Hello, Movie Lovers! One of my favorite pastimes is watching movies from and studying the history and bios of The Golden Age of Hollywood. As you might guess, I have a book collection to nurture my hobby. There is something timeless and enchanting for me about Hollywood movies from the 1930s, ’40s, and ’50s. Many…
Dear Kids and All Readers, For many, summertime is ICE CREAM time. But did you know that the frozen treat has an interesting history? Kathleen Kalb from Facebook’s Cozy Mystery Village (of which I’m a villager) posted some fun historical facts about how ice cream came to be. She got the information from #goodreads in…
Dear Readers, I had the privilege of watching a thought-provoking Zoom symposium today, sponsored in part by the San Diego Public Library Foundation and the Robert Frost Society. It was entitled A Symposium on Poetry and Power: An Online Screening of the Documentary Film, JFK: The Last Speech. Featured were President John F. Kennedy giving…
We’ve arrived at the fifth and final installment of my Post-Pandemic Keeper Habits. Last time, I discussed “Remain Good Friends with my House.” Here is Number Five: 5. Embrace the Writerly Solitude. I have gotten comfortable with the stereotypically solitary writer, holed up at my desk, with my dog and my house cheering me on. Ever hear…
I present to you the fourth installment of my Post-Pandemic Keeper Habits. Last time, I discussed #3, “Revamp the Exercise Routine.” Here comes Number Four: 4. Remain Good Friends with my House. I’ve loved living in my nearly one-hundred-year-old house for three decades. But did I really know it down to its nooks, crannies, and floor…
Here is the third installment of my Post-Pandemic Keeper Habits. Last time, I discussed “Practice Ethical Actions and Random Acts of Kindness.” Here comes Number Three: 3. Revamp the Exercise Routine. I used to go to the Y twice weekly for yoga, strength training, and cardio. Then, it shuttered. Undaunted, though it took me a while…
Dear Readers, Here is the second installment of my Post-Pandemic Keeper Habits. Last time, I discussed “Making Do.” Here is Number Two: 2. Practice Ethical Actions and Random Acts of Kindness. I’m a bleeding heart. For me, it’s incurable, but that’s fine. I had just released my first book right before the Lock Down occurred last…
Dear Readers, All of us have spent over a year now dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic in our own ways. Perhaps like me, you have watched others—from a safe distance—in order to gauge how they have coped compared with yourself. I know I have learned some new, beneficial habits from admirable neighbors, family, and friends.…
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 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…
