What We Bury In Ice
Ice has no conscience. A cold conspirator, it freezes evidence and truth, locking away what we're not ready to face. For a while, nature does its job—keeping unthinkable truth and treachery where it belongs. But eventually...ice thaws.
I've been thinking about this while editing The Weight of Cold Things, my August 2026 release. Not just thinking—living it. Because this book, like Terror Bay and Codex before it, asks the question I can't stop exploring: What happens when we hide from the truth?
She Can’t Look Back
Six months ago, Deputy Sheriff Gree Gooding's husband disappeared from a remote outpost north of the Arctic Circle. Unable to process her grief, she runs. And keeps running. Until her missing boss pulls her back to the one place she can't possibly face.
Her boss, the Sheriff of Teton County, Wyoming, has vanished. The trail leads north. To Deadhorse, Alaska—to the exact place her husband disappeared.
Duty demands she go. Her psyche knows better.
Because secrets don't stay frozen forever. The ice yields. The melt begins. And as the water clears, the truth shows its haunting face.
The Mythology of Remote Places
Wyoming in winter. Deadhorse, Alaska—a windswept oil-drilling outpost north of the Arctic Circle. Daylight is rationed, silence is tactical. These aren't just settings. They're mirrors.
Physical isolation reflects emotional isolation. When you're alone on a frozen tundra with nowhere to run, you can't escape the one person you've been hiding from: yourself.
Gree is alone in her grief. Alone in her relentless pursuit of truth. Alone in her hunger for justice. The cold doesn't care. It strips everything down to what's essential. And what's essential, in her case, is this: confronting what she buried when her husband vanished.
Watch the Book Trailer here
The Weight of Cold Things will be released by Indies United Published on August 8, 2026. Stay tuned for Pre-Order news soon.
Switch, my E&A Investigations Series Finale, recently won its third award—a Distinguished Favorite Award from the Independent Press Awards in the Thriller category. The book keeps finding readers who connect with edgy stories of betrayal, corruption, and the cost of hiding who we really are. If you haven't read it yet, it's available on Amazon.
Speaking Engagements
I was delighted to return to KSVY 91.3 FM Radio on host Marcia Macomber’s Monday Morning Sonoma show talking about how psychological tension works in thrillers. Listen here (40-minutes in).
On February 7th, I presented to the Sisters in Crime NorCal community last week about audience insights and creating reader personas. It was a super fun exchange with a roomful of really smart, talented writers. I can’t wait for the next one.
And I’ll be at the Sacramento Book Festival on April 19th.
What’s new with Story Impact?
Story Impact includes my existing YouTube Podcast, my Book Coaching consulting firm, and the new Story Impact Magazine - which debuted in January. The April issue theme is “Travel” and will feature a number of travel memoirs from award-winning authors, as well as industry articles on aspects of the writing path.
Read the January Issue
Stories…hold the world together.
What are you working on right now? Any new books coming out, great reads. small wins, challenges? Let me know so I can support YOU.
If you like what you see here, let me know that you enjoy this content. Or if you have suggestions, I'd love to hear them.
Keep shining,
Lisa