What’s Behind the Facade?

Many of you will remember seeing old western movies with store buildings that had false fronts, making them appear much larger than they were. Let me tell you that people have false fronts too, sometimes without even being aware that they have them. For example, how many of you may be a secret cozy mystery […]

Marking the Seasons

Marking the Seasons

The maple tree in my front yard is turning colors. The green in the leaves grows lighter to be replaced by yellow. The result is a tree that glows when the sun reflects off the leaves. In the back yard, the seasons are marked by the kind of leaves littering my deck and tracked onto […]

The Cozy Mystery That Almost Wasn’t

A completed book, all shiny and new with an enticing cover, meticulously edited didn’t just happen by a wave of a wand or a snap of the fingers. The second Ned McNeil cozy mystery was a cozy that almost wasn’t. My friends in my critique group, The Cozy Critters, had a lot to do with […]

Autumn Rain

Autumn Rain

Autumn rain falls in the darkness of early morning. Leaves lift their thirsty heads, puddles form around the flowers, bowing under the downpour. There’s something special about autumn rain. It’s a tucking away of summer’s heat, sort of readying the earth for a new season. It is invigorating and lazy at the same time. It’s […]

The Mystery of September Rain

The Mystery of September Rain

The Mystery of September Rain What is it about a gentle rain that is calming, soothing, and better than a lullaby for putting a person to sleep? Rain dripping from leaves and eaves, thunder rumbling softly in the distance, September, tucking the world in, a soothing backdrop to sleep. Nighttime rain is comforting; daytime rain […]

Scary Things With No Explanation

Scary Things With No Explanation

Sometimes scary things happen, things for which there’s no explanation. We’ve all heard stories sitting around the campfire or when we were snug and safe in our own living rooms. They gave us a case of the mild shivers…nothing really terrifying, just kind of spooky and cozy at the same time. My son and I […]