Dear Mr. Chicago,
You likely don’t remember me. After all, I was just another guest at the hotel bar who you happened to sit next to. We said our obligatory hellos, you ordered your rum and Coke, and I continued to sip my cosmopolitan as I typed away on my laptop. Not much happened beyond that.
Not much, other than a spark (and I don’t mean the romantic kind). Maybe it was something about your presence, your standard small talk, maybe the atmosphere of the lounge with the folk singer strumming his guitar in the corner. Whatever it was, a creative spark ignited and it nestled inside of me like a seed taking root.
“What’s your name?” you had asked.
Make something up, I thought. Why would I think that? I do not know. Diane. Elsie. Jill. “I’m Laura.”
“What are you working on?”
I’m a lawyer poring over a murder case. This is a letter I’m sending to the sister I just learned I have. I’m applying to Cirque du Soleil, and they require a personal essay. “I’m writing a book.”
And so it went. We exchanged a few niceties. You told me about your ageing father and how you were taking him on a trip to see the Canadian Rockies and other adventures on his Bucket List while he still could. And that you are from Chicago.
You wished me a good evening and left with the words, “I hope you have a lovely rest of your vacation, my friend.” But it was not just an empty glass you left behind, for you also left me with this spark. This seed of a character who lies. Who makes fantastical stories about herself. The character I knew I would write next: Sasha.
Although you likely don’t remember me, I will forever be indebted to you for being the catalyst of this amazing spark that has grown into an inferno called Seeking Sasha. So, if you are reading this, and in August 2017 you visited Fairmont’s Jasper Park Lodge from Chicago with your father, I want to thank you for your questions, your presence, and that magical spark that put me on the path to where I am today.
If perchance our paths cross again, you can sign a copy of Seeking Sasha for me, preferably on page 243, where the spark of our meeting is woven into the story.
Kind regards,
Laura Frost
For fans of The Girl on the Train, Luckiest Girl Alive, and Pieces of Her, Seeking Sasha is a twisty, emotionally charged debut about identity, survival, and the cost of reinventing yourself to outrun the past.
Sasha lives off the grid-new name, new town, same story. Haunted by a traumatic childhood and the mistakes that followed, she scrapes by with odd jobs. The only rule? Never go home. But when she runs into Cole, her childhood best friend turned cop, the persona she's carefully crafted begins to unravel.
As Sasha and Cole rekindle their friendship, Sasha spirals-fleeing from the one person who might actually see her. What follows is a razor-edged journey across city streets, vineyards, and forest cabins, as Sasha's fractured identities collapse under the weight of who she really is. Seeking Sasha is a poignant, suspenseful portrait of a woman on the run-from her past, from the truth, and from herself.
Thriller Psychological | Romance Suspense [ Willow River Press, On Sale: February 10, 2026, Trade Paperback / e-Book, ISBN: 9781965059616 / ]
Laura Frost is the author of the upcoming novel, Seeking Sasha. Her short stories have been published in journals and collections, and she was named third place winner in Polar Expressions’ national writing contest. A wildlife biologist and amateur baker, Laura has spent the last decade dropping characters into gardens and forests while adding a touch of sweetness to balance out the tension. Laura critiques short stories for online journals and is a four-time returning judge with Writing Battle. When not scurrying around her backyard forest in northern Ontario, Laura explores the world with her family, seeking out adventure to both calm and stir her writing muse.
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