historical fiction writer, amateur photographer, retired computer guru and math geek
Is anyone out there who doesn't love to read? Hands up? Didn't think so. Several of my favorite authors have recently or will soon release new titles. The Evening and the Morning--Ken FollettHis books are l-o-o-o-ng but usually really good and interesting historical fiction.Troubled Blood--Robert GalbraithGalbraith, aka JK Rowling writes a good mystery. This is … Continue reading My Christmas Book Wishlist
Have you noticed the image at the bottom of my homepage? That's not just some random clip art. It's an image designed by my daughter that is meant to be a wrist tattoo (that I might actually get some day), and it has an important significance to me. Several years ago I was seeing a … Continue reading Symbols of Me
Imagine you're an old lady, settled in your ways, just you and the old man. And then the power goes off: a solar pulse has disrupted the entire energy grid. But it's not just electricity that's been lost. There's no water, no cell phone, no computer. Anything with any kind of electronics no longer functions, … Continue reading Book Review: “If Darkness Takes Us” by Brenda Marie Smith
I hate shopping. How about you? The stores, the crowds, the noise. It’s a nightmare of the worst kind in which I only know English and everyone else is speaking Chinese. Shopping drains every last bit of energy out of my batteries. Black Friday? WORST. DAY. EVER! via GIPHY Who knew when the internet was … Continue reading S-H-O-P is a four-letter word
I’m luckier than many fledgling writers. I have my own writing space and it takes up a whole room! Yes, my partner’s desk is there as well, but when I’m writing, the room is mine. I also have the luxury of being retired so—no interruptions (er... except Jellybean the cat). My writing space is the … Continue reading Writing Spaces
If grief and guilt could build an empire, Doris and Tup Senter would be rich. Instead, they’re merely miserable. Life is idyllic on the post-World War II Senter family farm near Portland, Maine. Doris and Tup are content. In love, with three happy children that Doris protects like a mama bear. Until tragedy strikes. Doris … Continue reading Book Review: “Beneficence” by Meredith Hall
What do you think of when you see the word “sonnet?” Love poems, right? So imagine my surprise when I first read my uncle’s sonnets about his war experience. Who writes sonnets about fighting? And yet, he did. And they are awesome—one might say beautiful. When I was trying to come up with a list … Continue reading Origins: War Sonnets
There are books, there are great books…and then there are great authors. You know, the author who bangs out one best seller after another, who makes you think, “Gosh, I wish I could write like that.” For me that author is Dean Koontz. If you haven’t yet encountered the name you need to look him … Continue reading The Author I Admire Most
Have I told you I love loons? Every year we spend a week in the Adirondacks at Chimney Mountain, a small peak just outside of the village of Indian Lake. “The Cabins at Chimney Mountain” are at the end of a country road that winds through the woods and mountains. It used to be a … Continue reading Up the Chimney
Alina de Florac wants to be a musician. No big deal, right? Except the year is 1172. Smack dab in the middle of the Middle Ages. You know—the Crusades, kings and queens, journeys and jousts and fair maidens and all that jazz. Alina’s instrument is the lute and she has been taught by the best—her … Continue reading Book Review: “Alina: A Song for the Telling” by Malve von Hassell
