Well, I'm going to get back to work now. Yes, I'm already working on the next book. This one might turn out to be a bit of surprise and I'll tell you all about that soon.
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Stolen masterpieces. Deadly narcotics. Artificial intelligence.

A mysterious email and the arrest of a fugitive art thief send Doctor Genevieve Lenard and her team to Prague, where it soon becomes apparent that this theft has a close connection to a sadistic killer they’ve been tracking for almost a year.

No sooner do they arrive than they find a scientist tortured and murdered by Shahab Hatami—the man they’ve been looking for. Joining forces with Prague’s elite investigator and a controversial journalist, they start uncovering the trail of terror Shahab has left behind to discover he has only just started.

With Shahab developing a weapon that could kill hundreds, if not thousands of innocent people, Genevieve has to push past her autistic mind’s limitations to stop him. But when those she cares for most become his target and he threatens to exact his revenge on them, Genevieve has run out of time to investigate and has to act before it’s too late.

Pre-order here: 

* Apple: https://geo.itunes.apple.com/us/book/the-sirani-connection/id1453968589?mt=11
* Amazon.com: https://amzn.to/2IyeoPL
* Amazon.co.uk: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07P2CPD1H/
* Amazon.ca: www.amazon.ca/dp/B07P2CPD1H/
* Nook: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/books/1130674335
* Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/the-sirani-connection

Ooh!!! I'm so excited about book 13. I can't wait for you to read it. Yet, we have to wait a wee while longer. The Sirani Connection is currently with my editor being polished to a shine. Then it will go through proofreading and more scrutiny to remove as many of my typos as possible (hopefully all of them!). ​

Only after I've received the manuscript back from my editor will I be able to commit to a publishing date. As things are at the moment, I'm working towards end of February, beginning March. I hope to announce the date within two weeks or so. 

In the meanwhile, you can go to The Sirani Connection page on my website and look at some of Elisabetta Sirani's paintings, read about her life and listen to the pronunciation of her name.

As a woman, it always pleases me greatly to learn--and ultimately write--about women who were trailblazers, who were successful despite hurdles thrown their way. Elisabetta Sirani was one such young lady. She inspired countless female artists of her time to follow in her footsteps and if you look at her art, you will easily see why she is considered a master. 

I had so much fun writing about Sirani's art, the challenges the team faced, Manny's grumbling, Vinnie's cooking and generally just being in the team's world.

Any guesses what changes there will be in the team/family this time around? (No, I'm not going to give clues or even admit to anything! 😊​ )

I’ve mentioned before that I had no idea how well Genevieve would be received when I developed her character for the first book. It amazed me then and still amazes me today how many people—not necessarily on the spectrum—can relate to her and her quirks. It seems like there’s a little bit of Genevieve in all of us. 
 
It has been and still is such fun writing Genevieve’s character. I love that I can portray a complex person with so many challenges in a positive light. In real life, people on the spectrum face innumerable challenges and the vast majority overcome these with quiet strength that is never acknowledged. These are the people I want to honour by writing Genevieve. The people who show us what true inner strength, determination and courage mean.

Then there are their support systems who so very seldom receive the high praise they deserve for helping individuals on the spectrum integrate and function as best they can in a neurotypical environment. And that is where Colin, Vinnie, Francine, Manny and the others come in. These are flawed individuals—like us—who don't always know the right thing to do or say, but try their hardest to bring out the best in each other. 
 
Six years with Genevieve has definitely had an impact on my life. It’s made me even more aware of the differences in each of us, also more appreciative and accepting of those differences. The research for each book has educated me on many topics and thanks to Francine, I’m indeed paranoid about internet security. I laugh at myself about it all the time, but you won’t find me connecting to WIFI in a public place or using the Bluetooth in my car. No way. Nuh-uh. Nope. *shakes head vigorously*
 
Genevieve has brought me something else: Amazing people. Readers who have become friends. Readers whose kindness and generosity of spirit humble me. You guys have no idea how much self-control I have to employ not to constantly post ILOVEYOU-ILOVEYOU-ILOVEALLOFYOU everywhere!! I’m trying to be all professional and poised, but my melted, marshmallowey, messy insides filled with love and gratitude spill over constantly on social media.
 
Of all the remarkable things my books have brought me, it is your presence in my life that has truly made me a better person. And my melted, messy, lovey insides are deeply grateful for that.
 
Here’s to Genevieve’s 13th adventure and whatever lies beyond!

My choice was both practical and personal. The practical side had to do with the writing – finding a character people would love. I wanted someone who was interesting, smart, strong and with a great hurdle/challenge/obstacle holding her back. I decided on a woman, because I’m all for equality and strong, independent women. It also added the extra layer of vulnerability that as women we have to contend with every day - no matter how strong we are.

I wanted my main character to have something holding her back. Something real. Not the usual (and very real) family issues, alcohol, gender discrimination, etc. Something new, different and interesting. My next thoughts were of mental or physical disabilities. It wasn’t a hard choice for me. And this is the personal part of my decision. In my life, I’ve had many people close to me suffer from depression (in all its forms), bipolar disorder and a few other painful challenges.

Mental health is so vastly misunderstood, misrepresented and not talked about. For a long, long list of reasons, we are scared of talking about our mental state. That means we often suffer alone because we think we’re the only ones going through this specific experience, not knowing that our brother, sister, neighbour is experiencing something very similar and also suffering in silence.

I moved away from depression and other mental health issues to neuro-developmental disorders. I wanted to address a disorder that the average person on the street knows very little about. A disorder people walk wide circles around, causing even more hurt in the already confusing world these individuals live in.

