Hello, Kids and All Readers, Seven days a week, I take a three-mile walk to enhance and extend my healthspan and lifespan. The five different routes I mapped out years ago take me over much of my historical neighborhood of North Park in San Diego, California, USA. North Park is where I grew up and still live, so I have…
Hello, Kids and All Readers! Do you dare to enter Dr. Frankenstein’s La-BOR-a-tor-y? That’s where you’ll be when you read Upas Street: Shocking Specter, Book 6 in my Botanic Hill Detectives Mysteries series, releasing in Fall 2024. I’m finally busily working on the first draft–yay!–which is due to my editor on March 10–yikes! As Detective…
Hello, Kids and All Readers! I hope each of you had a meaningful and joyous holiday season. Mine was wonderful! I drove a short distance across town to my cousins’ lovely vintage home that was aglow with scented candles in every room, a to-the-ceiling Christmas tree, a fireplace ablaze, and much good cheer. Eight of…
Hi, Everyone, The holiday season is here! I hope you’re getting into a festive spirit. I just returned from Pennsylvania where I had Thanksgiving with family. I traveled to my son-in-law’s parents’ home. Then, my daughter, son-in-law, two grandkids, and granddog drove up from Virginia for the big feast and long weekend. Everyone pitched in!…
Hello, Adult Readers and Scary Story Aficionados! Withered leaves rattle in the chilly wind before their death-drop. October shuffles to its end. Darkness descends sooner now, encouraging owls and bats to fly about the countryside in search of earlier feasts. Jack-o’-lanterns glow and burn to ward off evil spirits. Some trick-or-treaters venture forth while others decide to huddle indoors with a bowl of popcorn, some candy, and a book or movie to elude banshees on the…
Hello, Kids and All Readers, You might say I’ve gone “raven mad” lately. I refer to the bird, not my mental state! Research for my Book 5, Jacaranda Street: Gravestone Image, has taken me to many sites about Edgar Allan Poe and ravens. I can’t seem to get enough of either topic. But for today,…
Dear Readers, During my research for Book 5, Jacaranda Street: Gravestone Image, which involves a mystery wrapped around the nineteenth-century American writer Edgar Allan Poe, I uncovered a fascinating, real-life mystery. If you’re a fan of Poe, you probably know that he died in 1849 at the age of 40. His cause of death is unknown,…
Dear Kids and All Readers, I set a goal for January 2023: On New Year’s Day, I would begin writing Book 5 in my Botanic Hill Detectives Mysteries series. The day came and went. For various reasons–still in a holiday mood; more research needed; hot chocolate is ready?–I had not written one word of Chapter…
Dear Kids and All Readers, This is the time of year when many of us pause and reflect on the end of another year. The joys and sorrows of 2022 have been washing over me the last two weeks as I holiday shop, send cards, and wrap gifts. Mainly, I am filled with abundant gratitude…
Hello, Readers, As we get ready for Thanksgiving in the USA, our thoughts increasingly turn to FOOD as we plan the feast: turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, gravy, and . . . Spam? This week, I have found myself thinking about Hawaiian food, including Spam, no doubt in light of Saffron Street: Island Danger, recently released and set…
