Dear Readers and Loyal Newsletter Subscribers, As we get closer to the release on FEBRUARY 1 of Nutmeg Street: Egyptian Secrets, Book 1 in my Botanic Hill Detectives Mysteries series, I will continue offering excerpts from the story. Last time, I featured the first half of Chapter 1. So get a clue, Readers. Please let me know what…
Dear Readers and Loyal Newsletter Subscribers, Great news! Nutmeg Street: Egyptian Secrets, Book 1 in my Botanic Hill Detectives Mysteries series, releases on . . . drum roll, please . . . FEBRUARY 1. Hallelujah! Every Thursday this month, my blog will feature an excerpt from my book. So get a clue, Readers. Please let me know…
Dear Readers and Other Visionaries, To clarify, the only time I have 2020 vision is while wearing my eyeglasses! Actually, that’s not even the kind of vision I mean here. I’m talking about my vision for the New Year, appropriately, 2020. Some might call a vision a resolution or goal, but I prefer vision in…
Dear Kids and all Writers, Need inspiration for writing? Check out this true story . . . As I was decorating my home for the holidays recently, my mind transported me back to the late 1990s. My daughter was in high school then. Despite it being a weekend that December day and so close to…
Dear Readers of All Ages, You’ve probably heard the term or maybe even the song, “Pennies from Heaven.” The pennies represent unexpected good fortune or a windfall. Yesterday, I received dollars from Heaven. Emphasis on “Heaven.” I was at the check-out counter in a grocery store where I seldom shop. I had never signed up for…
Dear Readers, Classroom Teachers, Reading Specialists, Librarians, Audiophiles, and Others, I have spent some time this week listening to voices. No, not the ones in my head! Rather, these are voice snippets from ACX, a company that produces audiobooks. Having listened to over 150 samples, I have narrowed my search down to about seven for…
Dear Readers and Other Heartthrobs, As I write this, it’s November 11th, the 25th Anniversary of my successful open-heart surgery! It was a six-hour, critical operation that repaired a too-long-undiagnosed congenital birth abnormality called “atrial septal defect.” You might know this as “a hole in the heart.” Basically, all those years, my heart had no…
Dear Kids, Families, Teachers, Librarians, and Other Readers, This has been an eventful week for Nutmeg Street: Egyptian Secrets and for me. On Friday, November 1, the Cover Reveal for my book took place. In case you missed it, please check out the image to the right. I hope you like it. I am very…
Dear Readers and Fans of Lycanthropy, Last time, I asked the question, “To which character from classic horror films did Maleva, the old ‘Gypsy’ fortuneteller, speak these words: ‘Even a man who is pure in heart and says his prayers by night, may become a ??? when the wolfbane blooms, and the autumn moon is…
Dear Readers and Gothic Horror Fiction/Film Lovers, Many writers, especially in their earliest works, will create one or more characters like themselves. Admittedly, all four of my detectives have at least one of my traits. Here are some my head detective, Lanyon “Lanny” Wyatt, and I share; and, yes, there is a Gothic horror tie…
