The Figure on the Stairs

The Figure on the Stairs

Murder By Moonlight is finished, except for tweaks, edits, and a general buffing. Here’s a snippet. I hope you like it.   Why had I listened to Daisy Stanton? “You don’t have to take this assignment, Ned,” she had said when we met for coffee at Grandy’s last week.” Here she paused and sighed. “I […]

When the Light Turns Golden

When the Light Turns Golden

There’s something about the late afternoon, just before the supper hour, when the day is winding down  and the light lies golden and still through the windows. There’s a hush, a silence in the rooms, a quiet acceptance that the day is over and soon the sun will slip beneath the horizon.  What do you […]

That’s America to Me

That’s America to Me

My grandparents once owned a store and lived in a house across the road. The house and store are gone now, but the memories of it still survive. I remember being in it as a child and it seemed awfully big, dark, and exciting. The candy counter and the bright-colored sweets with the scales my […]

On the Trail

On the Trail

“Our last night in Amarillo,” I said and sighed. We three women huddled under warm afghans tucked around us in Sophie’s wicker rockers on her front porch. The starry sky seemed almost close enough to touch. The lonely cry of a coyote rose and fell on the wind. A Crossfire Roadster wheeled into Sophie’s driveway […]

When the Earth Shifted

When the Earth Shifted

We went down the steps and around the corner of the house to watch such strange behavior on the part of these usually gentle animals. Still squealing, the horses and mule ran into their barn and immediately began to kick the sides of the wooden structure. A loud crash came from the far side of […]

Those Amazing Little Pop-Ups

Those Amazing Little Pop-Ups

Yesterday afternoon, as I went to the mailbox, I glanced up the hill and there they were, white and shiny even from a distance. Several pop-up mushrooms or toadstools graced my neighbor’s yard. Of course, my trusty camera and I couldn’t pass up this chance. For some reason, mushrooms remind me of Ireland. Why is […]