Sandra McCulloch

A writer of psychological thrillers and character-driven novels.

Sandra McCulloch is a Vancouver Island–based writer and former journalist whose work in character-driven novels and historic fiction explores memory, inheritance, and the quiet forces that shape family narratives.

Her fiction lane is in psychological thrillers, character-driven, crime-adjacent stories. She is drawn to what is kept and what is erased—how truth lives not only in what is remembered, but in what is felt.

Cold Milk is a story about the people we overlook. When former reporter Maggie Sutton befriends Kam, a homeless man struggling to survive on Victoria’s streets, she becomes entangled in a dangerous struggle involving police, criminals, and a system that often fails the most vulnerable. At its heart, Cold Milk is a novel about loyalty, compassion, and the quiet ways people show up for one another when it matters most.

Cold Milk has been reviewed by a freelance editor, who notes that the protagonist, Maggie, is easy for readers to sympathize with. He notes that her backstory is great–quirky but compelling. He points to a terrific cast of supporting players, each of whom is distinctly drawn. “There are ongoing, interesting, psychological and social issues at play and the give the novel some lovely depth. It was a pleasure reading Cold Milk.“

Sandra has three related historical novels all drawn from her interest in her ancestry. In The McClary Code, she explores the life of Major Andrew McClary, her fifth great grandfather and the last American officer to die at the Battle of Bunker Hill. The novel revolves around Andrew’s vow to protect his nephew Michael during the run-up to the battle. Both McClary men are bonded by family love that is communicated in ways only they can feel.

While Andrew dies in the Battle of Bunker Hill, Michael continues to fight in George Washington’s army. In The McClary Burden, Michael McClary returns home to honor his uncle by watching over Andrew’s youngest child, Nancy. Michael lives with the burden that he was never enough to be a McClary. But Michael presses on through life’s challenges, feeling his uncle’s enduring love in whispers and touches.

The third in the series is The McClary Legacy, the story of Andrew’s daughter, Nancy, as she navigates her role as an expressive woman in a time that did not honor such. Nancy has her father’s notebook at her side as she journals her thoughts, all the while feeling a protective spirit hovering near and brushes with love she cannot explain.

In Sandra’s memoir, The Generational Hush, she traces the arc from childhood silence through a life of witnessing, avoidance, and self-protection — to a reckoning with her past through writing. Along the way she explores stifled love and inherited patterns, the cost of staying small, and the moment when the quiet witness inside her finally said, “I feel safe.”

The Fir and the Forgotten Man is a work of historical fiction that follows David Douglas, the Scottish botanist behind the Douglas Fir, and his Scottish terrier, Billy.

By Judge Alone is a deeply human novel about trauma, resilience, and the slow, difficult work of choosing compassion over certainty. It overlaps Cold Milk, with some of the same settings and characters.

Under the Veil is about Charley Wright, who returns home to care for her mother after a stroke. As dementia loosens Edna’s grip on the present, fragments of the past begin to surface—some familiar, others long buried. What first appears to be confusion takes on a pattern, drawing Charley into a quiet search for meaning. Charley must decide what to do with a truth her family has carried in silence. The novel was borne from an idea of Sandra’s to have a protagonist with Type 1 diabetes — which she has — and a sidekick who’s a feisty friend and incomplete quadriplegic, like her real-life friend Peggy.

Sandra will be attending Bouchercon 2026 in Calgary, Alberta, to network with other writers and interest agents in her work.

Beyond fiction, Sandra writes a personal blog, emotionaldiabetes.ca, exploring resilience and chronic illness. Her 27 years as a journalist has resulted in thousands of stories archived at newspapers.com.

She lives with my dog, Pete, on Vancouver Island, Canada, where she continues to write, research family history, and meet people through her part-time cashier job at a local grocery store.