Dear Kids and All Readers, In May, I will be traveling to the East Coast for the birth of my grandson. Even though I’m fully vaccinated, I have to quarantine for ten days at a hotel before the big event. (I’ll spare you the good reasons.) Instead of fretting about the isolation that some experience…
Hello, Kids and All Readers, I was a shy kid. Still am–including the kid part. How about you? My mother used to say to me, “Sherrill, get your nose out of that book and go outside and play.” Some kids would welcome hearing an adult say that to them! I dreaded it. My calling was…
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…
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…
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, While out walking my dog Jimmy Lambchop yesterday, I came across the following evocative poem that a neighbor had taped to her front yard’s Little Free Library box. I was so moved by it that I came home and Googled the poet so that I could present her poem to you. You might…
Dear Readers, Now that Nutmeg Street: Egyptian Secrets, Book 1 in my Botanic Hill Detectives Mysteries series is launched, some of you have asked when Book 2 will come out. Books 2 and 3 are finished and awaiting publication. The short answer about Book 2’s arrival is . . . hopefully, by the end of…
Dear Readers, Today, I want to share with you how I came up with the primary settings in Nutmeg Street: Egyptian Secrets. My story takes place in the Pacific coastal resort town of Las Palmitas (“the little palm trees”). It is a quainter, much less populated version of palm-filled San Diego, California, USA, where I grew…
Dear Readers and Loyal Newsletter Subscribers, Drum roll, please! . . . We are on the brink of the release on FEBRUARY 1 of Nutmeg Street: Egyptian Secrets, Book 1 in my Botanic Hill Detectives Mysteries series! At this time, I would like to share with you what motivated me way back in 2013–and still motivates me–to…
