Writing a mystery is an all-consuming thing. I mean, it sort of takes over. For example, I went to get groceries. That was where I was, physically. My mind was somewhere else. My thoughts went something like this: The plantation was once called a plantation but it has changed now to growing soybeans and race horses. […]

I Need to Talk to My Lawyer
For some reason, my protagonists, Darcy, Flora, Nettie, are always running into problems. Well, let’s be honest – they run into lots of problems and that’s what makes the story. They face danger, death, and desperation with the same fear and trembling that you or I would but, due to their firm resolve to […]

There’s More To It Than Meets the Eye
When we hear a news story or someone tells us of a happening, believe me, there’s more to it than what meets the eye. Everyone has a back story, a reason for being where we are and how we got there. Characters in books have back stories too. Before Barbara and I wrote The Cemetery […]

Untangling the Web
Why do you pick up a cozy mystery and read? Is it because you like the characters or is it the setting? Do you like to try to untangle that snarled web of a mystery before the protagonist does? Have you noticed that in the cozy mystery genre, there’s a lot of leeway, a lot […]

Manaen, Man of Mystery
I first published this piece on Manaen several years ago. Since that time, I have not learned anything else about him. Manaen still remains a mysterious person in the New Testament, but an intriguing one. I came across an intriguing name in Acts 13:1– Manaen. As far as I know, this man is not mentioned […]

Acting Out of Character
One of the most fun things about writing cozy mysteries is creating characters and developing those characters into becoming. Becoming what, you may ask. Becoming real in the mind of the writer and reader. Oh, I enjoy manufacturing a plot with plenty of chills and setting the whole thing down in a place that may […]

