Now Available!
My debut ebook, Willful Obsession, is available on Kindle now. Here’s what it’s about:
Parks Director Mary’s life gets upended when her best friend and neighbor, Denise, suddenly dies. Mary can’t fulfill her friend’s promise because the will has mysteriously vanished.
How far will Mary go to uncover the secrets of her close-knit community without sacrificing her own hidden truth?
Mary has a 30-day deadline with no clear suspects or motives. She must locate the will by Leap Day, or Denise’s estranged, unscrupulous nephew inherits everything.
This fast-paced story is for you if you:
- admire a strong woman amateur sleuth who’s puzzling out the mystery on the fly
- get entertained by a suspenseful story with surprising twists, quirky characters, and hidden truths
- get intrigued by a small, charming town with secrets, fromclandestineliaisons to a murder
- appreciate a tight-knit Pacific Northwest community that centers life around community gardening, a lake, and an old-fashioned diner.
- love animals, even if the yellow Labrador retriever, Chompers, in the story isn’t above suspicion because he loves to eat paper
Free if you’re a KindleUnlimited member! Download your copy today and escape to Lake Waluga.
Reedsy Discovery professionally reviewed this novella here.
Coming in 2026 …
Founded in 2012, The Bookends Review is an independent creative arts journal dedicated to bringing you the best original fiction, nonfiction, poetry, interviews, essays, book reviews, and visual/musical works from around the world.
My literary short story, The Labyrinth Realization, was submitted to The Bookends Review in January 2025, and they accepted it in May 2025. It’s scheduled for online publication in the fall of 2026.
The Labyrinth Realization showcases Vera as her husband Charles is having an operation. She walks a labyrinth in the hospital’s beautiful courtyard as she recalls moments in their relationship. Birds in the peaceful garden serve as a metaphor for Vera’s unsettled moment.
The Pointed Circle
In June of 2024, The Pointed Circle 40th Anniversary Issue honored me by including my non-fiction short story The Swim. I attended the release party for this Portland Community College Literary Magazine, and this photo shows my glee at being at an event filled with so many creative people.
In The Swim, I give a first person account of my nervousness before swimming between Washington and Oregon on the Columbia River. I had recently healed from one of my mastectomy surgeries. Although I thought my back story was unique, I came to learn many of the other swimmers had more compelling stories.
Read The Swim here.
Letter & Line
Letter & Line Literary Magazine was a Portland Community College publication, which unfortunately, now appears to be defunct.
They chose my fiction story, The Diagnosis, for their 2024 issue. I can’t tell you what a boost that was for my confidence as a writer. It acknowledged to me that something I write could resonate outside of my family and friends.
I highly recommend the creative writing program at PCC. All the instructors are excellent. Being in a class with fellow writers exposes creatives to receiving feedback, good and bad. After all, it’s the “you need to work on this” type of comments that help us all to be better writers. Not always easy to hear, but invaluable.
Kristy Schnabel 