Little Cedar and the Big Storm

Fierce winds tugged at Little Cedar. His scrawny boughs bent and swayed but he dug his roots deeper and hung onto the rock buried beneath the mountain soil. “The wind is so cold,” said Little Cedar. He shivered from his topmost limb to the bottom of his twisted trunk. “It must be nearly Christmas again.” […]

Nancy and Me and a Mystery

As a youngster, I learned many things from Nancy Drew besides what was on the pages of her books; I learned that Nancy was the kind of girl I would like to be.  Nancy was a magnet who attracted mysteries. To anyone else, clocks were clocks and staircases were just staircases, but not to Nancy […]

A December Mystery

Just in time for Christmas, the first book in the Ned McNeil moonlight series is a free e-book on Amazon.  Ned anticipates a joyful reunion with her uncle, her last living relative, but her return to her hometown is not the happy occasion it should be. Neither are the people around her to be trusted–that […]

Backyard Zoo

Backyard Zoo Six squirrels, some robins, a rabbit or two– My yard resembles a wildlife zoo. Snowbirds, titmice, cardinals and doves, Lots of birds that everyone loves. But, what is the matter with those noisy jays? They’re rude and raucous with no polite ways. They aren’t inclined to share and act sweet I’m sadly afraid […]

Down Deertrack Hill

The Cemetery Club was my first book in the Darcy and Flora, mother and daughter series. One of their most frightening episodes was when they took the fast way down Deertrack Hill.  Darcy and Flora were driving east toward Fayetteville during a rainstorm. The highway was deserted, or so they thought. As we crossed the […]

Those Were Good Times

(This is a re-print from one of the past Cozy Critiques.) It was a dark and stormy afternoon. Rain beat against the deck. Lightning flashed and thunder rattled the windows. Within the dining room, four women sat around an antique dining table, sipping coffee and munching chocolate. They spoke in hushed voices, almost as if […]