Two Categories; Two Finalist Awards!

The good news keeps pouring in! I’m so pleased to announce that Creature of Secret Sorrows was named a finalist in two categories in the 2026 American Fiction Awards.

Category 1 Horror: General

All the books in A Cadence Mystery have hints of horror, but this book, number 7 in the series, jumps into the horror realm with both feet. Literary Titan put it this way: “Cadence is full of police work, interviews, evidence, and old documents, but it is also a place where lake drums, bears, legends, and restless souls press against ordinary life…The supernatural elements are not decorative fog; they are moral weather.”

A horrific murder. A cursed object. A creature that should only exist in folklore. These are the things that will keep you up at night!

Category 2 Mystery/Suspense: Multicultural and Diverse

As with all the Cadence mysteries, this one promises to keep you guessing until the very end. With characters that hail from as far away as Ghana, and others that you’ve come to know and love from reading the other books, you will be shocked at the connections between the different mysteries in this book.

Continuing the theme of past books, solving this mystery isn’t just figuring out who the bad guys are and seeking justice. It’s also about healing and redemption, a kind of restorative justice, rather than retributive justice.

Literary Titan said it best when it described Creature of Secret Sorrows as “A  dark, sinewy mystery with a conscience.”

 

Update on Book 8

I am finishing up the first draft of book 8, still untitled, but still scary, and a mystery like none of the others. Based on folklore from the Inuit of Nunavik, this tale is sure to give you chills!

Till next time! Enjoy the rest of the summer. Keep reading, and I’ll keep writing! In the meantime, ask me any questions you have about the series, or tell me who your favorite character is and why. Leave in the comments below.