And that was the birth of Genevieve. I wanted her to have had to deal with the discrimination that so many people on the spectrum experience. Hers came from her snobbish family.  But I wanted her to be strong enough to walk away from it and create her own path. Which she did. She understood her disorder and instead of fighting it, worked with it.

Most people on the spectrum have great difficulty recognising nonverbal cues. Genevieve realised that and became a world expert in that topic as well as studying psychology. She empowered herself with knowledge, using her analytical mind to help her understand neurotypical people. It took the mystery, the fear out of her environment and made it easier for her to function within society. Not that she chose to be part of society. But that choice was made when she had the knowledge of how society functions and she made the informed decision to stay on the peripheries of society. She didn’t feel forced out, ignored or avoided. It was her choice.

And I wanted to challenge even that. I wanted to push people into her life who would challenge all the stereotypes she had formed. That strong division between right and wrong, good and bad. I wanted people who she normally would never associate with to accept her, love her and help her develop, grow into an even stronger individual. And I wanted her to struggle with that.

I wanted all the things I just named in the above three paragraphs because from the core of my being I believe that we can achieve our dreams no matter the many things holding us back. For Genevieve, it is something we can name – Autism Spectrum Disorder. But for most of us, it is our own thoughts limiting us. If Genevieve, who has a diagnosed and recognised neurological disorder, can face her fears, grow, learn how to be a friend and lover, then we (who do not have a neuro-developmental disorder) can surely find a way to face our own fears and push to become the best person we can be.

When I started writing Genevieve, I’d hope people could identify with her, connect with her on some level even though she is extremely different to most of us. I didn’t expect so many readers to connect to her. Every time I receive an email or a message about this, I’m amazed how many people find a smaller or bigger part of themselves in her. I know she reflects me in certain areas. But then again, so does Colin, Vinnie, Nikki, Manny and even Phillip! 

Another question I’m asked very often—and always very gently, is if I am autistic or have a loved one who is autistic. The answer to that is no. But for some inexplicable reason, I have an intense understanding of and empathy with people on the spectrum. My social communication (related to gestures, jokes and flow of conversation); social interaction (related to making friends, knowing how to act in social situations); and social imagination (related to understanding and interpreting people’s ideas, thoughts, feelings and actions) are too developed for me to have ASD. But there are other traits that I can definitely claim as my own. Then again, I think all of us have a bit of a non-neurotypical side. Right?

I hope my very long and chatty post gave you an insight into why and how Genevieve came to be. Thank you so much for all your emails about Genevieve! I treasure each one.

At the end of The Gauguin Connection, Francine made a brief appearance. She was also only going to be once-off character. Then The Dante Connectionhappened. The very first line was Francine’s and she established herself in the storyline. She is Genevieve’s ‘bestest’ friend and even has her own book (that’s being edited as we speak – woohoo!).

And then there’s Nikki. Isn’t she just the sweetest thing! Every time I write a scene with her in it, I smile and go all gooey inside. I love how open and loving she is and that she has them all wrapped around her little finger. She was also only supposed to make a quick appearance. But that scene in the conference room when she cried on Genevieve’s shoulder… well, that brought a connection for me that I couldn’t let go. I knew Genevieve would face a huge challenge with Nikki in her life. Again it would be great for the team dynamic, conflict and Genevieve’s personal development. Nikki stayed in the story and in Genevieve’s apartment.

Now that I think about it, I realise that I fell in love with these characters and didn’t want to let them go. I also saw the value they brought to the team dynamic and having them in Genevieve’s life could cause great conflict—which is always good for a story.

This is a veeeerrry long answer to Sonya’s question. The short answer: No, I didn’t know where all the characters were going when I brought them in. I also don’t know which future characters might come, go or stay. On an emotional level, I have to connect to them. On a writerly level, they have to add to the dynamics of the stories and the other characters.

Which brings me to Caelan. His was not an easy character to write. The Courbet Connection was also the most difficult book I’d written. The topic was greatly disturbing, but it was a story that needed to be told. When I wrote Caelan into the book, I wondered if people would love or hate him. Someone told me she wanted to throw her e-reader against the wall a few times in frustration with him. I wasn’t surprised. He was a bit much.
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But many more people loved Caelan. I’ve been asked numerous times when he would be back and I honestly don’t know. I don’t want to bore you with all my thoughts about the why’s, but I promise that if ever the story needs Caelan’s special energy and all those geographical facts, he’ll be back.
It’s hard to imagine Genevieve’s life without Vinnie, Francine and Nikki. I, for one, am happy that they stormed into my planning and refused to leave.

A few books have been written about the effect listening to Mozart has on our brains. It is said to affect our health, helps with concentration, aid mental development of children, calm our emotions, and a long list of other benefits. Another benefit is that the structure of Mozart’s compositions – the tempo, melodic and harmonic consonance, for example – aids in processing information, even helping the brain form new neural pathways.

I’m not an expert and don’t claim to support or disagree with these statements. All I know is that listening to Mozart while I’m working gives me a positive experience. I have not measured my ability to concentrate while listening to Mozart vs listening to my other music. Personally, it depends on my mood, the time of day, what work I’m doing and a few other factors. Like Jazz and Faro, I can listen to instrumental Mozart almost any time of the day for extended periods. Mozart’s operas require my full attention – I’ve seen most of them and enjoy them all, some more than others.

I included Mozart into Genevieve’s coping mechanisms for a few reasons. He’s well known, his music is known to have neurological value and it adds a bit of the classical to Genevieve’s character.

There are many videos on youtube and the like with a collection of Mozart's works - a lot of those videos were put together to help with focus, studying, relaxing and so on. It's worth trying. Maybe it will make a huge difference in your day.