Blue Belle Books, North Central Iowa

07/25/2026

A Cover for SNOW IN SUMMER?

A few weeks ago, I posted several options for the cover of my upcoming release, SNOW IN SUMMER. Based on your feedback, I redesigned the favorites and have narrowed it down to these two. Please like the one you think is best or leave any comments and I'll consider them all. Thanks in advance!

A few weeks ago, I posted several options for the cover of my upcoming release, SNOW IN SUMMER. Based on your feedback, I redesigned the favorites and have narrowed it down to these two. Please lik…

07/20/2026

The northern lights are dancing tonight, o'er a castle down by the sea... Have you ever wondered if the places in my books are real, or figments of my imagination? In TRAVELLER'S JOY, Hangman’s Hill, Dunnottar Castle, the Wildflower Wood, and Stonehaven, Scotland are all very real places. The walled garden adjacent to Hangman's Hill really hasn't been unlocked in a couple of decades, and while I have no idea what secrets it holds in real life, I know you'll enjoy the mysteries unraveled in TRAVELLER'S JOY. If you have a heart for Northern Lights, musicians, Travellers who were treated unfairly in days gone by (think the movie, Chocolat), and places where the crust between the overworld and the underworld are thin, come with me to Joy's new B&B and find out what happens to Joy Revel and Liam MacCraig. TRAVELLER’S JOY is the fourth of my Highland Homecoming series, and a combination murder mystery / romance. It follows HIGHLAND HEATHER. ALPINE MEADOW, and LOVE IN A MIST, so you’ll see familiar faces from all three, but they all read perfectly fine on their own.

I’ve pasted the back cover blurb below. Let me know if you’d like a copy. Get one of the little plaques that are pictured FREE if you buy two books directly from me. (I had fun trying to recreate the northern lights with yarn and glass beads.) My books are available online, at Sweet Reads in Austin, MN and Three Bells Books in Mason City, IA.

==>> Joy Revel always loved seeing the Northern Lights dancing over the Wildflower Wood, the wee Shell House, and the Walled Garden she played in as a child. But when she moved back to Stonehaven, she quickly discovered that things had changed. The old house is structurally unsound, the Walled Garden has been locked up for decades, and a mysterious old man with a beard is wandering around warning her to stay away from Hangman’s Hill, especially when the Northern Lights hover over Dunnottar Castle.

Musician Liam MacCraig wears an amulet around his neck made from dried stems and seeds of Traveller’s-joy. He believes the wildflower has the power to ward off evil spirits and protect travelers on their journeys. Or maybe it’s his mother’s belief in the Holy Spirit that’s keeping him safe. As long as he lives near Hangman’s Hill, he’ll take any help he can get, especially now that the Northern Lights are at full tilt.

Joy moved home to the Highlands to renovate the house she grew up in and open a B&B called Traveller’s Joy. Lofty dreams for a place where she can’t even sleep. It feels as though the whole Wildflower Wood is restless.

07/17/2026

07/17/2026

Have you ever come to love a secondary character so much that you wished they had their own book? ALPINE MEADOW came to be because I fell in love with Finn, one of Brodie’s brothers, and his mum, Jaelle when I was writing HIGHLAND HEATHER. ALPINE MEADOW is set on the same farm, in the heart of the highlands, and while you don’t need to know Heather and Brodie's story to enjoy the second book in the Highland Homecoming series, it’s probably more fun if you read them both. ALPINE MEADOW is a combination of mystery and romance. Without giving away too much, Meadow comes back to the Highlands to try to find her birth parents and a suspicious death gets in the way of uncovering the truth. If you're fascinated by standing stones, gypsy wagons, strolling minstrels, and twisted family trees, you'll love ALPINE MEADOW!

I’ve pasted the back cover blurb below. Let me know if you’d like a copy! My books are also available online and at Sweet Reads in Austin, MN and Three Bells Books in Mason City, IA. If you buy two books directly from me, you'll get one of the little plaques that are pictured for free.

From the back cover: Travellers, standing stones, an abandoned baby, and icy water rushing over a lifeless body in an alpine stream – when Meadow’s dreams of a warm Highland homecoming become a real-life nightmare, Finn steps up to offer a helping hand. But Meadow is bent on going it alone.

Finn’s boss, Heather, thinks Finn is trying to take over while she’s on maternity leave, and Finn’s mum, Jaelle doesn’t need help from him now that she’s got Munro. What does a man do when his strength is helping others, but the unshakable women he’s surrounded by don’t need or want his help? When heartache threatens their lives, working together to solve mysteries and uncover secrets may help fuse Finn and Meadow’s friendship. But can an old curse be broken before it breaks them?

07/14/2026

Some of you know that my personal goal is to talk about the books that I’ve written (23 novels and 1 cookbook so far) and do a little more self-promoting of my alter-ego, Sherrie Hansen, Author. When I had the Blue Belle Inn, I had a ready-made group of enthusiastic customers walking in the door every day, many of whom were eager to buy and read my novels. Now, I’m looking for new ways to connect with readers. My writing is a very important part of my life and I’m proud of what I’ve written.

I decided to write an article about each of my books. I posted them on Substack and Wordpress, where I can imbed photos of our travels so you can see the places where the novels are set.

