Coffee and Chilblains

The morning sun gently warms a pale blue sky; all is still, even the wind. March smiles serenely this morning, but, beware! March is untrustworthy. Today and tomorrow will lull us into thinking spring has come, but, Friday! Surprise! Winter comes roaring back. (At least, that’s what our meteorologist says. I haven’t consulted the Almanac […]

The Memory of a Snowy Afternoon

The Memory of a Snowy Afternoon

It’s nearly Christmas and no snow! Isn’t Christmas supposed to be white with snowflakes? Where does one go to find the coziness of being snowed in with friends and plenty of good, hot coffee? Why, to a cozy mystery, of course–namely, the Ned McNeil Moonlight series. Moonlight Can Be Murder is, believe it or not, […]

If Wishes Were Horses

“You know,” I said, “I was looking again at Marvie Saunder’s book.”             “No, Ned,” Pat interrupted. “Remember, you’ve given that up. You’re going to let Cade and Gerald handle whatever is going on about that house. You are fixating on that book of poetry so, stop it!”             Stung, I said, “What a thing […]

How About Another Cup?

Let’s Have Another Cup of Coffee by blanche manos · leave a comment (edit) Many years ago, every day after school, I stopped by Mom’s house for a cup of coffee. I looked forward to those times and I think she did too. We’d sit at her kitchen table and talk, not about anything in particular, just this and […]

Two Old Relics

Chapter 15 For the next few minutes, pandemonium reigned. Smudge Littleton, the victim of the shovel, lay stretched on the ground. The other man sat flat beside the trench they’d dug, holding his head and moaning, while Abigail kept a second rock at the ready.      “Everything is in hand now, ladies,” Monroe said. “I […]

Those Mean Old Bad Reviews

Those Mean Old Bad Reviews

What do you do when you’re reveling in good book reviews, happy that your writing has brought a bit of sunshine to your readers, when, suddenly, there it is–a bad review of your beloved book. Someone didn’t like it. In fact, somebody didn’t like it so much that she felt compelled to share her distaste […]