The Warm Feeling of Home

I think within us there’s a love for the sincerity of a smile, the familiarity of people and a certain place, the knowledge that we are welcome. Do you ever return to a well-loved book because it offers that comfort? I do and I find that feeling in mysteries by Mary Roberts Rinehart. How many […]

What a Character!

What a Character!

What do you like most about the books you enjoy? Is it the setting, that intriguing plot, or, is it the characters?  Thinking back on my favorite stories, I remember the characters. When I read each of the books, those characters became alive to me. They weren’t words on paper; they were living, moving, thinking, […]

Or, Doesn’t It Matter?

Or, Doesn’t It Matter?

I’m simultaneously doing two things: re-reading one of my favorite mysteries by Mary Roberts Rinehart and starting to write a new cozy mystery, new protagonists this time. Not Ned and not Darcy and Flora. Maybe it’s because I’m stuck in an earlier time zone, although I actually wasn’t born at the time Miss Rinehart wrote […]

What’s Behind That False Front?

What’s Behind That False Front?

Do you remember the old western movies with store buildings that had false fronts, making them appear much larger than they were? Well,  people have false fronts too. For example, how many of you may be a secret cozy mystery writer and be totally without a clue? Wouldn’t you like to know? Wouldn’t it be […]

Dear Mary Roberts Rinehart–Thank You

Dear Mary Roberts Rinehart–Thank You

If she were alive today, I’d consider sending her a written thank-you, although why she, the master of mystery, should take note of it, I have no idea. I owe a lot to this lady. Although Miss Rinehart departed this life in 1958, her books are still with us, and I’m grateful for those well-written […]

The Roar of the Wind

The Roar of the Wind

The wind has a different sound to it this morning–a low roar high above the trees. A lot of snow melted yesterday but a lot still clings to my yard. Once long ago, a wise woman told me that noise as the wind rushed through the heavens meant that ice is on the way. There’s […]