Dear Kids and All Readers, Here in San Diego, spring has arrived. I know. Some say it never left. But being a native San Diegan, I can definitely detect the waxing and waning of each season. I hope spring’s beautiful warmth and radiant blossoms now surround you as well. For today, I would like to…
Dear Kids and All Readers, You’ve been waiting for it, and here it comes! Walnut Street: Phantom Rider, Book 3 in my Botanic Hill Detectives Mysteries series, will release on November 9, 2021. Hurray! Here’s a teaser: Objects of value have been disappearing from the Mayfield family’s rural California horse ranch and youth saddle club for…
Hello, Kids and All Readers, In my last blog, I talked about the Threads (interconnections among objects that tell an important story) in our Tapestries (our unique, special, and valuable lives). Today, I’d like to share one of the threads in my tapestry with you. This thread has come to mind because yesterday, March 24,…
Dear Readers, Warning! Some might find this blog depressing. (But I hope you’ll read on, anyway!) A friend recently shared with me his monthly human-interest column for his local newspaper back East. In it, he discussed the “threads” in the “tapestry” of his life, his late sister’s, and their late mother’s. As I read on,…
Dear Kids, Teachers, Librarians, Families, All Readers, and Audiophiles, I am pleased to report that the audiobook for Eucalyptus Street: Green Curse is in final production. What fun to hear my characters speaking! Corrections are off to my narrator, the magnificent Tom Jordan from ACX, who also did the narration for Nutmeg Street: Green Curse.…
Dear Kids and Other Readers, After years of dreaming, my new, custom-made bookcase was installed yesterday! It had to be brought into my house in two pieces, each carefully lifted through a different front porch archway, then slowly through the front door. It was close, but in the pieces came at last without a scratch.…
Dear Kids and All Readers, I’ve been off with my Botanic Hill Detectives on their fourth case this past month. That is to say, I’ve now written over twenty-five percent of the Book 4, Saffron Street: Island Danger first draft. Yay! The four detectives, Lanny, Lexi, Moki, and Rani, have accepted a case on Saffron Street that…
Dear Readers, February is the month when we celebrate Valentine’s Day and true love. We, of course, know that in real life as well as in literature, some of the most intriguing romances have a dark side, maybe even a tragic ending. This type of literature is called Dark Romanticism. Dark Romanticism falls within Gothic…
Dear Kids and All Readers, Friday, February 5, 2021, was National Wear Red for Heart Health Awareness Day. Coincidentally, one of my family members had major heart surgery that very day. (All is well! Problems repaired.) And here comes Valentine’s Day when we celebrate all that is heartfelt. These events have made me reflect on…
Dear Readers, As I write this blog, many of you are probably sinking in snowdrifts and sorry the groundhog has announced six more weeks of winter. How about an escape? –at least as an armchair traveler, for now! But first, I feel compelled to introduce to you the Italian word bramasole. It means “yearning for…
