Tea and Cake

Tea and Cake

It never fails…when I sit down to a piece of cake, I always remember that, according to Frog and Toad, this will cure anything. It’s a comforting thought. I’m grateful for being steeped in children’s literature and grateful for a mother who loved reading as much as I did. When I was a youngster, Understood […]

Edging into Fall

Edging into Fall

Would you believe it’s 55 degrees this morning? Yesterday morning, very early, the thermometer registered 49. It never fails to surprise me, each fall, when the earth begins to cool toward winter. Yet, the same thing happens year after year, and to me, it’s reassuring. Yesterday morning, when I poured water into my coffee maker, […]

What a Character!

What a Character!

What do you like most about the books you enjoy? Is it the setting, that intriguing plot, or, is it the characters?  Thinking back on my favorite stories, I remember the characters. When I read each of the books, those characters became alive to me. They weren’t words on paper; they were living, moving, thinking, […]

Invaders of the Creepy Kind

Invaders of the Creepy Kind

Ants are on my cabinet, mosquitoes at the door; Summertime has come at last. Who could ask for more? I don’t know if they are coming in to escape the rain, or if the rain is causing them to multiply. Maybe each raindrop is a tiny capsule filled with baby mosquitoes and ants. Maybe they […]

Or, Doesn’t It Matter?

Or, Doesn’t It Matter?

I’m simultaneously doing two things: re-reading one of my favorite mysteries by Mary Roberts Rinehart and starting to write a new cozy mystery, new protagonists this time. Not Ned and not Darcy and Flora. Maybe it’s because I’m stuck in an earlier time zone, although I actually wasn’t born at the time Miss Rinehart wrote […]

Fireplace Weather

Fireplace Weather

It’s fireplace weather again. The temperature hovers in the thirties and, after a few warm days that lulled me into thinking thoughts of springtime, winter has returned, blowing its icy breath against the spring flowers. Thankfully, we missed the tornadoes that tore through parts of the South Monday night. It was the equinox and usually […]