A couple of days back, we established that first lines of a story are important. But, what if a reader picks up a book, ruffles through, and reads one of those middle lines? What if she is looking for the exciting climax, the near-death experience of the heroine? Those middle lines are important too! This […]
Jan 24, 2019
Stern, Thorough, Memorable
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He was stern, thorough, and I still remember him after a distance of several decades. He was a short man, fairly round with a thatch of white hair. He was born and raised in England and he spoke with a British accent. His name was Mr. Stone. He was my first piano teacher. Every week, […]
Jan 23, 2019
When Winter Was Memorable
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It’s cold this morning. You may live in parts of the world where twenty-three degrees would be considered a heat wave, but I’m not. I live in NW Arkansas and it’s cold! Rain that surely must be ice is on the streets, a dusting of snow like spilled flour, drifts across grass and pavement. I […]
Jan 22, 2019
Famous First Lines
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When you pick up a book, what attracts you first? The cover picture or do you open to the first page and read the first line? Here are the first lines from each of my seven books, The Darcy and Flora series and the Ned McNeil series. The third Ned book, Moonstruck and Murderous, is not […]
Jan 21, 2019
Moonlight Can Be MIghty Mysterious
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Snowlight from below, moonlight from above made a fairyland of the street, turning it into a silent, shimmering, unfamiliar place. It was like a pathway to tomorrow or, maybe, to yesterday, away from the mundane into the marvelous. I wouldn’t have been surprised to see an elf or a leprechaun dancing from tree shadow to […]
Jan 19, 2019
Spring or Winter or Something Else?
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Yesterday the temperature was not bad; it was windy, sort of like spring. Last night, a noisy thunderstorm blew in and now? Snow! The yards are covered with white. Will it continue? Only time will tell. It’s interesting to watch and snow always makes things prettier. It also makes driving more treacherous. Nemo left little […]
