Building a Mystery

As you know, the protagonist in the Ned McNeil full moon mysteries is interested in old houses and even joined a group in town called the Old Houses Club. A lovely old house in South Carolina was fascinating enough to include it in my book. I changed it a bit and didn’t mention its name. […]

So, That’s the Reason

I sometimes ponder this question: why do I write? Writing takes up hours, days, weeks, months of my life. Writing is pouring my heart and soul into the life of my characters. It is taking words and forming them into a person. But then  (and this is the best part) using only words to make that […]

Catalpa

One night in Oklahoma, several years ago a strong wind came through. Oklahoma’s winds are not to be trifled with and this one was no exception. It wasn’t a twisting, swirling wind of a tornado, but a straight, hard one that blew over a huge catalpa tree that had stood in my parents’ back yard […]

The Raven’s Long Shadow

“Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered, weak and weary, over many a quaint and curious volume of forgotten lore, While I nodded, nearly napping, suddenly there came a tapping as of someone gently rapping, rapping at my chamber door.” – Edgar Allan Poe.    Long ago, I memorized The Raven. I was fortunate […]

What Did You Say?

What Did You Say?

I’ve been thinking a lot about words. Written, spoken, sung, words have sunk ships, started wars, promoted peace, and sealed agreements. They are powerful and, used wrongly, they can do tremendous harm.  I think that, sometimes, it’s not what is said as much as how it’s said that causes problems. Remember the story of the […]

And, On That Note

Yesterday, I talked about words, their power, and the way we use them. On that note, I’d like to give my view of how these words many times are used to divide and infiltrate, to promote dissention and hatred.  Books, movies, news stories that concentrate on past wrongs, evils, shameful laws are supposed to be […]