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…
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 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…
Hello, Kids and All Readers, While listening to President Biden’s Inaugural Address on January 20, I was inspired to see what other presidents had said on their Inauguration days. I purchased Collected Presidential Inaugural Addresses 1789-2017, by Eupator Classics Law and Liberty Library, 2020. It covers Presidents Washington through Trump. (I have added a copy…
Dear Kids and All Readers, During the January 20th Inauguration ceremony, I, along with others worldwide, were captivated by a twenty-two-year-old woman named Amanda Gorman when she gave a dramatic recitation of her poem, “The Hill We Climb.” It contains themes of grief, pain, labor, hope, healing, transcendence, and unity. Ms. Gorman is the first-ever…
January 14, 2021 Hello, Readers! Did you make some New Year’s resolutions for 2021? If yes, how are you and they progressing? According to Victoria Price, daughter of the late actor Vincent Price and author of Living Love: Twelve Heart-Centered Practices to Transform Your Life, “studies have shown [she doesn’t cite which] that although sixty percent…
Hi, Kids and All Readers, I am so honored to announce that I have been accepted as a member of Blackbird Writers! This is a group of nineteen writers of mystery, crime, cozies, thrillers, and suspense for adults and children. It was founded during the COVID quarantine by author Tracey S. Phillips. In her words,…
Dear Readers, I hope you have enjoyed weeks of excerpts from Book 2 of the Botanic Hill Detectives Mysteries, Eucalyptus Street: Green Curse. So happy to announce that now, you can read the entire story. Eucalyptus Street released on October 20, 2020. Hurray! Just in time for Halloween. That will make sense when you read the…
Dear Kids, Teachers, Librarians, Parents, Grandparents, and Other Readers, At last! Here is my cover for Eucalyptus Street: Green Curse. What do you think??? It depicts our four detectives hard at work. They have just solved a piece of the Puzzle Poem and are one step closer to finding the treasure. The Puzzle Poem has six…
