Dear Readers, Gardeners, and Botanists, The other day, I was staring up at an impending, annual avalanche. Thousands of leaves! The deciduous devil in my neighbors’ yard is a liquid amber tree. Its thickest foliage overhangs my back fence and soars high above my rooftop. As usual, I gave a sigh and had my rake…
Dear Readers, Writers, and Grammar Police Officers, I have spent the last week poring over my formatted copy of Nutmeg Street: Egyptian Secrets for the second time. (This doesn’t count the 100 times before formatting.) My goal is to catch every error I can so the public doesn’t have to. To my horror, I have found…
Dear Readers, It’s September–that time of year when my mind naturally wanders to BB&B. No, not “Bed, Bath, & Beyond”! And also not “Better Bed and Breakfast.” I’m talking, of course, about Bulletin Boards and Books. Regarding the first two Bs: Every September since I retired from teaching in 2013, I reflect on how as…
Dear Readers, It’s time to meet the fourth and last–but not least–of the Botanic Hill Detectives, thirteen-year-old Rani Kumar! Rani moved to Las Palmitas, California, from her native India when she was five years old. Her father, Devi Kumar, is a professor of geology at the local university. Her mother, Gajara Kumar, is an airline manager…
Dear Hawaiian and non-Hawaiian Readers, Welcome to Hawai’i! Well, not quite. More like, say aloha to our pure-blooded Hawaiian character, the third Botanic Hill Detective, thirteen-year-old Moki Kalani! Moki is the comedian of the squad and usually wears a Hawaiian shirt and flip-flops. His intelligence and laid-back nature give him the ability to see the humorous…
Dear Readers, How about a sneak peek at two of Nutmeg Street: Egyptian Secrets’ four, thirteen-year-old detectives? Meet Lanyon “Lanny” Wyatt and Alexia “Lexi” Wyatt, brother and sister twins. Lexi thinks that Lanny is a “brainiac,” which he is. His ability to reason through situations, staying cool and on task, and having loads of confidence have…
Dear Kids and Grown-up Readers, Since Nutmeg Street: Egyptian Secrets is the first of the Botanic Hill detectives mysteries, I thought it was time to reveal the origin of the “Botanic” part of the series name. I was further inspired when I recently hired a graphic artist to make a cool map of Botanic Hill.…
Dear Readers and Animal Lovers, Recently, my sweet dog, Jimmy Lambchop, got a predawn dash to the animal emergency hospital. He’s home now and doing well, mostly recovered from an allergic reaction to some flea prevention meds. His seizures caused me to pack him into my car in the wee hours that scary morning. While Jimmy…
Dear Kids and Other Readers, I recently hosted a party. My house literally overflowed with an abundance of friends and neighbors. I am truly blessed to have these people in my life! That event reminded me that I need to plan another celebration, this time, for February–my long-anticipated Book Launch Party! Such a party is where…
Dear Kids and Other Readers, Now that the front cover of Nutmeg Street: Egyptian Secrets is finished (yay!), my Cover Reveal date has been set for November 1, and I’ve hired two book promoters, it’s time for me to start planning and purchasing BOOK SWAG. So what’s book swag, you ask? Book swag includes any useful,…
