The Neighborhood Alarm Clock Named Nemo

The Neighborhood Alarm Clock Named Nemo

Nemo sits looking up at me hopefully, short tail wagging, brown eyes beseeching. He has had food, bone, water, and gone out to do his duty. Now, why does he want to go outside again? Why, to bark, of course. He counts, among his many duties, alerting the neighborhood to the fact that it’s a new […]

No Room for Regrets or Recriminations

No Room for Regrets or Recriminations

The leaves are falling from the trees, in a hurry to leave their spring and summer home and take up residence on the ground. At this time of year, it is easy to let melancholy thoughts creep in. Warm weather with its flowers and activities is past, over and done with! So, like the puppies in […]

Who Are You, Really?

Who Are You, Really?

Does writing tend to call out the real person hiding inside some of us? Are you a closet writer? Who are you, really? The birthday of Robert Louis Stevenson was just a few days ago. His family wanted him to be a lighthouse keeper. He had other ideas and pursued those dreams. I’m very glad […]

Upside-Down Sort of Day

Upside-Down Sort of Day

This day is starting upside-down, temperature-wise. But, that’s all right. Yesterday, the wind blew like a storm all day. Warm temperatures, cloudless sky with gales. I’m glad I took a picture of my beautiful golden maple because this morning a lot of those leaves are on the ground and the wind is still gusting. The temperature is […]

Wacky Dreams, Wild Imaginings

Wacky Dreams, Wild Imaginings

Did anyone watch Duel last night on the MeTV channel? Duel is a 1971 Spielberg film starring Dennis Weaver. It is a nail-biting, edge-of-your-chair thriller and probably caused my weird dreams. In one of my dreams, I was in a northern state in the springtime and ice was breaking up on the lakes. In celebration, people were […]

It Takes a Lot of Coffee to Write a Mystery

It Takes a Lot of Coffee to Write a Mystery

It takes more than one cup of Folgers Coffee to write a tension-filled scene in a Darcy and Flora mystery. For example, time is a vital part of setting. When does the story take place? Last December, Oklahoma experienced record floods. I decided to use that phenomenon when writing Grave Heritage. However, the story doesn’t take […]