As I am having a go at writing a cozy mystery, I thought it wise that I read as many as I can just to get a feel for the genre. But I didn’t know where to start, so I went to my trusty Libby app and searched for cozies. It had been my intent […]
It was fewer than 400 words. Barely a page. But I’ve begun my first cozy mystery. I honestly have no idea where it’s going yet. At this point, I’m just introducing characters, getting to know the setting. Regardless, it’s a start and I’m excited to see where the story takes me. I’m also excited to […]
I’m going to be frank. I’ve been struggling to write lately. Specifically, I’ve been struggling to get myself to work on a new draft of my first Jamie and Pip Halloran Mystery, which I wanted to think of as a complete re-imagining of my old first book, Harsh Prey. It felt a little too much […]
I discovered Harlan Coben by watching a couple series based on his books on Netflix. I liked them. They were fun and twisty, with good characters. So, I decided I wanted to read some of his books. I did some research and found that, while many of his books are stand-alones, he has a series […]
I talked a couple weeks back about my best day professionally, so it makes sense that I talk about my best day personally. Folks who know me well could probably guess this, having heard this story about eleventy billion times, but I love thinking about it, so I’m going to tell the story again anyway. […]
As you may know, I recently performed the wedding of my daughter and newly minted son-in-law. It was an honor and a privilege and a blessing not just to be a part of the wedding, but to be allowed to speak from the heart as they started their voyage through life together. I was told […]
It’s a surprisingly cool morning here at my house for this time of year. I’m just praying the temperate conditions hold out until Saturday for my daughter’s wedding. As life is about to get pretty crazy for about 48 hours, I thought I’d take a few minutes and talk about the West Virginia Writers Spring […]
I retired from full-time teaching the minute I could. In fact, I kind of retired a couple months before I technically could by burning sick and personal days. But that had nothing to do with a lack of love for the job. Getting to know and love my students was a joy that never faded […]
If you are one of the handful of folks who read my blog, you know I’ve been sharing short stories for the last several weeks. I’ve shared all I have for the moment. I’m working on one, but it’s still quite early in the pen-and-paper stage. The story is complex enough in my mind that […]
STOP! Before you read this, you should go back and read my previous post, which is the first half of this story. Otherwise, you’ll have questions. He again surprised himself by being excited to find the treadmill beside hers vacant. Doing his best to neither stare nor walk too fast in an effort to impress […]