Here in California, we think of lilacs as cultivated garden shrubbery, container plants for decks, flowering in Spring. In Maine, lilacs grow in the wild, spreading into groves so large a four-year-old can build an imaginary dream house fit for fairies and elfin princes. We start building our dreams as soon as we have the […]
The Great State of Maine
Maine is one of those far off places we know with a mystical quality. We are close to Canada and far enough away from the big cities, bordered on the west by New Hampshire and on the east by the rockiest coast and the Atlantic. Our neighbors keep watch over us and keep to themselves. […]
Impact, Impacted, Impactful Oh My!
We’re writers. We love words. We spend hours looking for the exact word to carry the meaning of our crafted sentence. Not true of media journalists! They don’t know the meaning of affect or effect so they have taken a noun, impact, and tortured it into THE word of choice to fit the subtly of […]
Guest Blog: Sandra Carey Cody: What About the Victim?
My guest this weekend is Sandra Carey Cody, mystery writer and Missourian. She is the author of the Jennie Connor mysteries, published by Thomas & Mercer, an imprint of Avalon Publishing Group. These include Love and Not Destory, Left at Oz, Put Out the Light, Consider the Lilly and By Whose Hand. […]
Freedom of Speech & the Tyranny of Cyber Opinion
When I was a young writer, my mother gave me good advice: “Never put in writing what you don’t want people to read.” Now that I am employed in a law office, that advice is reinforced on a daily basis. Every word must be scrutinized with the matters of law and interpretation firmly in mind. […]
REBIRTH OF A NOVEL
My blog as a guest on Birth of a Novel.
Review: The Killer Angels
The Killer Angels by Michael Shaara My rating: 5 of 5 stars If there is a lesson to be learned from any war it must be that no side is entirely right and no side is entirely wrong. Michael Shaara succeeds in making this abundantly clear in his novel about the battle of Gettysburg. Although […]
Salsa 2nd Edition for Snippet Sunday
The 2nd edition of Salsa Dancing with Pterodactyls will be released today as a single book with revisions and a new cover. Below is one of my favorite scenes from the book. Chapter 18 Miguel napped. The music was sensuous and evocative. Emily felt its power to inspire physical response but David was still reluctant […]
Upcoming Guest: Sandra Carey Cody
Sandra Carey Cody, mystery writer, has agreed to be my guest this month. Her latest book, Lethal Journal, is a Jennie Connors mystery. Keep an eye out for Sandra here. Sandra is one of my fellow bloggers at Classic and Cozy and has her own blog at Birth of a Novel here at wordpress. We’ve never met […]
Review: Everything You Were Taught About the Civil War is Wrong, Ask a Southerner!
Everything You Were Taught About the Civil War is Wrong, Ask a Southerner! by Lochlainn Seabrook My rating: 5 of 5 stars Born and raised a Yankee, this book was a mind-opener. To be honest, I was ready for another point of view and Lochlainn Seabrook delivered, full-throttle, no holds barred, with conviction. I had […]