Are You Okay?

Are you okay this morning? Did you survive Halloween, full moon, time change, and the small earthquakes in Oklahoma, Texas, California,  and Alaska? Take a deep breath, look around, and enjoy this first day of November–a brand-new month, a momentous month for several reasons. Happy birthday to all my readers whose birthday comes this month. […]

The Ticking of a Clock

The Ticking of a Clock

  When I hear a clock ticking, I go back a few decades and find myself in Ma and Pappy Latty’s house. They always had a wind-up clock and I can remember how the sound meant peace and security for me. I can see my grandparents’ living room, sun coming through the windows, and feel […]

Is the Pen Poisoned?

Is the Pen Poisoned?

A while back, a small incident happened in real life that sort of put my nose out of joint and was totally frustrating. So, to relieve tension, I grabbed a pencil and a piece of paper and wrote, One old woman and one little dog lived together in a house of log. Outside the house, where […]

That First Impression

We’ve all heard, “First impressions are lasting impressions.” A writer works hard to create a good first impression when you, the reader, crack open her book. Below are beginning sentences from each of my cozies, which, hopefully, create a good first impression. Moonlight Can Be Murder: My car’s headlights cut a yellow swath through the […]

Old Barns and Secrets

Old Barns and Secrets

There is something to be said for old barns, the kind that has been around for a hundred years or more. In the first place, they demand respect for their perseverance in the face of the whims of life, and, in the second place, they work great in cozy mysteries. At the Saunders Farm, there […]

With Pen in Hand

With Pen in Hand

What would life be if I weren’t able to write about it? So many things to see and think about, so many conflicting emotions in one day’s time, lots of beauty, comments from others, questions about why people or things are as they are–I’d probably be like a boiling pot–I’d spill right over the edge, […]