TYPORAMA
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A new tarot-themed cozy mystery series.
Think: small-town coziness, colorful fall leaves, and a whisper of the supernatural.
For fans of “Gilmore Girls” and “Practical Magic."
September 15, 2026
Brookwood Publishing
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ABOUT THE HANGED MAN:
Fiona Miller runs a metaphysical gift shop in Pineridge Hollow.
She reads tarot, sells crystals, mixes tea and generally minds her own business. Until she can't.
When the son of her long-lost best friend Maggie turns up dead, Fiona has decided she's getting to the bottom of it before she's even aware of the decision.
What stops her cold is the timing — moments before she learned of his death, she pulled The Hanged Man tarot card on the heels of a monster zoomie rampage by her cat and familiar, Rosie.
Maggie's son, found hanging in an eerie echo of the boy on the card. Two young men, gone too soon. Accident? Suicide? Murder?
The town has already decided, but Fiona's tarot deck isn't so sure.
With her Pineridge Hollow crew and Rosie at her side, Fiona follows the cards into buried grudges, old money, and secrets the town spent decades hiding.
On top of everything, The Hanged Man keeps making himself known.
Flip it on its head, he whispers.
Look… really look, and then, be prepared to wait. You just might be surprised…
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An Interview with
Jane Brookwood
- What inspired you to write “The Hanged Man”?
A cat inspired me. Rosie planted the seed when she came to live with me and eventually left. After a few years of heartbreak and loss, a move to a small town, and a complete lack of direction, I decided to write a story that held all the elements I love best. The writing just grew from there and putting an editor and publishing date onto the goal made the writing real.
- How did you create your setting of Pineridge Hollow?
I am a transplanted forest mushroom from the Pacific Northwest currently living in a small town desert setting. When I think of cozy mysteries my hometown of perpetual grey skies and relentless drizzle comes to mind. Pineridge Hollow is my answer to that, deep forests, the smell of fresh green and the spring of moss underfoot. This, in combination with my current small-town life is the inspiration for Fiona’s little slice of heaven.
- Fiona doesn’t use tarot to cast predictions, but rather to reflect on human behavior. Why did you portray tarot this way in “The Hanged Man”? Do you use tarot in your own life?
Yes, I use tarot in my everyday life as a tool to understand motivations, both my own and others. Life is complicated and everyone has free will, Tarot is a mirror that reflects those subconscious workings, it's not an algorithm for chaos theory. And, like any other tool, it's only as good as the person who wields it. A knife must be respected because it can cut. Tarot is no different.
- Tell us about the archetypes that the characters in the book align with. What’s the significance of these archetypes?
I’ll tell you about my own personal archetype here because I think it will best illustrate my meaning. When I was 35 the Devil first appeared to me in a dream and I ran from him until I couldn't. When I stood my ground he walked away. In another dream I was working for him and saw another side — how to go for what I wanted in ways outside the norm. He shows up often in my readings now and I look at him as a warning yes, but also as a friend and guide. Archetypes teach us how we appear in our own lives and give us a language for what could otherwise be obscure or difficult to express.
In the book, Albright chooses the Knight of Pentacles because he is exactly that — steadfast, careful, and a Knight of the Realm. Henry is The Hanged Man. He's in limbo throughout the book, patiently waiting for everyone else to catch up to him, and his story can only be understood when you flip the perspective entirely.
- Why is found family an important part of the characters’ stories?
I can only really speak to North American culture here. I think the reason we yearn for connection through these stories - cozy mysteries specifically - is because we find friends that become family. As humans I think we need deep connections, we thirst for them, but in our culture our roots are contained in pots, separate from others. Where we should be like a forest - wild and free, we are instead, isolated in manicured landscapes. The only way to get around this is by making a family where we are.
- Tell us about Fiona’s familiar, Rosie! How did Rosie’s character come to life for you?
Rosie moved in with my husband and I for a few years and eventually left us for another family. She taught me a lot about myself, about free will and how to exercise it. And it was writing from her perspective that taught me about what living and writing without constant interpretation could be. I'll be forever grateful for her and her lessons.
- What’s next for the Raven-verse? How can readers keep up with Fiona, Rosie and the town of Pineridge Hollow?
Well, there's a lot in the works and readers can follow along in a few different ways. Rosie's origin story has been published as an ebook in “The Raven's Familiar: Part One.” The rest of her story and the mystery that unfolds will be told in Part Two which will be released after “The Hanged Man” as a separate novella. Part one of the series follows Rosie’s origin story and part two holds the mystery.
If you go to the website www.ravenversebooks.com you can unlock a bonus story in The Raven's Vault page. Future Easter Eggs are also waiting in plain sight, you can find them in social media, the books or the Pineridge Hollow Gazette. Subscribers to the Gazette will get insights to the town, little feature stories that are happening in the world and perhaps an Easter Egg (or two).
Book Two is currently in the works. I hope to have “The Fool” ready for release at the beginning of December, Fiona's going to be roped into the lead role in the local theatre group's presentation of a Christmas-themed “Taming of the Shrew.” Mayhem, murder and mischief awaits. Hope to see you there!
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