Agatha Christie didn’t need them. Mary Higgins Clark doesn’t want them. G. K. Chesterton spurns them and Jeanne M. Dams doesn’t use them. My hero Mary Roberts Rinehart steered clear of them too. They are superfluous, distracting, downright disgusting and completely unnecessary. What am I talking about? Cursing and steamy scenes. These authors wrote/write riveting, absorbing mysteries. My goal is […]
Jul 25, 2015
A Merry Heart
By · Leave a Comment
“A merry heart doeth good like a medicine” (Proverbs 17:22). So, in the face of dire daily events and even direr predictions, how under the sun can one be merry? One has to look for ways! When I was much younger, I had the idea that when I grew older, I’d be plump and merry, […]
Jul 24, 2015
The View From My Front Porch
By · 6 Comments
This is not my front porch. It is a front porch. But the view is not too different from mine. I like front porches. They aren’t as popular as they once were. Maybe it’s because we have so little time to come and sit a spell, talk things over with friends, or just simply stop and look at […]
Jul 23, 2015
When Critters Get Together
By · Leave a Comment
We managed a cozy critique yesterday between showers. Three of our critters couldn’t make it but three could and we had a lot to share. Jane brought a lovely painting, an old-fashioned little boy that she had painted using multi-media, pen and ink and colored pencils. She also brought a sheet for us writers to […]
Jul 22, 2015
Hospitality
By · 4 Comments
Hospitality:taking care of your guests, anticipating their needs. So says the dictionary. It’s easy to see how the word hospital relates or hospice or hostel. But, doesn’t that sound kind of cold and sterile to you? It does to me simply because I can’t see the smiling faces or the warm handshakes or hugs that go […]
Jul 19, 2015
Two Squirrels and a Cup of Coffee
By · Leave a Comment
Out on the freshly mowed lawn, two squirrels are getting their plans made for the day. Suddenly, one bounds, I mean really long leaps, toward the pin oak tree in the yard. The other scampers in the opposite direction and shinnies up the maple. Did they have a disagreement? Did they decide upon a parting of […]
