Erin Van Rheenen: Books

I’m thrilled to announce that YOU COULD BE HAPPY HERE, my novel set in Costa Rica, is forthcoming in Fall 2025 from Sibylline, a California-based independent press dedicated to the writing of women over 50.

The cover at left is just a stand-in until the real cover is designed.

About the book:

After her mother’s untimely death, Lucy—single, childless, 38 years old—makes a series of discoveries that shatter her idea of who she is and where she belongs. It turns out that she and her sister don’t share a father, despite their mother’s claims. Not only that: the sister says their mother wanted her, not Lucy, to inherit the Northern California family home. Reeling, Lucy heads for Palmita, the tiny Costa Rican beach town where she spent childhood summers, in search of her real father, the land he may have bequeathed to her, and a sense of purpose and belonging.

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When I arrived in Costa Rica in 2001, I didn’t realize I was embarking on a lifelong relationship with that country. Researching Living Abroad in Costa Rica took me from coast to coast and everywhere in between, as I sought out expats and locals, surfers, shopkeepers, and government officials.  I’m also the author of Costa Rica Trip Ideas, an itinerary-based app, and The Manatee’s Big Day, a science-based, bilingual children’s book.

Besides living in Costa Rica, I spent two years in Quito, Ecuador, and a year in Oaxaca, Mexico. My articles on Latin America have been widely published, with subjects ranging from a macaw rescue center to a young filmmaker’s first feature. I’ve been interviewed about everything from moving abroad in general to the “Google border war” between Costa Rica and Nicaragua. And I’ve been a consultant for businesses and individuals looking to relocate.