As I completed the third Ned McNeil moonlight cozy mystery, Moonstruck and Murderous, I looked back at the last one, By The Fright of the Silvery Moon. I remembered the terrifically hard time I had writing just the right opening scene. On this one, Moonstruck, I think I wrote no less than six beginnings […]

Waiting for the First Snowfall
Anticipation, eagerness, impatience–will it or won’t it? I gaze out at the dark morning, waiting for the first snowfall of the season. The morning is dark and damp. Although I can’t see rain falling, it must be raining some, a fine mist, perhaps, because driveway, street, and deck are wet. The temperature is dropping […]

A Day of Remembrance
It was exactly one hundred years ago. My mother recalled the day well. On the eleventh day of the eleventh month at eleven o’clock, in 1918, Germany signed an armistice agreement with the Allies and the Great War ended. Millions of people had died but now, the world could begin to recover and, perhaps […]

Livening Up Lunch
When Nancy, Jane, and I got together for lunch yesterday, it had to be a lively time. And, it was. We decided to meet at one of our favorite restaurants. The food was good, the service was lovely, and the conversation was sprightly. It was helped along by a bandaid on my thumb […]

Coffee, Fog, and Elections
Come on in, sit down at your computer, and share a cup of coffee with me. Today is that long-awaited election day. Whatever the outcome, I’m glad I live in a country where I can vote as I like without fear of reprisal. I’m sure you are too. Tomorrow, whatever the outcome, I hope we […]

Stepping Away for a Closer Look
Remember the old saying, You can’t see the forest for the trees? Have you ever noticed in a museum of art, people stepping away from a painting to look at it from a more distant viewpoint? That’s where I was with Moonstruck and Murderous before I started the proof-reading or first editing. I finished […]

