December 13, 2025

Happy Holidays to all!

May their special magic touch you and yours, now, and in 2026.

So grateful for your support.

 

 

 

November 27, 2025

HAPPY THANKSGIVING, EVERYONE, in the USA!

The Botanic Hill detectives and I am grateful for you.

 

 

 

 

November 3, 2025

WHOOHOO!

The paperback for my Book 7, Macadamia Street: Hidden Skeleton, finally released on Amazon TODAY!

It now joins its companion eBook. Thank you, Amazon, for getting your publishing gears unclogged.

Dear Readers, do you know anyone, ages 9 – 109, who might enjoy this captivating pirate mystery over the holidays?

Here is what it’s about:

In Macadamia Street: Hidden Skeleton, our four heroes travel to Cornwall, England, to solve a mystery at the cliffside manor house, Crow’s Nest Grange, once owned by the now-extinct earls of Stowesbury. The sleuths’ mission? To find what might be the notorious pirate One-Eyed Jack’s captain’s logbook from the 1720s. But the unexpected awaits: the cellar’s chilling discoveries, missing treasures, a cryptic family’s past, hints of smuggling, whispers of duplicity, and competition for legendary riches. Are ye ready to set sail into treachery?

If yes, please click HERE to purchase the book from your favorite online bookstore via my secure website. Many thanks, and happy reading!

November 3, 2025

Check out these fun answers and photos from six of my fellow Blackbird Writers and me that appeared on our Substack page today! We shared the author we would each thank and why.

Click HERE to see what each of us said and why.

Mine is probably no surprise!

Which ONE author would you thank and why???

 

 

ATTENTION, DEAR READERS!        UPCOMING FALL EVENTS:

November 3. I will be featured, along with six other fellow Blackbird Writers, on our group’s Substack page as we each share a fun photo and short answer to this month’s question: “If you could thank ANY ONE author, living or dead, for hours of joy, or for changing the way you look at the world, who would it be?” Can you guess my most inspirational author?

I will post the Substack link here on November 3. Thanks!

October 31 — November 2, 2025

Happy Halloween, Readers! Announcing the . . .

Blackbird Writers’ Annual Halloween Weekend
Flash Sale and Giveaways!


Prices Slashed!
Monstrous Discounts!
Insane Giveaways!
Frighteningly FREE books!

#mystery #thrillerbooks #cozymystery #suspense #booksale #freestuff #bookgiveaways #youngadult #middlegradebooks

Please shop the sale at the Blackbird Writers’ secure website HERE. Enter as many giveaways as you like!

My Jacaranda Street paperback is included in the YA Book Bundle since a Middle-Grade bundle was not formed. I know you will love Forewarned and Beyond the Cemetery Gate as much as I did!

Have fun shopping. Good luck in the giveaways!

(Graphics Created by Blackbird Writers)

 

October 30, 2025

I am so pleased to announce that the eBook format of Book 7, Macadamia Street: Hidden Skeleton, is available for purchase on Amazon HERE and at Other Fine Retailers, (Apple, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, etc.) HERE!

Unfortunately, the paperback has been stuck in an Amazon “techno glitch” since I uploaded it on October 8. I am working diligently with the company to get this resolved. They assured me today that it is being addressed by the “Tech Team,” that the problem is on their end, not mine, and the book will, hopefully, be available for purchase soon.

If you prefer to purchase the paperback, please periodically check its availability on Amazon HERE. You can also check on my website in the books section HERE. Or you might hear me shout a stentorian HURRAH! when it finally appears!

I apologize for this paperback issue, but it is beyond my control.

In the meantime, please set sail with the pirates and our detectives via the eBook if you wish. They look forward to having you aboard!

October 24, 2025

I was thrilled to meet two delightful fans of my book series at my local park in San Diego today!

Jude, age 13, and his sister Leah, age 11, had the day off from school, so they came with their mother, our outdoor exercise class’s instructor.

After class, I sat down with these two great readers, got to know them a bit better, answered some of their questions, e.g., “Who is your favorite detective?” My answer: “I love all four of them equally!” and signed their books. They told me they appreciated that my “cool” (their word) detectives were smart, respectful, and polite. I was so happy that they recognized and appreciated them as role models for kids.

Jude and Leah left with a book swag bag apiece, filled with bookmarks, stickers, and other items for all seven of my books. They also took home a third bag–one for little brother, Micah, age 8, who had to go to school. I hope to meet Micah sometime soon.

Thank you, Jude, Leah, and your mom for making my day!

(Photo Credits: Jude and Leah’s Mom)

 

October 18, 2025

Thanks, Val, for allowing me to “take over your ship” today for some pirate myth busting!

