You know how you know a particular event is going to happen—say, your wedding day or a big trip—but it’s so far away, it doesn’t seem real, and then, all of a sudden, here it is?
That’s what launching a book is like.
Today, please welcome Bitterroot Lake, by my other self, Alicia Beckman. It’s out today in hardcover, ebook, and audio (narrated by the amazing Linda Jones).
When a young widow returns to her family’s lakeside Montana lodge in search of solace, murder forces her to reconnect with estranged friends and confront everything she thought she knew about the tragic accident twenty-five years ago that tore them apart.
I want to acknowledge that this is still a difficult time, a time of loss and grief for so many, and it feels a little strange to be celebrating a book launch. And yet, we are all readers here and we know what comfort books have brought us this past year.
I hope a few hours in an imaginary lodge on an imaginary lake outside an imaginary town in NW Montana will bring you some much-needed pleasure.
And a bit of armchair travel is always a welcome break.
I’ve long wanted to write a book focused on women’s friendships—although if you read my Spice Shop mysteries, you know female friendships are central to the books, especially The Solace of Bay Leaves. And the historic lodges of western Montana, public and private, have fascinated me since I first set tender foot in them as a young girl. I’m sure I’m not alone in believing that places convey emotions, and that houses and the woods sometimes talk to us. All that and more come together on these pages.
If you’d like to see some of the images that inspired me, take a peek at my Pinterest board, Life at Bitterroot Lake.
Whether you’re part of a book club or read solo, I hope you’ll find some food for thought on the For Book Clubs page of my website.
Thank goodness libraries, booksellers, and community groups around the region are welcoming authors and readers to their virtual spaces. I’ll be doing quite a few online events this spring, by myself and with other authors, to celebrate the launch of Bitterroot Lake. The full schedule is on my website.
And today, I’ll be posting several short videos, taking you behind the scenes on launch day, on my Facebook Author page, going live at 5 pm Mtn / 7pm E, when I’ll toast you all with the ritual pink champagne and give you a peek at my office!
It is a bit unnerving to send a book out into the world. Any book or story, but especially something new. A piece of ourselves goes out with every project. All I can do is sit here and wave, and wish it well, and hope you love it the way I do. Let me know, and if you like it, tell your friends.
My thanks, as always, for joining me on this writing journey.
From my heart,
Leslie
PRAISE FOR BITTERROOT LAKE
“A complex, richly imagined, atmospheric mystery, Bitterroot Lake kept me guessing whodunit until the very end.”
—A. J. Banner, #1 bestselling author of The Good Neighbor
“Atmospheric, character-driven, and truly absorbing, Bitterroot Lake is crime fiction at its finest.”
—Christine Carbo, award-winning, best-selling author of the Glacier Mystery Series
“Bitterroot Lake is a twisty, haunting thriller propelled by a delicious hint of otherworldliness. It’s a book that’s both an expert mystery and an affirmation of love and family. I was absolutely enthralled.”
—Emily Carpenter, bestselling author of Burying the Honeysuckle Girls
“With a rich sense of place and a deft handling of fractured relationships, the pull of the past, and the pain of new grief, Alicia Beckman weaves a satisfying tale of secrets and lies eating away under the surface of happy families and close-knit small towns. And a touch of magic too!”
—Catriona McPherson, Edgar-nominated author of Strangers at the Gate
“Beckman paints a gorgeous picture of an idyllic small town. With some paranormal aspects, secrets past and present, and a multitude of murder suspects, this suspense debut is sure to attract readers.”
—Library Journal
