In a book, there is no such thing as unimportant characters. They are all important and crafting them is a meticulous, fun job. In the Ned McNeil cozy mystery series, Ned, of course, is the protagonist. Then, there’s Cade, Pat, and Jackie. Another person in this series who insisted that I take care to describe […]

Premonition
She was a likable older woman, very rich, opinionated, out-spoken, but friendly. Not an aristocratic bone in her body. She was generous too, providing a home for her relatives who had hit some hard times. She was the kind of person you would like to see continue throughout a book of fiction, lending color and […]
March Madness Murders
The book could have been called March Madness Murders and that would have fit. Instead, the title is Moonstruck and Murderous which is a good description too. But, what, exactly is “moonstruck”? Another word for moon is luna. And, from that comes lunatic. So, you get the idea. Moonstruck is a somewhat lesser way of […]

Natural Phenomenon and Mysteries
Does weather affect life? Indeed, it does. Flights are cancelled, trips are re-scheduled, schools are closed, plans are completely re-arranged, all because of the weather or the threat of bad weather, or earthquakes. (As a side note, last night, I saw part of an old movie about an imaginary earthquake shaking New York City. […]

Growing Older
I have a sun dial in my flower garden. On it is an inscription from a poem by Robert Browning, “Grow Old Along With Me; The Best Is Yet To Be.” I’ve always liked that line. I suppose Robert and Elizabeth Barrett Browning had a wonderful marriage and did grow old together. Some […]