In Val’s Substack blog, “Reading, Writing, and Roaming with Valerie Biel,” I explain seven of many myths presented in my recent release, Macadamia Street: Hidden Skeleton, Book 7 in my Botanic Hill Detectives Mysteries series.

Avast! Please click HERE to read my pirate blog on Val’s site. And while you’re there, check out some gruesome but also cute pirate-related images!

(Image Credit: Heinz-Will-Koch on Pixabay.com)

 

October 6, 2025

What a fabulous Gothic weekend we had!

My daughter and I have just returned from the 2025 Edgar Allan Poe International Festival in Baltimore, MD, held this year from October 3 to 5.

Friday kicked off the fun when we met our friend and fellow Poe author Steve Boilard at the historic, haunted Lord Baltimore Hotel. A bus took us on a twilight tour of nearby historic Green Mount Cemetery, established in 1838. Our group leader, Paul, festooned in nineteenth-century garb, led us from the ornate entry gate, along stone paths that wound over gently sloping grassy hills in the beautifully manicured graveyard. Many gravestones and obelisks were remarkable, as if families had competed to see who could erect the most elaborate monument. You never know who lurks in a cemetery! Green Mount offers final repose to American poet, author, and musician Sidney Lanier; lawyer Elijah Bond, who patented the Ouija Board in 1891, as evidenced by his Ouija Board headstone; Lincoln assassin John Wilkes Booth; and many relatives of Edgar Allan Poe. That evening, we enjoyed the hotel’s screening of Roger Corman’s 1963 horror classic movie The Raven, starring Vincent Price, Peter Lorre, and Boris Karloff. We ended a fun day by taking the hotel’s Ghost Tour, which led us to many floors and rooms where ghostly experiences have been documented by guests and employees for decades, like flickering lights, chilly spots, and unexplained sights and sounds. Twenty suicides have occurred there!

Saturday saw us out early, heading to the festival grounds to set up our vending table. Steve and I gave our books and swag away for free and enjoyed meeting many attendees. My daughter acquainted customers with details about our books. We squeezed in the Death Weekend Bus Tour of Baltimore to see famous Poe sites, such as the hospital where he died in 1849. We hurried back to the Lord Baltimore to get glamorous for dinner, then off to the Black Cat Ball at the Westminster Hall and Burying Ground. The music was appropriately haunting as dancers twirled in their Gothic finery. We three toured the dank, dimly lit Catacombs beneath the Hall. There were decaying headstones and an eerie, deep cavern with a child’s grave. The Awards Ceremony honored four winners. Steve will return with a new Poe book, hoping to snag the 2026 award! The evening ended perfectly with us ball goers gathered around Poe’s grave at the burying ground to toast him with cognac, led by the incredible Irish voice narrator Wayne O’Broin. Listen to his atmospheric reading of Poe’s poem “The Spirits of the Dead” from his YouTube channel.

On Sunday morning, we said goodbye to Steve as he flew home to California. My daughter and I shopped at the festival booths for gifts for friends and family–and a few for ourselves. After checking out the Ghostbusters car, we drove back to her house in Virginia.

We had so much fun seeing our old and new friends at the festival, all linked by our love of Edgar Allan Poe. We will return next year. I highly recommend the festival to all Poe fans!

 

ATTENTION, DEAR READERS!          UPCOMING FALL EVENTS:

October 3-5–PoeFest International, Baltimore, MD. Please find me at a vending table on Saturday, October 4. I’d love to meet you! Then, pick up one of my books and some matching book swag for FREE just for saying hi!

October 14—Book 7, Macadamia Street: Hidden Skeleton launches. You may purchase it in paperback or ebook at your favorite online bookstore via my website link HERE. Thank you!

(Graphics Credits: Poe Baltimore; Ebook Launch)

 

 

 

September 29, 2025

Today, a fun interview with me, hosted by Blackbird Writers founder, Tracey S. Phillips, posted.

It anticipates the October 14 launch of my Book 7, Macadamia Street: Hidden Skeleton.

You can watch the thirty-nine-minute video HERE as we discuss all things pirate!

Yo-ho!

(Graphic Credit: Blackbird Writers)

 

September 18, 2025

Today, I was honored and thrilled to spend over an hour with Ms. Kristina Sipe and her smart, polite fifth graders at St. Didacus Catholic School in San Diego!

We talked about what inspired me to become a kids’ mystery author, research tips, the importance of each phase of the writing process, and taking pride in one’s artistic creation.

The students asked me deep questions, demonstrating their careful reading and comprehension of my Book 1, Nutmeg Street: Egyptian Secrets.

Schedule an in-person or virtual author visit with me HERE!

