Does It Count As Saving A Life?...

(January 15, 2025)--Robin Leemann Donovan announces the launch of her forth cozy mystery novel: Does It Count As Saving A Life If You Just Don't Kill Anyone, published by Gracie Dancer, LLC.

Friends in real life, as well as avid supporters of each other's books, Dominique and Robin decided to form the fictional team of Dominique and Donna to solve a mystery occurring on the ski slopes of Engelberg, Switzerland.

Dominique Gisin was the winner of the gold medal in the Downhill at the 2014 Olympics, tying with Slovenian Tina Maze. Her victory inspired many people all around the world especially because Dominique achieved it after an almost unprecedented injury record (i.e. four knee and five other operations) combined with many other setbacks. She has also won several World Cup races in the Downhill and Super-G disciplines and for many years she ranked in the top 10 skiers in the world in the Downhill discipline. Dominique also established herself in the world top 15 for three other alpine disciplines. She has authored several books on her journey to the top and currently works as a motivational speaker. She has also holds a commercial pilot's license.

Robin Leemann Donovan is the author of the award-winning blog Menologues, a humorous, yet informative, look at the trials and tribulations of menopause by someone who's been there. She was born and raised in New Jersey, but lived and worked in Connecticut for a number of years before moving to Nebraska in 1999 to work at the, then global company, Bozell. She recently retired and sold Bozell to a group of employees. Experiences from each place she lived have been incorporated into the heroine of her series, Donna Leigh. In this, her forth in the series, Donna Leigh shares the role of heroine with Dominique Gisin.

Donna Leigh is a menopausal former ad exec. When Donna is drawn into the friendship between her husband Jon and Olympic Gold Medalist, Dominique Gisin, she decides to explore her own Swiss ancestry. With the help of husband Jon and advice from
Dominique they are able to discover an existing family with blood ties to Donna. And so, the adventure begins.

As they continue to learn about Donna's Swiss relatives, they are stunned by the fact that the family's 16-year old daughter is beginning to pursue a ski racing career after overcoming some overwhelming physical odds. This can be no coincidence. It is arranged that Dominique will do some preliminary work with this young girl to help determine the best course for her to pursue. After a few weeks of working together, Dominique suggests that the Leighs travel to Switzerland to meet their relatives and watch this young athlete as she progresses through these early career stages toward her goal.

Shortly after arriving in Switzerland, there is a tragic accident on the slopes. Is it an accident or is it murder? Was the dead person the intended victim, or are some of the young racers at risk? Dominique and Donna team up to solve this puzzling and tragic event and restore tranquility to the majestic Mt. Titlis ski area in Engelberg.

As they work to solve the mystery, Dominique shares many of the fascinating insider details of training in order to become a world class ski racer.

The idea for The Donna Leigh Mystery series? was originally rooted in Donovan's frustrations with the stereotypes about menopausal and post-menopausal women.

"As I continued on my own journey through menopause and I met many exceptional women along the way, I realized that the world was sadly mistaken about us. They needed to be told.

"Donna Leigh is a menopausal woman, but you don't have to be menopausal to relate to her. She could be your mother or your aunt, but she could just as easily be your co-worker and friend. She's not every menopausal woman, but she is representative of the dynamic and vivacious qualities that exist in the majority of menopausal women today."

}In this, her forth novel, Donovan celebrates the triumphs achievable by women in more than just her own now post-menopausal world. She illustrates how, in working together as a team, multi-generational women can make a significant impact in any number of endeavors. Donna Leigh, a post-menopausal sleuth and Dominique Gisin, a former world class athlete who has not yet reached middle age, combine their talents to assist Swiss police/polizei in solving a most challenging mystery. They do so in a way that immerses their audience in the world of training alpine athletes as well as that of amateur sleuthing, all the while providing entertainment and an abundance of laughter.

Does It Count As Saving A Life If You Just Don't Kill Someone? is available for sale in paperback through the website: rldonovan.com or directly from Amazon Books

About Dominique Gisin
At the age of 17 Dominique had already endured 4 knee surgeries and had been written off by most coaches, advisors, experts and even doctors. But Dominique Gisin won the Olympic Gold in 2014 in Sochi, along with many other top racing achievements. She is the author of the book Making it Happen From Engelberg to Sochi and she and her sister Michelle along with her long-time performance and sports psychologist, Dr. Christian Marcolli created the book A True Athlete. Dominique currently works as a motivational speaker and she holds a commercial pilot's license.

Dominique hails from an athletic family. Her sister, Michelle is also a Olympic gold medal winner and her brother, Marc, has been quite successful in the World Cup. Dominique graduated from the Sports School in Engelberg, the home of an inordinately large number of Olympic medalists. She was raised in Engadin, and currently resides in Engelberg}.

