Halloween I love Halloween. Bonfires, hayrides, a reason to eat candy without feeling guilty. What is not to like? This year it will be different. Kids will dress up, make snacks, watch movies and stay home. I remember some Halloweens were so warm we wore shorts and others so cold we had to put on [..Read more]
The Story Behind the Story One summer I had a part time job in the nearest big city. Several of my friends worked there too and I thought it would be fun. Little did I know it would turn out to be like a work camp and I didn’t see one of my friends [..Read more]
Food, Fun, and Murder What goes best with a good steak, maybe a salad, baked potato and a murder? Readers ask me where I come up with my ideas. Here are the ideas behind The Arizona Summers Mysteries. First I took the things folks like, a dog, food, a strong woman role model, a couple [..Read more]
At the bottom of this post is a recipe you will all love. Fall just isn’t what it usually is. Of the 119 apple trees we have, only the Arkansas Black remained on the trees. Too much rain. The pumpkins rotted, and I only saw one pear tree with fruit on it. To grow plants, [..Read more]
Bumper Sticker Philosophy Once I traveled for a major company. It didn’t take me long to realize radio stations play the number one song every 23 minutes, and windshield time is highly overrated. Some of my territory ran through the Mark Twain Forest and down to the beautiful Eleven Point River. No one could [..Read more]
Slow down, you move too fast You’ve got to make the morning last Just kicking down the cobblestones Looking for fun and feeling groovy Ba da-da da-da da-da, feeling groovy… Do you sometimes think you are getting pushed through life? Everything is on a schedule and the schedule gets tighter every year. Go to Kindergarten [..Read more]
All Mysteries are Not Alike. Like all books are not created equal, neither are all mysteries. I write Cozy Mysteries, so I’ll start there. A few simple rules apply to every cozy. The murder either happens before the book begins or while you’re telling your story. It never happens on the page, that’s a big [..Read more]