Unfortunately, I’m told Facebook doesn’t like it when you post an article with a link to another platform. I’m also told that the number of likes you get in the first hour or two after you post an article affects how many people they decide to show the post to. So, I’m asking a couple of things from you, my friends.
1. When I repost my articles directly on Facebook (my next attempt to be seen), please like them or give me a thumbs up… even if you don’t like to read. We all have friends who are avid readers, and you can help me reach them by giving me a thumbs up or commenting on my posts.
2. If you know someone who might enjoy reading my books, please consider sharing my posts. I consider it a huge compliment when people who know me buy one of my books, but the idea is to have hundreds and thousands of people who don’t know me reading them and spreading the word to their friends and on and on until I’m a famous author. Capische?

Thank you for your help! Sherrie Hansen, Author

07/14/2026

I'm happy to announce that I'll be at this year's Iowa Storytelling Festival on Saturday, August 1st at Olson Building at the North Iowa Fair grounds from 11 a.m. to 4 pm. This year's program is in partnership with the Ventura, Meservey, Rockwell, Swaledale, and Thornton Public Libraries and includes a local author fair (with Three Bells Books on site to represent Iowa authors who can’t be there), a craft station, and a special interactive storytelling event. I hope you'll come, say hello, and buy a book or two! I'll have plenty of BLUE BELLE INN B&B and TEA HOUSE COOKBOOKS and copies of my new releases (TUSCAN BLUE ROSEMARY (set in Tuscany) and HERB ROBERT (set in Ireland) as well as come old favorites you may have missed. If you buy a cookbook AND one of my novels, you'll get a free gift from me.
Schedule of events:
11:00 am – doors open to public
11:30 am – Eulenspiegel Puppets (In the Mirror)
12:30 pm – The Dealt Hand (“What is Here?” Interactive Storytelling)
2:30 pm – Andreas Transo (Stories of a Traveling Musician)
Eulenspiegel Puppet Theatre Company:
Eulenspiegel Puppet Theatre Company is a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting the art of puppetry through high-quality performances, workshops, and creative events. The company is committed to educating the public about the arts, serving as a center for the exchange of ideas, and enhancing the quality of community life.
~
The Dealt Hand:
An event by The Dealt Hand is focused on creating space – a space that is comfortable and inclusive, and fun – a place to gather to play games and make connections. They remove barriers from play. “What Is Here” is a collaborative storytelling game about building an urban legend. It’s one of the core games used The Dealt Hand’s “Campfire Story Games” program. Here’s an opportunity for YOU to be a part of the storytelling!
~
Andreas Transo:
Raised in hills of Southwestern Wisconsin on the Wisconsin and Kickapoo rivers, Andreas is the son of a Danish immigrant father from the island of Bornholm and a mother of old American stock, with a good blast of 19th-century Irish mixed in. Songs and stories and social dancing were the norm in his community, and Andreas continues these traditions along with many others taught to him by his family. Andreas’s grandmother, Delores Steele Chamberlain, was an artist and author of River Stories: Growing Up on the Wisconsin, a collection of stories of life raising a young family in a small cabin on the Wisconsin River with Dace Chamberlain, Andreas’s grandfather. At the Iowa Storytelling Festival, Andreas will share stories he has lived as a travelling musician, that he has collected in his studies and time living in England, Ireland, and Denmark, and stories from his family, including from his grandmother’s book.

07/12/2026

GOLDEN ROD – Ghosts, Gardens, and Golf… a Two-Week Romp Through a Lifetime of Legends

Regarding GOLDEN ROD, the last of my Wildflowers of Scotland Novels: “Hansen did a fantastic job making the words fly off the page. The world she created came to life and felt real, as if I was really there with the characters, seeing, feeling, and wanting everything they did.” I couldn’t ask for a better compliment. Aren’t these the exact words every writer wants to hear?...

Regarding GOLDEN ROD, the last of my Wildflowers of Scotland Novels: “Hansen did a fantastic job making the words fly off the page. The world she created came to life and felt real, as if I was rea…

07/10/2026

Like an Episode of Chopped: Family Style

“SWEET WILLIAM is my favorite in the ‘Wildflowers of Scotland’ series! I loved the dynamic between William and Lyndsie. The author did a fantastic job portraying it. The love, friendship, and…

07/08/2026

SHY VIOLET – You Can’t Outrun Your Problems or the Past

Sometimes I get it in my head that my older books aren’t as good as the newer ones. I at times hesitate to promote them because they have some steamy scenes. And then I stumble upon a review like this one: “SHY VIOLET… Another fabulously written tale or romance, adventure, trust, and mystery done by the creatively fantastic author Sherrie Hansen....

Sometimes I get it in my head that my older books aren’t as good as the newer ones. I at times hesitate to promote them because they have some steamy scenes. And then I stumble upon a review like t…

07/07/2026

BLUE BELLE – There Comes a Moment Where You Need To Let Go Of Your Fears and Jump

BLUE BELLE is the next of the Wildflowers of Scotland novels. If you enjoy bicycles and fresh strawberry pie, au natural beaches on the French Riviera, romance and suspense, and truly wicked, scary bad guys, BLUE BELLE might be a good fit for you. Here’s what a couple of readers had to say about BLUE BELLE: “A cool blend of mystery, humor, romance and suspense, it climbs to a terrifying climax and leaves its readers happily satisfied.”...

BLUE BELLE is the next of the Wildflowers of Scotland novels. If you enjoy bicycles and fresh strawberry pie, au natural beaches on the French Riviera, romance and suspense, and truly wicked, scary…