The Menace in the Middle

The Menace in the Middle

Do the first lines of a new book tell you whether you want to read the whole thing? First lines are important. So are final lines, but how about the middle? The middle of a mystery is important too. These are middle lines from my seven cozy mysteries.  Can you identify the book each is […]

Sort of Eerie

Sort of Eerie

This is sort of an eerie morning. The sunrise was yellow, then clouds obscured it and rain began. Not a leaf is stirring. The nighttime cat headed across my lawn toward home a bit ago. The sky is dark now and I suspect rain is still falling softly.  My furry little four-legged barometer is sticking […]

When the Light Turns Golden

When the Light Turns Golden

There’s something about the late afternoon, just before the supper hour, when the day is winding down  and the light lies golden and still through the windows. There’s a hush, a silence in the rooms, a quiet acceptance that the day is over and soon the sun will slip beneath the horizon.  What do you […]

When the Earth Shifted

When the Earth Shifted

We went down the steps and around the corner of the house to watch such strange behavior on the part of these usually gentle animals. Still squealing, the horses and mule ran into their barn and immediately began to kick the sides of the wooden structure. A loud crash came from the far side of […]

A Trip Back

A Trip Back

I’m actually writing this Tuesday evening. I’ll publish it Wednesday morning, August 5. It’s really quiet here now and it’s very nearly lonely. It’s at such times that I take a trip  back in memory, to a time a hundred or more years ago. In my mind, I go  to the small community of Etta […]

July Went Floating By

July Went Floating By

Mom’s hand in mind shook and felt icy cold. “Actually, we can’t tell you where the gold is,” she said. “We’ll have to show you. Both of us. Together. If you kill one of us, believe me, you’ll regret it to your dying day, which might be sooner than you think if you harm my […]