I was sad to learn yesterday that the beloved children’s book author Eric Carle has died. He certainly made his mark in the world of children’s books and left happy memories in the minds of children, parents, and teachers. I have several of his books and my grandchildren do too. My kindergarteners loved his colorful […]

An Eye on the Sky
·Thunder shakes the house as lightning shivers across the sky. Car lights, like glowing eyes, glide down the street. Tree limbs, darker than the sky behind them, move restlessly in the wind while inside the small, brick house, the writer peers at her computer screen. Yes, that’s me this morning. We are under a tornado […]

No Oxen; Clean Stall
My backyard, like my grandchildren, has grown through stages. A horse tire swing once hung by a tree limb, a swimming pool sat under the maple, a playground set took up a hunk of the back yard. Then, there were muddy places, bare of grass which were obstacle courses for small cars and trucks, a […]

No Such Thing
·In a book, there is no such thing as unimportant characters. They are all important and crafting them is a meticulous, fun job. In the Ned McNeil cozy mystery series, Ned, of course, is the protagonist. Then, there’s Cade, Pat, and Jackie. Another person in this series who insisted that I take care to describe […]

Premonition
·She was a likable older woman, very rich, opinionated, out-spoken, but friendly. Not an aristocratic bone in her body. She was generous too, providing a home for her relatives who had hit some hard times. She was the kind of person you would like to see continue throughout a book of fiction, lending color and […]

What Do You Do?
·What do you do to keep sane, relax, give your mind a break during this time of uncertainty? Many places we’d like to go are not open, although, hopefully, restrictions are relaxing. Money is something to be watched closely, so our breaks from reality mustn’t be expensive. But, mini-vacations are needed now more than ever. […]