About Robin Leemann Donovan
Robin Leemann Donovan is the author of the blog, Menologues, which is a humorous yet informative look at the trials and tribulations of menopause by someone who's been there. Menologues has been republished on two commercial sites: Vibrant Nation and, and has won regional honors for social media.

Donovan was born and raised in New Jersey, but lived and worked in Connecticut for a number of years before moving to Nebraska in 1999. Starting her career as a high school English teacher, Donovan moved into advertising in the early 80s. In 1999, she accepted a job offer from the legendary Bozell}, a global ad agency that was founded in Omaha. In late 2001, she and three colleagues purchased the original Omaha office of Bozell from its New York based parent company. In 2021 she was named an Enterprising Woman of the Year by the national publication Enterprising Women. In December of 2023, Donovan sold Bozell to a group of employees and retired to focus on murder mysteries and French Bulldogs not to mention, a bit of skiing.

Donovan lives with her husband and two French Bulldogs, Frank and Ellie in their homes in Omaha, Nebraska and Eden, Utah.

At Dominique's request, 25% of all proceeds for the book will go to Passion Schneesport for all the upcoming ski stars and their families.

A book blurb and an excerpt from the novel are below. To request a copy of the book for review in a publication, or to schedule an interview with the author, contact Robin Donovan at [phone] or [e-mail].

Book Blurb for: Does It Count As Saving A Life If You Just Don't Kill Someone?

When do a retired Omaha ad agency owner and a Swiss Olympic Downhill Gold Medalist team up to solve a perplexing conundrum, and one that involves a mysterious death at a Swiss ski resort? When it's the infamous amateur sleuth Donna Leigh and her friend and Olympic Gold Medalist, Dominique Gisin.

Donna Leigh and her husband strike up an online friendship with Dominique which leads to a deep exploration of Donna's Swiss roots. This search leads them to a young Olympic hopeful and an inevitable trip to Switzerland that immerses them in the world of ski racing.

Shortly after arriving in Switzerland, a tragedy occurs on Mt. Titlis and Donna and Dominique are there as witnesses when a death with heavy ties to the U.S. occurs.

It only makes sense that the pair team up with Donna's sleuthing experience and knowledge of investigating in the U.S. and Dominique's in-depth knowledge of everything Swiss and skiing. Working with some polizei and a few U.S. friends as resources, Dominique and Donna follow a trail of intrigue and even danger through the Alps and simultaneously through the U.S.

Their search for clues combined with Dominique's work in training the young racing hopeful will have you on the edge of your seat, when you're not laughing uproariously at the antics of the Americans as they make their way through the Alps.


Excerpt from Does It Count As Saving A Life If You Just Don't Kill Someone?

I took advantage of a quiet moment to question Dominique on her earlier conversation with Lyra. "What could possibly make her unhappy today?"

"Do you remember one of the later racers, a young girl named Etta who fell on her second run?" I nodded.

"Lyra said that she injured her knee in that fall. And Lyra is concerned it could end her racing career. I thought this would be the time to share my own story of injuries from falls, my numerous surgeries and the work it took to get back into prime racing shape. I never shared that with her earlier so as not to frighten her unnecessarily."

"And that is a powerful story, indeed. But now I can't help wondering, what on earth in that story made her laugh?"

"Two things. Her initial laugh was when I shared the part about putting Topfen curd cheese on my knee to stop the swelling. If you remember, Donna, I recommended to Jon that he put this cheese on your knee when you injured your, MCL, PCL and meniscus while trying to avoid hitting a couple of novice skiers a few years ago."

"I'll never forget that. At first we thought you were kidding, but it was amazing how well it worked to help with the swelling. And, I have to say, we were the laughing stock at a whole bunch of dinner parties while trying to explain my healing process. We had to prove it, with the help of Google, on several occasions. I'm so glad you were there to help Lyra through her fears right then and there."

"Yes, that was fortunate."

"So, what else made her laugh?"

"When we spoke of the injured skier, Lyra asked me if I thought she had a 'spirit animal' that would help her in her recovery. It was such an intuitive comment, so I asked if she had one. We both laughed when Lyra acknowledged that her 'spirit' animal was a peregrine falcon. That was a surprise, so many of us choose feline 'spirit' animals. But Lyra set me straight, she said peregrine falcons live in Switzerland and are the fastest animals in the world. She also asked me 'and sometimes, don't you just feel as though you're flying?' This kid has a good head on her shoulders!"

And her concern for her fellow racer is also an excellent sign. Any racer out for just themselves is truly not destined for greatness - at least not in the hearts of the people. Lyra has a good heart and that will upset her at times, but ultimately it will serve her well."

And there it was. I was getting another lesson in being a top-level athlete. I may have intuited some of these things, but hearing them directly from Dominique made them so much more real.