Who Wants a Sicilian Inheritance Sequel?

Because I have a little taste of one! Also books recs.

Photo by Regös Környei on Unsplash

Happy Tuesday loves. First off let me tell you that you are doing a bang up job. Even if you don’t feel like you are, I swear you’re doing great. I did an interview with the journalist Fortesa Latifi last week about a great piece she did for the Washington Post about legislating mom influencers (it’s a must-read). She also has a newborn. We got to talking about the juggle and the struggle and she told me she feels like she is constantly failing at all the things.

Guess what? I feel the same way. Every single day. That’s why I think we need to remind one another (on a very regular basis) that we are doing fucking great.

I am deep into copy editing for our trad wife murder mystery Everyone is Lying to You right now and I am going to be asking for help planning the cover next week. In the meantime, what do you think about this dedication:

I love it.

I just got off the phone with Lyndsay Rush, the genius behind the

Mary Oliver's Drunk Substack

and I haven’t laughed so hard in a long time. I don’t even know if all of it is fit to air on the podcast, but I’ll get that ready for you next week.

You are going to love her new book of poetry, A Bit Much. I highly recommend it as a holiday gift for all your girlfriends.

And speaking of books. I just finished two that I really enjoyed. Both were recommended by booksellers and I don’t know if I would have picked them up otherwise. This is why booksellers are the absolute best (one of many reasons).

I devoured the new Lianne Moriarty novel Here One Moment and Danielle Trussoni’s Puzzle Box this week. Highly recommend both for fun, escapist reads that will also work your brain a little.

Now onto a Hot Sicilian sequel. The characters from The Sicilian Inheritance—Sara, Serafina, Giusy, Cetty, Luca, Agata—are very much alive in my head. When I started writing the book I thought it was going to be a completely contained story, but these ladies (and one sexy male chef) don’t seem to be finished with me. In fact, I think it might even be a trilogy.

Our sequel, loosely called The Palermo Connection will be set a year after The Sicilian Inheritance. We’re now in South Philadelphia. Sara is doing great. She’s reopened her shop, but she’s doing it her way (good hours, no fucking brunch). She’s happy, genuinely happy and she’s trying to enjoy her life.

But alas, then Giusy shows up. And she needs her help. I’m going to start posting some bits and pieces here even though I am also in the midst of writing the new novel I am supposed to be finishing right now, The Lose Masterpiece (feminist art heist in Paris).

But let’s have some fun with this. You know the rules. This is raw and uncopyedited and imperfect. But that is part of the fun. Let’s start with the prologue.