Hello, Kids and All Readers, Here comes Memorial Day, the official kickoff for summer! Like me, you’re probably already thinking about some fun summer plans. I hope you have vacation or down time coming to realize your dreams. Teachers and students, of course, look forward to their wonderful summer breaks to rest, recharge, and…
Dear Readers, My research for Book 5, Jacaranda Street: Gravestone Image, continues as I seek “the real” Edgar Allan Poe (1809-1849). I plan to spin a mystery around some aspect of Poe’s life, but the story will be set in present day California. What I have discovered to date is that Poe used his writing…
Dear Readers, As I mentioned in my April 14th blog, my research for Book 5, Jacaranda Street: Gravestone Image, has begun. It will be mystery spun from some aspect of American writer Edgar Allan Poe’s life but set in present day California. He is arguably best known for his poem “The Raven” (1845). I hope…
Dear Readers, As of today, April 14, my Book 4, Saffron Street: Island Danger, is off to the editor! That means many things, but for this moment, it allows me to start thinking about Book 5. My next Botanic Hill Detectives mystery will have a problem wrapped around a long-deceased woman and the American poet,…
Hello, Adult Readers, Standing in solidarity with the people of Ukraine, I’d like to introduce–or reintroduce–you to a female Ukrainian poet named Lyuba Yakimchuk. She was born in 1985 in Pervomaisk, Luhansk, in what was Ukraine’s industrial east. She and her family lost their home and fled as refugees in 2014 when Russian-backed militants occupied…
Dear Kids, Gardeners, and Lovers of the book The Secret Garden, I recently received an article from a dear friend (thanks, Deb!) dated October 30-31, 2021, from The Wall Street Journal, page C11. It is entitled “A Blooming Genius,” by the WSJ’s children’s book columnist, Meghan Cox Gurdon. She was referring to the British author of The…
Hey, Kids, and All Readers of our Botanic Hill Detectives Mysteries, “This is Moki, the funny, foodie detective. We’re on a new case. At least, we were. It seems our creator, the author, has gone missing!” “I’m Lexi, the arm-squeezing detective, and Moki’s right. We haven’t seen her in a couple weeks. Usually, she drops…
Hello, All Readers, Tuesday, December 7, 2021, was the 80th Anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor. You might be wondering why I, a children’s author, am blogging about this. Here’s part of the backstory: Since December 7th is also my birthday (but not the same year as the attack!), I was called “a Pearl Harbor…
Hello, All Readers, I have been invited to present at the San Diego Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators’ (SCBWI) chapter meeting on December 11. The topic is what I learned as a result of hybrid publishing with Acorn Publishing. Whew! Sooo much. I made of list of all the topics and tasks I was…
Dear Kids and all Readers, I’ve misplaced my four main characters! I’m talking, of course, about our Botanic Hill Detectives. Last time I saw Lanny, Lexi, Moki, and Rani–which was about THREE WEEKS AGO (Ugh!)–they were enjoying the surf, sand, and sun on O’ahu while also working seriously on their next case. I know what…
