The Trails We Leave Behind: Love, Loss, and the Shadows That Follow

For 22 and a half years, I was married. Then I wasn’t. Divorce has a way of forcing you to look at yourself in ways you never expected. It strips everything away—your identity as a partner, your sense of stability, and the life you thought you had figured out. Then, like a landslide, it leaves you standing alone in the rubble, wondering where to start rebuilding.

That’s where my latest novel, The Trails We Leave Behind, begins—not just in the wake of a broken marriage but in the journey that follows. It’s a story inspired by my own search for love, healing, and understanding in the unpredictable world of online dating, where hope and heartbreak often exist in equal measure.

Navigating the Wild Terrain of Love and Loss

Like many newly single people, my protagonist, Conner, doesn’t dive into dating—he stumbles. He’s not looking for flings; he wants connection, something real, something lasting. But modern dating is a labyrinth of possibilities, some exhilarating, some disastrous, some leaving you questioning your own judgment.

I’ve been there. I navigated relationships that felt like they could last a lifetime, only to fade. Some ended amicably, some painfully. I created and received. And some, well… some never really ended at all. People carry unfinished business. Regret. A desire to fix what they think went wrong. But what happens when that desire twists into something more dangerous?

The Thriller That Lurks Beneath the Surface

My next novel, The Trails We Leave Behind isn’t just about the emotional wreckage of divorce and dating. It’s about what happens when someone refuses to let go—when the past refuses to stay buried.

Conner, an avid mountain biker, finds solace in the trails of Southern Oregon, in the rhythm of his tires on crushed basalt and hard-packed clay. But deep in the Oregon wilderness, where few people venture, he realizes he’s not alone. Someone is watching, and waiting. Someone with unfinished business.

The story blends my personal experiences with the darker, Dateline side of what happens when love turns to obsession. It asks the question: What if someone from your recent past wasn’t ready to move on? And what if they were willing to take matters into their own hands?

Why This Story Matters

Divorce changes you. It forces you to redefine who you are outside of someone else. And dating afterward? It’s a minefield of moments of joy and hope, sprinkled with disappointment, rediscovery, and missteps.

Through Conner’s journey, I wanted to explore the joy and exhaustion of searching for love again—the excitement, the doubt, and the vulnerability. But I also wanted to explore the risk. Not just the emotional traps, but the tangible danger that can come when you let someone in, only to find out they were never truly who they appeared to be.

Coming in 2026…

The Trails We Leave Behind is a deeply personal novel, wrapped in the tension of a psychological thriller. It’s about healing, about second chances, and about the hidden dangers that can follow when we least expect them.

Stay tuned for updates on its release. And in the meantime—be careful who you trust. Some trails lead us to new beginnings. Others… lead us somewhere far darker.