Welcome to the world, Adrift! I love this book, y’all. It’s a good one:

“Everything about your life is my concern, Mr. Robb, including your betrothed.”

BOSTON, 1793—Now engaged, Molly Chase and new federal intelligencer Josiah Robb want nothing more than to settle into quiet married life—or as quiet as life can be when one is hunting down a ring of traitors among Boston’s elite. But the plan has one glaring flaw: Molly herself, and the madness that has plagued her since her father’s death. Until Molly proves herself an asset rather than a liability, Josiah’s investigation cannot move forward.

Intelligencer Eliza Hall thought she had left her troubles behind in Philadelphia long ago. When she is sent back to follow a suspect, she’s ready to acknowledge the truth and make her peace—except that the man she loves, who doesn’t know about her past, is assigned to come with her. Now she must outwit her fellow spy and closest friend, lest he hate her for what she had been, while they maneuver to prevent Revolutionary France from dragging the fledgling United States into a war it cannot afford.

Both women are in search of a safe harbor. Little do they expect the winds to blow them into the most tumultuous waters of all—back home.

Also, happy wedding day to Molly and Josiah! I leave the date unmarked in the novel, but their wedding date, Adrift’s launch date, and the feast of St. Dominic coincide. Isn’t that cool?

---

Where to Purchase Your Copy:

For signed paperbacks, purchase directly from my author store. Note: I can ship anywhere, but I’m in the US and international postage rates are 😬.

For both paperbacks and .epub (e-book), purchase from my publisher, Chrism Press.

For Amazon, click here.

International customers: Adrift is available via Amazon or any independent bookstore who works with Ingram distribution.

---

Virtual Launch Party

Please join me for the virtue launch party! I will discuss the story behind the book, read a short selection, and take questions. I would love to see you there!

August 8, 2023
Facebook Live: 8 p.m. Eastern (US)
Instagram Live: 9 p.m. Eastern (US)

Follow me on Facebook and Instagram (and all the places) here:

---

Book Launch Celebration and Meet-Up

Join me for a short day trip on Lake Michigan aboard the Friends Good Will, in celebration of the release of Adrift.

Saturday, August 12th at 3:15 p.m.
Michigan Maritime Museum, South Haven, MI

Everyone will need to purchase their own ticket ahead of time. Go to rhondaortiz.com/blog/celebrate-adrift for complete info, links to purchase tickets, and an RSVP form.

---

---

Adrift has a cover! Ready to see it?

3

.

.

.

2

.

.

.

1

.

.

.

Ta-da!

Isn’t she lovely…

A little about the cover. The pencil and watercolor piece is by illustrator Xoe White, daughter of David and Roseanna White, owners of Chrism Press and its parent company, WhiteFire Publishing. Back when we were throwing around concepts for In Pieces, I made one request: that the cover artwork be something other than photography. Photography is great in of itself, but I’m not fond of the way 18th century historical costume translates to that medium. Plus, Molly Chase is artistic and an artsier, somewhat atypical cover suits her. After some twists and turns and dead ends, we eventually commissioned Xoe to do the series’s artwork. Many advantages to keeping things literally in the family!

While passing In Pieces drafts back and forth with Xoe, I was struck by the unerased pencil marks beneath an unfinished watercolor of Molly. Beautiful, but roughed-in. Incomplete. Finer details still unarticulated. I thought the “art in progress” idea worked thematically for Molly, so I told Xoe to leave the pencil. Thus we proceeded with In Pieces, and thus we’ve continued with Adrift.

Where to Pre-Order Adrift

For signed paperbacks, purchase directly from my store. Note: I can ship anywhere, but I’m in the US and international postage rates are 😬.

For paperbacks and .epub (e-book), pre-order from my publisher, Chrism Press.

For Amazon Kindle pre-order, click here. You can also upload the .epub file from Chrism, if you know how to do it.

International customers who want paperback copies: Wait until release day and order it from your local bookstore or Amazon. The book will be distributed worldwide through Ingram distribution.

---

---

UPDATE: I finally hit upon a final floor plan:

ORIGINAL POST:

This week’s adventure in writing: playing eighteenth century architect. As I sat down to work on Molly Chase Book Three, I realized I never mapped out the floor plan for the Chases’ house.

The easiest solution would have been to research colonial homes and pick a floor plan, way back when I began this project (2017? 2018?). Alas. I was not so forward-thinking as that.

With two books under my belt, I needed to match the floor plan to what I’ve already written. And I need it to meet the needs of Book Three’s plot. And it needed to be rectangular-ish, like a true colonial. Plus, the house has no HVAC and no artificial light, of course, so rooms need fireplaces and passages need windows. Figuring this out for a large home—not McMansion sized, because colonial homes weren't that big, but certainly big enough—was not the easiest task, y’all.

Thankfully, while googling colonial homes, I saw some with wings built onto the original rectangular floor plan and had an “ah-ha!” moment. Maybe Mr. Chase built onto his house after he and Mrs. Chase married? I could see him doing that. And now I have a floor plan!*†

Ground Floor

Main Floor

Third Floor

*Historical accuracy and structural soundness not guaranteed. Build at your own risk.

†I still need a fireplace for the workroom. Not entirely sure where to put it...

My mom asked me today how edits on Molly Chase Book Two are going.

“I'm at the, ‘car engine is pulled apart and the parts are all over the garage floor, and I'm not sure how to put it back together,’ stage,” I told her. This morning I woke up in a panic, wondering if I spent yesterday's fifteen hour workday doing the exact thing my editor (Karen Ullo) told me not to do. Once caffeinated, I realized that I am doing what Karen wants me to do, but it involves replacing several car parts and making several extra trips to the auto parts store... and...

For context: I have drafts of this book dating back to 2017, several years before Book One (In Pieces) was acquired for publication and substantially revised. Revisions on One necessitated revisions to Two. This story has been through so many drafts, I've lost count. I have old material, I have new material, I have material I have yet to write, and I have material I wrote and subsequently lost. I have the darlings I've kept, the darlings I've killed, and the darlings I have yet to kill.

And I now have Karen's edits to incorporate, which one might liken to souping-up the engine: it's great, so long as I can modify the suspension, brakes, and steering to match.

“Mom,” I said, “if this book was a car, it would be the one in that Johnny Cash song. ‘Well, it's a '49, '50, '51, '52, '53, '54, '55, '56, '57, '58, ‘59 automobile...’”

She thought that was pretty funny.

You're invited!

In Pieces is the featured selection for two online book groups in September, and you're invited to join us for one or both! 📚 Plus, signed copies will be on sale now through the end of the August, here on my site.

Sept. 3rd info and sign up: members.smartcatholics.com/events/chrism-press-book-club-in-pieces-by-rhonda-ortiz

Sept. 27th: Live on Instagram with @faithfulfictionbookclub. instagram.com/faithfulfictionbookclub

Signed paperbacks: rhondaortiz.com/store/in-pieces

Hope you can join us!