People are always asking me, “Where do I start?”
Sometimes, that’s an easy question to answer. I send them over to the Suggested Reading Order page and let them have at it. But not everyone wants to jump into the whole Rockland universe. It’s a lot of books, and why commit to it all if you don’t even know anything about it–or about my writing? I get it. Sometimes folks are looking for a stand-alone, or for something for their kids, or they want a defined series of just a few books. They want mystery or women’s fiction rather than general or romance!
Gotcha covered. I came up with this as a solution. 🙂
Romance? Mystery? Suspense? Historical? Cozy? I’ve Got a Great Book for You!
Just find your favorite genre or trope below, and see what I recommend. I’ve tried really hard to give only one recommendation for each one BUT… I did do a couple where there are opposite styles in that genre!
Novellas: Sometimes a novella is a great way to check out an author’s work, so if you want a short intro into my style, I’d go with
Random Acts of Shyness
Heath Karras can tell you a dozen bizarre zoological facts, but he can't get a second date.
More info →
Romance: Okay. Just to note, I don’t have a lot of straight-up romance books. Most of my books are romantic at some point, but as far as typical romance formula… I don’t often follow it. So there’s that. A good example of how that has worked in my books is
Not a Word
Every story has two sides, but not always are both told. Mac's silence left his reputation in shambles, but after years of trying to rebuild, two people re-enter his life who just might change his life for good.
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Historical Romance: One of my most popular books fits in this one. This is a mail-order bride story like you’ve never seen.
Penelope’s Pursuit
Mrs. Millie Crenshaw's selection process should ensure that her men and women have the best chance at a satisfactory (if not happy) lifetime together. If the rest of the world would just play by her rules, life would turn out just fine.
But they don't. And when young women go missing, one disappointed homesteader and a grieving young woman join forces to discover just where these brides-to-be are!
More info →
Women’s Fiction: Hands down, Shattering Secrets.
Shattering Secrets
An annual Christmas project sends a professional blogger in search of a little boy's one and only Christmas wish—his father—and unearths a story with the potential to rip apart a family forever.
More info →Mystery: Oh, this one is hard. I’m going to split it between historical and contemporary because those are very different.
Historical:
The Nutcracker’s Suite
A painter at the Meyer’s Toys factory, Clarice Stahl, knows something is strange about the way so many men come and go through Mr. Meyer’s office, especially one in particular. Then murder strikes a little too close to home and uncorks a barrel of secrets.
More info → Contemporary:
Manuscript for Murder
Meet Alexa Hartfield, one of Fairbury's most eligible bachelorettes, not to mention fashion connoisseur and celebrity author. She seems to have everything going for her... until someone starts replicating the murders she writes in real life. Can the police end this killing spree, or will this be the end of Alexa's writing career?
More info → Suspense: This is another split one. I have two options… slowly becoming more and more suspenseful through a series and jump into the suspense right now.
Slow burn (a very relationship-oriented book that ends with the kickoff of the suspense):
None So Blind: (Sight Unseen Book 1)
Lost in a mind without memories, Dani Weeks fights expectations, desires, and doubts to rise above her unusual and heartbreaking situation. Fully aware that she could walk out on her family with no regrets, her husband, David, must fight to save his marriage and get to know the woman he vowed to love until death.
More info → Traditional suspense:
Justified Means
“You steal me from my house, drag me out here bound and gagged, hold me at gunpoint, and you’re worried about getting the tape off me gently? You’ve got some nerve!”
More info → Christmas: I’ve written a TON of Christmas fiction. Novellas, full-length novels… EVEN a general market Santa book (I know… I know). I’m just going with one of my personal favorites.
The Matchmakers of Holly Circle
They've been in love for ten years, but it takes an interfering neighbor with a penchant for poker to unravel the mystery of their persistent platonic relationship.
More info → Middle-Grade/Youth: This one is hard, too. It would take a lot to explain why, so I’m going to go with where I’d want a kid (or kid at heart!) to start.
Shadows & Secrets
Follow Philip and the cloaked creature as they rescue a lame child, discover 'pirate treasure,' and test the mettle of true friendship. Shadows & Secrets is the first book in the Annals of Wynnewood
More info → Sci-Fi: Yes! I have one!
Volition
Andi Flanders planned a nice wedding, a happy life, and anything but being abducted to the future. What's with that?
More info →And for favorite tropes and elements:
Most popular character: This one is tough. It’s pretty evenly split between Aggie and Willow AND… those series are kind of intertwined, so I’d start with Aggie only because it’s a traditional series instead of a serial novel.
Ready or Not
It's Mom's Night Out meets Cheaper by the Dozen when 22-year-old Aggie "inherits" her eight nieces and nephews.
More info →
Most impactful: I don’t know if this still true, but it’s the one people refer to the most that I remember. Note: it does have a slow (deliberately so) beginning.
Prairie
Join Jessa Davidson as she wakes up in the land of her dreams, but is Prairie the dreams of her life come true--or her worst nightmare? Is it real? Is it permanent? Or will she awake to discover that she's lost her mind--or worse, her life?
And the biggest question on Jessa's heart? Does she care?
More info → Fun kids: If you want a series:
Ready or Not
It's Mom's Night Out meets Cheaper by the Dozen when 22-year-old Aggie "inherits" her eight nieces and nephews.
More info → if you want just one kid and one book:
{Operation Posthaste}
The Crossroads Collection presents Yesterday's Mail: {Operation Posthaste}
In the tradition of the Out of the Blue Bouquet collection and others in the Crossroads Collection, Yesterday's Mail features a postal worker tasked with the job of returning misdirected mail to the right person.
More info →Mature-Age Romance:
Finding a Memory
He loved her then. Will she love him now?
The fourth book in the Independence Islands series and the first on Sparrow Island, Finding a Memory will touch your heart and fill it with hope and love.
More info → Western: Technically, Penelope’s Pursuit is a western, but for straight-up western with just a little romance (and a lot of humor) in it…
The Trouble with Nancy
Nancy Harrison has finally stepped out of her prissy box and tried to do something helpful--but did she go overboard in her first self-less act?
More info → Marriage of Convenience: I have a couple, including a whole series devoted to that idea. But for straight up… I’d go with
Dual Power of Convenience
Richard Danforth--a brand, spankin' new (barely but it counts) billionaire and his new property manager, Lyla Santana. It was a match made on paper—never have to see each other again.
More info →
WWII:
Deepest Roots of the Heart
Avelino Carrillo returns home from WWII with one goal in mind--to regain his family's vineyards and preserve the legacy passed down for generations.
More info → Bookish books: I have a lot, but I recommend the Bookstrings series. Start with:
Spines & Leaves
One man, one store, thousands of books. What'll it take to keep this bookstore from becoming a book ghost town... and what'll it take for Milton to tie two heartstrings together?
More info → 