As the Twig Is Bent

Sometimes, Ned, Pat and Jackie are philosophers. As my friend Jane once said, good friends are doctors and scientists and, well, I’m not quoting her correctly, but most of all, friends are there for each other. So, these three have their own thoughts about what causes a person to go bad. This is from Moonstruck […]

Banishing Shadows

Banishing Shadows

Do you ever wake in the darkness before dawn and lie in bed, just thinking? It’s in those moments that thoughts, both good and bad, come creeping. Things that we suppress during the day find this is a good time to keep us awake. Maybe it’s then that we are at our creative best. Francis […]

Saying Good-bye to an Author

I was sad to learn yesterday that the beloved children’s book author Eric Carle has died. He certainly made his mark in the world of children’s books and left happy memories in the minds of children, parents, and teachers. I have several of his books and my grandchildren do too. My kindergarteners loved his colorful […]

An Eye on the Sky

An Eye on the Sky

Thunder shakes the house as lightning shivers across the sky. Car lights, like glowing eyes, glide down the street. Tree limbs, darker than the sky behind them, move restlessly in the wind while inside the small, brick house, the writer peers at her computer screen. Yes, that’s me this morning. We are under a tornado […]

No Oxen; Clean Stall

No Oxen; Clean Stall

My backyard, like my grandchildren, has grown through stages. A horse tire swing once hung by a tree limb, a swimming pool sat under the maple, a playground set took up a hunk of the back yard. Then, there were muddy places, bare of grass which were obstacle courses for small cars and trucks, a […]

No Such Thing

No Such Thing

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 […]