Eeriness, Weirdness, and Invisibility

Eeriness, Weirdness, and Invisibility

    This is a strange tale of someone we’ll call Penelope Pennybroke. You may believe it or not, as you choose. Penelope, quiet, gray-haired woman of a certain number of years, was on her daily walk, minding her own business, keeping an eye out. She always did this–kept an eye out. One time she […]

Frosty Roofs, Warm Hearths

Frosty Roofs, Warm Hearths

  The sun shines on white, frosty roofs this morning. No matter the color of the shingles, they all look the same–cold! But, under the frigid rooftops, inside the house, I hope there is warmth and love and comfort. Just in case we have forgotten, this is Presidents’ Day, but it isn’t the birthday of […]

A Pocket Full of Mysteries

A Pocket Full of Mysteries

Where do they come from, those words that mystery writers spin into stories? Do we catch them like butterflies netted as they fly through the air? Do we snatch them from conversations of friends or winnow them from long ago memories? And then, with a pocket full of words, how can they be spun into […]

The Important Past of an Ill-Fated Character

The Important Past of an Ill-Fated Character

  Characters–the people within the pages of a story. They move the storyline along–the good ones, the bad ones, and those we never see. What? Those we never see? Yes. Take, for instance, Ben Ventris in The Cemetery Club. Without Ben, there would have been no story, no mystery, no reason for the book. But, […]

Courage Comes in Many Forms

Courage Comes in Many Forms

  Among the shadows of early morning, a small, darker shadow moved, sometimes crouching close to the ground as a shell burst overhead. A cold, mizzling rain matted his fur, dribbled into his eyes. He shook his head and kept going. A little further and he’d be at the general’s tent. He knew which tent […]

The Furtive, Mysterious, Weird Life of a Mystery Author

The Furtive, Mysterious, Weird Life of a Mystery Author

Many of you will remember seeing old western movies with store buildings that had false fronts, making them appear much larger than they were. Let me tell you that people have false fronts too, sometimes without even being aware that they have them. For example, how many of you may be a secret cozy mystery […]