possibly the 1919 World Series. (There’s evidence both for and against.) He also inspired several fictional characters, including one of my favorites, Nathan Detroit from the musical, Guys and Dolls. My bookie/racketeer, Albert Roth, is a little more Nathan Detroit than Arnold Rothstein, a genial criminal with an innocent air. The timing is twenty years earlier, it’s set in France, and the dice game is hazard rather than craps, but I think it’s the perfect honeymoon setting for George and Frances.
I don’t have a cover or an exact publishing date for George and Frances Roll the Dice, but I’ll share them both as soon as I do. I hope you’ll enjoy it as much as I did!