(Photos Credit: Thank you, Ms. Sipe and students!)

ATTENTION, DEAR READERS!          UPCOMING FALL EVENTS:

September 18–Free, In-Person Author Visit to Ms. S—’s 5th Grade Classroom, St. Di—– Catholic School

September 29–Interview by Blackbird Writers’ founder, Tracey S. Phillips, to anticipate the October launch of Macadamia Street: Hidden Skeleton. A link will be posted in this Events section for watching the interview at your convenience.

October 3-5–PoeFest International, Baltimore, MD. Please find me at a vending table on Saturday and introduce yourself. Pick up one of my books and some book swag for FREE!

(Graphics Credits:  Blackbird Writers; PoeBaltimore)

 

August 31, 2025

Drum roll, please . . .

Presenting my COVER REVEAL for the Botanic Hill Detectives Mysteries, Book 7, Macadamia Street: Hidden Skeleton!

I’m very pleased, once again, with the work done by Ebook Launch.com.

Advance readers are busy getting their reviews ready to post on multiple bookstore platforms for the official book launch on TUESDAY, OCTOBER 14, 2025.

If you need to get up to speed with Books 1 – 6, you may shop your favorite bookstore online via my website HERE.

Check back in this Events section or in my September 30 Newsletter for the Macadamia Street: Hidden Skeleton book blurb!

Prepare, me mateys, for pirate adventure galore!

July 28, 2025

First, the good news:

At last! The front cover for my Book 7, Macadamia Street: Hidden Skeleton, has arrived. I am very pleased with it. We’re one big step closer to publication now.

The formatter used it to finish her task today, and the book’s cadre of Reader-Reviewers and Praise Quoters have received the book’s PDF and, as a bonus for patience, the entire cover to begin their work.

Now, for the not-so-good news:

Since the cover was one month overdue, I was forced to change the OFFICIAL PUBLICATION DAY to October 14, from September 19. My apologies. But it WILL be out soon!

And to whet your appetite, please check out the image for the only portion of the cover that I can reveal today.

You may see the ENTIRE COVER REVEALED in my August 31 newsletter, on social media, and in this Events section of my website on that date when I will peel back that annoying scrap of paper!

I hope that you will watch for it.

(Graphic by the author. Book cover by the fabulous Ebook Launch.com)

June 25, 2025

Good news! Book 7, Macadamia Street: Hidden Skeleton, in my Botanic Hill Detectives Mysteries series, is running on schedule this month to launch on September 19, International Talk-Like-a-Pirate Day.

If you like pirates, you’re going to love this book!

The cover is almost finished. Ebook Launch does a fantastic job creating them year after year for me. Watch for the Cover Reveal in mid-August on my website and social media platforms!

My excellent, long-time book formatter Debbie Kennedy is finishing the first round of formats, turning my story into a print-worthy book PDF.

Currently, I have sixteen people signed up to be Reader-Reviewers. Their task will be to read the unpublished PDF in July and August, then post their reviews before the official publication date this fall.

My four Praise Quoters will be reading, too, and submitting their back-cover quotes in late August.

All these readers’ efforts are so valuable in getting the word out about Book 7. They will be listed in the book’s Acknowledgments.

Thank you, readers!

So, it’s time to prepare for Book 7 to join the series! Kids and adults, if you haven’t read Books 1 to 6 yet, please consider them for exciting summer reading. They can be read in any order.

You may purchase them at your favorite bookstore HERE. Thank you so much!

(Photo Credits: Tanhauser Vazquez R., and Alex P. on pexels.com)

May 17, 2025

Today, my brilliant, long-time editor Molly Lewis returned Round Two edits for Book 7, Macadamia Street: Hidden Skeleton.

If you love PIRATES, then this will be the book for you!

I am proceeding on schedule and should have the final revisions finished in early- to mid-June, just in time for my formatter to turn the pages into a book for you.

The book cover is in the production queue and will arrive soon. Seeing each of my book covers for the first time makes the wait worth it!

The end is in sight! Look for Macadamia Street, the detectives’ latest adventure set in Cornwall, England, to be released on International Talk-Like-a-Pirate Day, September 19, 2025.

Look sharp, me hearties. Yo-ho!

(Photo Credit: Higher Vibration from pexels.com)

 

April 8, 2025

What a delight to return for my fifth virtual author visit to my teacher friend’s classroom in Macungie, Pennsylvania!

I enjoyed an hour with two fifth-grade classrooms. Their literacy teacher, Ms. Stacy Alfano, had read them my Book 5, Jacaranda Street: Gravestone Image, and they were ready.

The students came to the screen and asked fabulous questions about detective character Rani’s and my synesthesia, how I became a mystery author, what my writing process involves, and many more.

