Where Are You, Portia?

Where Are You, Portia?

They used to be on shelves in groceries stores: True Story, True Romance, etc., etc. I don’t see them there any more.  When I was a pre-teen and a young teenager, those magazines were taboo. My mother would never let me read one, so I didn’t really know what was inside; I only knew it wasn’t […]

Does a Writer Resolve?

These resolutions are from a few years back, but they are still semi-appropriate. These writing resolutions are strictly my own and are not suggestions for other writers to follow unless, of course, the proverbial shoe fits. I firmly resolve and forswear to work hard at sharpening my writing skills by never, ever writing run-on sentences […]

Facts Are Facts and Fiction is …

Remember the old, black and white TV series, Dragnet and the phrase, “Just the facts, Ma’am.”  This unflappable team of Jack Webb and Harry Morgan spent a whole thirty minutes ferreting out the bad guys and getting to the facts of the case. But, fiction writers can have fun fiddlin’ with the facts. In writing By […]

The Race Car Driver

The Race Car Driver

It was all Annabelle’s fault. I bear no responsibility for it. But, here we sat, Annabelle and I, on hard wood chairs in the sheriff’s office trying to explain our way out of an incredible mess. It didn’t help any that several red-faced, angry men lined the wall and their ferocious glares were all directed […]

The Housekeeper’s Disappearance

  Moon shadows scudded along the road and a blustery wind buffeted my car. It was a wild sort of night, typical for March. Finally, a small, white frame house stopped my progress. This must be Myra’s home. I cut the engine and looked for a welcoming light. There was none. Wasn’t Myra back from […]

And What Happened Next?

I watched a nature program about a mama bear waking up after a winter’s hibernation. She had two cubs, so small that they had a hard job following her when she left the cave. The snow was deep and the grown bear took off, leaving her babies to struggle through the deep snow. They floundered […]