Warm and Comforting

Do you ever enjoy going to some place warm and secure and comforting? I do. Sometimes, I retreat into childishness and have a doughnut (or two or three) and a cup of hot chocolate. I read or write a children’s story and there I am until I feel grown-up enough to take on the world […]

Dear Me, Santa

Mrs. Claus: Are you feeling better, Dear? How about a nice, hot cup of coffee? Santa (throwing back the quilts and rolling out of bed): Just what I need. The trip was hard this year. Mrs. Claus: Did the reindeer behave? Was the sleigh over-loaded? Did you face a head-wind? Santa: Yes, no, and no. […]

Who Was Tom?

Who Was Tom?

Tom Swifties are fun to think up. They’re also a good way to go to sleep if that’s a problem at night–better than counting sheep. This morning, I thought I’d try writing some Tom Swifties for mystery stories. Some of them are sort of a stretch, I admit. “Not a star nor the moon in […]

Fred and the New House

Fred the cat was happy in the tumbledown, comfortable house he shared with Jake. He liked the soft feel of the worn floor and the way that floor squeaked when Jake shuffled across it.  He liked the sag in the ceiling and the way the light swayed and shadows danced when the wind blew hard […]

Everything I Need to Know, I Learned in a Cozy Mystery

Everything I Need to Know, I Learned in a Cozy Mystery

Cozy mysteries are fun to read and fun to write. If they were not, who would read or write them? As well as being fun, they are instructive. They’ve taught me several life lessons. Storms come in every life. There is no problem than cannot be solved. Perseverance  wins the day. Home’s hearth fires burn […]

A Dog-Shaped Shadow

A Dog-Shaped Shadow

My Shadow My shadow’s not like me at all; It’s three feet long and two feet tall. Two floppy ears, a pointy nose, Where I go, there my shadow goes. Four furry feet, a shortish tail, It follows close and, without fail, If I sit down, it sits down too For that’s what all good […]