There are certainly some budding writers in that group of forty-four students!

As a retired teacher, I miss kids in front of me daily. That’s one reason I write for them. It’s payment enough–but not for Ms. Alfano and the students! A week later, a thank-you package arrived, filled with a gorgeous Edgar Allan Poe tote and smaller bag, a matching wooden bookmark, some Poe-inspired Post-It notes, and a sweet card.

Thank you, Ms. Alfano, Ms. Beky, and awesome students! Read and write forever more.

(Photo Credits: Classroom Photos by Ms. Beky; Gift Photos by the Author)

 

March 25, 2025

This Saturday, March 29, from 10:00 to 10:10 a.m., PDT, I will read my original Poe-like poem, “Mors Non Est Finalis, or Death is Not the End,” from my Book 5, Jacaranda Street: Gravestone Image, as part of the Second Annual “Poe-It Like Poe” reading event, sponsored by The Six Degrees of Poe/Poe Unplugged. Thank you, Carmen Bouldin and Jeanie Smith, for the opportunity. What a wonderful community and fun way to promote Edgar Allan Poe’s phenomenal legacy.

The four-hour Poe-a-thon will be live-streamed on YouTube, as narrators and authors worldwide read various Poe works of their choosing.

And if you are a Poe fan, consider submitting to Six Degrees of Poe’s 2025 Third Annual Poe-it Like Poe Poetry Contest from April 1 to May 15. The link to enter will go live on April 1. There will be prizes for the winners and two separate entry categories: one for ages 11 to 17 and another for ages 18 and up. Some who read in the live event will be judges.

Good luck!

Updated March 30:  At the event yesterday, my author friend Steve Boilard read and discussed Poe’s “The Haunted Palace.” If you want to listen, please click this YouTube link for the recording. Steve’s reading starts at 39 minutes; my reading starts at 59 minutes. Both Steve and I wore our Poe hats and outfits. Thanks to those who attended, with a special shout-out to Sharon Michalove, a fellow Blackbird Writer who attended!

(Graphics by Carmen Bouldin and Jeanie Smith of Poe Unplugged)

 

February 1 – 28, 2025

The detectives and I have spent this month in Cornwall, England, writing Book 7, Macadamia Street: Hidden Skeleton.

Actually, we’re at home in Las Palmitas, aka, San Diego, California. But writing and reading can transport you anywhere you choose to go, so we take advantage of that whenever possible!

The latest adventure in the Botanic Hill Detectives Mysteries is set in Penzance, a southwest Cornish peninsula town, facing the English Channel. Piracy and smuggling flourished in the area from the 15th to the 18th centuries. Now, ancient lore, shipwrecks off the craggy Cornish shores, and mysteries abound!

Preliminary Book Blurb: Arthur and Abigail Lamb are the new owners of the palatial Georgian manor house Crow’s Nest Grange. It was once owned by the now-extinct line of the earls of Stowesbury, in Penzance, Cornwall. The couple hires our four detectives to investigate a strange find. As the Lambs began to restore their 300-year-old property, they discovered paper remnants in a rat’s nest in the home’s Tower, or Crow’s Nest. The scraps hint at being from the logbook of Captain One-Eyed Jack, a notorious pirate from the early 1700s, at the end of The Golden Age of Maritime Piracy. What is their origin? How did the paper bits end up at the Grange? The case burgeons, necessitating the sleuths to investigate missing valuables on the property, a pirate ship’s Jolly Roger flag, possible smuggling, the earls’ family crypt, and a skeleton unearthed from the Grange’s cellar wall. Are the noble Stowesburys connected to pirates, smugglers, and other surprising discoveries? If so, how–and why? Set sail with the Botanic Hill detectives on this salty tale of treasure, treachery, and duplicity where all is not what it seems.

Please watch for Macadamia Street: Hidden Skeleton to be released in September 2025. Arrgh!

(Photo Credits, left to right: EA, Niklas Jeromin, Adine Maceno, and Meric Tuna on pexels.com)

January 11, 2025

I was honored to be the “Gothic Guest” on Carmen Bouldin and Jeanie Smith’s podcast, POEcast, “Six Degrees of Poe,” where they discuss all things Edgar Allan Poe.

Their interview stemmed from my Jacaranda Street: Gravestone Image winning the 2024 Saturday “Visiter” Award from Poe Baltimore last October.

You can watch the fun interview on SPOTIFY as well as YOUTUBE.

Carmen and Jeanie also featured me in their January Newsletter, “THE FAVORED RAVEN.”

Thank you both for these honors! I hope we can do it again sometime.

January 1, 2025

 

 

 

 

(Graphic by the author)