If you love atmospheric storytelling full of history, mystery, and a few restless spirits, I’m so glad you found Casten House Books.

Driftless Spirits is an introspective series starter featuring how Charlotte arrives in Casten’s Horn, saves someone in desperate need of help, and discovers a big secret.

Tangled Roots is a cold-case murder mystery with an eerie start and a thrilling ending, suitably spooky for its Halloween theme.

Next up will be Hidden Gifts, a Christmastime caper building on the events of Tangled Roots and setting up what I expect will be the series finale.

praise for driftless spirits

“It’s a different twist on a ghost story, which makes this book so compelling. The main characters are female but not aggressively masculine like so many female protagonist books. Very enjoyable read—can’t wait to read the second book in this series!“
– Amazon review, U.S., “Excellent Read“⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

“I really enjoyed this book. I wasn’t sure about the title, but then realised it was a clever play on the setting of the story and the character of the main protagonist. I loved the whole set-up of the story; the mysterious house, the small town it’s in, and the people Charlotte met during her sojourn there and eventual adventure.“
– Amazon UK review, “Loved It!“⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

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  • Driftless Thursday: Historical Ecologies

    (This is the third post in my series following along in The Driftless Reader. I’m enjoying the excerpts in the book immensely and learning a lot about the area I’ve come to consider home.) I finished Chapter 3 in The… Continue reading

    Driftless Thursday: Historical Ecologies
  • Writing Update: “Hidden Gifts”

    It’s been a while since I posted a writing update. Did you think I wasn’t writing? The story must be told. “Hidden Gifts” is my working title for Book 3 in the Secrets in Casten’s Horn series. It’s starting to… Continue reading

    Writing Update: “Hidden Gifts”
  • Driftless Thursday: A Not-So-Pretty Part of Fall

    We moved into our home in the Driftless area of Wisconsin in the middle of September 2020. There were several initial challenges but none was as unexpected as when the Asian lady beetles starting trying to overwinter a month later.… Continue reading

    Driftless Thursday: A Not-So-Pretty Part of Fall
  • Driftless Thursday: Ancient Peoples

    (This is the second post in a new series following along in The Driftless Reader. I’m enjoying the excerpts in the book immensely and learning a lot about the area I’ve come to consider home. The first post explored the… Continue reading

    Driftless Thursday: Ancient Peoples
  • Operation Be Read: Learning Bookbub Ad Design and Targeting

    I look back at my first tries at designing a Bookbub ad for Driftless Spirits and cringe. (If you really want to see, there are some in this post from two months ago.) I’m slowly learning how to make better… Continue reading

    Operation Be Read: Learning Bookbub Ad Design and Targeting
  • Driftless Thursday: I Owe Twister An Apology

    At the start of this year, I wrote a Driftless Thursday post called “Of Mice and Cats.” In it, I told the story of this not-from-the-country gal’s first encounter with having mice in the house. We’d just moved in. Not… Continue reading

    Driftless Thursday: I Owe Twister An Apology
  • Goodreads Updates Their Rating System

    I noticed this blog post on Goodreads this morning: https://www.goodreads.com/blog/show/3202-readers-1-request-half-and-quarter-star-ratings-are-here You can now rate a book on Goodreads more precisely to your opinion, down to quarter-star increments! I absolutely love this. I’ve written in the recent past about being conflicted… Continue reading

    Goodreads Updates Their Rating System
  • If Not “Cozy,” Then What?

    Some authors start with a genre and write a story to it. Other authors start with a story and then try to figure out the genre. I’m in the second camp. Recently I updated my homepage. When I originally set… Continue reading

    If Not “Cozy,” Then What?
  • Driftless Thursday: Something New (“The Driftless Reader”)

    Diverted by highlands, led away by valleys, consumed by wastage where weak, self-perpetuated where strong, the fingers of the mer de glace closed around the ancient Jardin of the Upper Mississippi Valley, but failed to close upon it. — From… Continue reading

    Driftless Thursday: Something New (“The Driftless Reader”)
  • Driftless Thursday: Yet More About Doofus (the Deer)

    My husband and I were out on Sunday, giving our two cats some supervised play. He takes our girl, the Mighty Jenga, as she likes to roam and he’s got the touch on keeping her in check. I don’t know… Continue reading

    Driftless Thursday: Yet More About Doofus (the Deer)