Mar 18
Story ideas do not come in a box of Cracker Jack…or can they? When I was a kid, the box of molasses-flavored popcorn-nut mix contained cool toys. It was a delight to pull out some plastic blue ring, too small for any human hand, and squeeze it halfway onto my pinkie finger and imagine it …
Mar 17
In January 2011, Kwang and I took a 120 day around the world cruise with ms Amsterdam in Holland America from Fort Lauderdale in Florida. On the ship we had about one thousand guests and about four hundred crew members. Jerry was a professor in the Department of Religion and Philosophy at Stanford before his …
Mar 14
Something I almost never read about in the cozy mysteries I love so much is trash. Refuse. The detritus of human life. Lots of my favorite series deal with cooking, pets, books, bookstores, libraries, and crafting, but none of the characters spend time throwing stuff out. Most of my favorite authors would probably say that’s …
Mar 10
As I was sitting at Starbucks writing one morning, a man sitting next to me asked what I was writing. I answered Paranormal Romance. He responded, “Oh! You’re writing a ghost story.” I smiled and told him that paranormal these days didn’t necessarily mean a ghost story. I explained I was writing a vampire romance. …
Mar 06
“It’s none of their business that you have to learn to write. Let them think you were born that way.” – Ernest Hemingway Some writers seem to be born with a gift for writing with passions that evoke strong emotions, while others soothe you with their serene words. But only you, the writer, knows whether …