Today I celebrate the release of my third novel, The Weekend Retreat, (woot! yay! whee!) which features an uber-wealthy family behaving badly. The Van Nesses are sinfully out of touch. They make a lot of people angry. They are unapologetic about they way they abuse their power and influence. And as they gather at their fancy winery and estate in upstate New York to celebrate a birthday, they’ll come to understand that someone out there in the world isn’t having any of it anymore.
Someone’s ready to destroy everything they’ve built.
I recently wrote a short blog piece for Jungle Red Writers about why we like to read (and why I like to write) about rich people’s demise. When I was growing up, shows like Dynasty were crazy popular. I remember my parents watching with delight as one of the spoiled characters got their due—whether that was being jilted by a lover, being slowly poisoned from the expensive paint in their office, or having their designer dress torn in a cat fight. It was fun in a gleeful and evil way. These people deserved everything they had coming to them. And it was proof that no matter how much money one has, it doesn’t make them immune to all of life’s problems.
I hope you’ll pick up a physical, ebook, or audiobook copy of The Weekend Retreat today wherever you most like to buy books. Pour yourself a glass of wine (or the special cocktail, The Fall of the House of Van Ness, that you can find on my web site.) Find a comfy place to sit. And spend a long weekend with the Van Nesses.
Hopefully you’ll survive!
Nervous about meeting the family for the first time? I’ve got you covered. Here’s a handy guide to help you remember their names and preferences (and some warnings about topics of conversation to avoid at all costs.) You can view a readable version of this gallery right here on my web site.
I’m going to be out and about this winter talking about The Weekend Retreat at some of my favorite places with some of my favorite people! I hope you can join us!
January 17—Scrawl Books, Reston, VA, 7 p.m.
January 25—Fountain Books, Richmond, VA, in conversation with John Copenhaver, 6 p.m.
January 27-28—Bookmarks Moveable Feast, Winston-Salem, NC
March 16—Suffolk Mystery Authors Festival, Suffolk, VA
January 3—Vox Vomitus with Jennifer Anne Gordon and Allison Hubbard, 2 p.m. ET
January 8—The Enlightenment Show with Lauri Schoenfeld, 2 p.m. ET
February 6—Killer Authors Club with Kimberly Belle, Heather Gudenkauf, and Kaira Rouda, 9 p.m. ET
Happy holidays to you, and wishes for a wonderful 2024. I’ll be spending some time over the next few days reflecting on this year and planning some goals for 2024. What are your New Year’s resolutions? What’s something fun you might try? What’s something you’re going to stop doing? Let me know in the comments!
Until next time—stay spooky!
~Tara
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