A Word From Murphy

Good morning. My name is Murphy and I’m a dog. I used to live with Ben Ventris but for unforseen and gruesome reasons, I now live with Pat and Jasper Harris. Dogs don’t get credit for being the world’s smartest creatures. They should. Poor ol’ Jasper, the boy I’ve adopted, really needs me. He thinks owls are […]

Murder at the Pastorage

Murder at the Pastorage

  The weatherman had predicted a beautiful Tuesday and the morning proved him right. Sun shone on snowbanks, sparkling with crystalized jewels. The temperature climbed above freezing and melting snow dripped from trees and the eaves of Rose Chapel’s parsonage.      Pastor Williams’ small house sat only a few yards from the church. It looked […]

A Tip From a Cat

A Tip From a Cat

Storms and rain hold a prominent place in my cozy mysteries, and, if it’s not rain, it’s snow! I love weather and the only way I can have the kind of weather I love best is to write it into my books. So, I do.  Cats and rain and mysteries seem to go together very […]

Who Said Owls?

Who Said Owls?

Lying in bed that night with the breeze fanning my face, I began to relax. The cool air felt as soothing as my mother’s hand when, in younger years, I was sick with a fever. Sighing, I burrowed into my pillow.  Sleep vanished as a sound penetrated my consciousness. I sat bolt upright. What had […]

Wolf Moon

Wolf Moon

I can imagine it–an early day family, perhaps some of my Cherokee ancestors–sitting inside their warm house, hearth fire blazing, wind howling outside sounding eerily like the howl of a wolf. Wolves would be hungry this time of year, searching for prey that may have been hibernating safely in trees or caves. Sometimes, the wolves […]

The Raven’s Long Shadow

“Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered, weak and weary, over many a quaint and curious volume of forgotten lore, While I nodded, nearly napping, suddenly there came a tapping as of someone gently rapping, rapping at my chamber door.” – Edgar Allan Poe.    Long ago, I memorized The Raven. I was fortunate […]