Author: admin

9 Comments

In The Arms Of Literature #OpenBook Blog Hop

  By Open Book

September 21, 2026

What section of the library would we find you hanging out in?

When I was in high school, following after-school activities, I’d often head to the local library to wait for a ride home.

I didn’t have a car, there were no buses, and I lived too far out in the country to walk home. So, I’d head to the library and amuse myself there until my father got done with work and could take me home. Besides, it was back in the day that if you wanted to do research for school assignments, you’d have to visit the library. Google and the internet didn’t exist. Card  catalogs and microfiche did.

And a great periodicals section.  Newspapers, weekly news magazines, monthly magazines of all types. Padded chairs  that were comfortable to sit in for long stretches. It was tucked away in a back corner of the main floor, away from the main traffic flow. Lit by the sun on good days and lights that were easy on the eyes during bad weather, it was a spot that Id head to if I wasn’t involved in a research project.

 

 

It became the model for the library where Harmony Duprie, my amateur sleuth, spent much of her time. Now, it houses many of my books.

These days, periodicals are a pale shadow of what they used to be. Everything is on line now, and available at your fingertips. (As long as your wallet can tolerate the price.

Sadly, I didn’t find a similar home in the library near my current home.

When I inquired about volunteer opportunities, I was turned down. The person I spoke with said they didn’t need any. As I result, I’ve never spent a lot of time there.

So, what section of the library would I spend time in?

I’ve always enjoyed reading biographies, but haven’t read one recently. (except one I read as research for a potential project.) Got out of the habit, I guess. So, given an unknown library, that’s where I’d set up camp. If I got lucky, I’d find one with a chair nearby. Or, you might find me in fiction, specifically in the mystery section, if there is one. Truth is, you might find me in any section of the library, except in children’s books. (Story time: I worked as the children’s librarian in a small library for about a year. I’ve spent lots of time in children’s books.)

Truth is, I don’t want to be restricted to any one part of the library. If you want to find me there, you might need to check out the whole library. I could be anywhere.

How about our other authors? Which part of the library would we find them in? Find out by checking out their blog posts this wee. You can find those by following the links below.

In the meantime, I hope you stay safe until the next time.

September 21, 2026

What section of the library would we find you hanging out in?

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

 

Are You In My Stories? #OpenBook Blog Hop

  By Open Book

July 27, 2026

Have you modeled any of your characters on a real person?

How do you disguise them (if needed?)

I’ve been tempted. A few people out there have irritated me to the point of earning my eternal wrath. I won’t mention any names. Or tell you where I lived when the incident happened. Or what the person in question did. It’s fun to make that person a model for a villain.

Of course, I always change the name. And the color of their hair. Or if they have hair or are bald. And if my characters have anything to say about it, their personalities will change, too. (My characters ALWAYS have something to say about it.) They end up being nothing like the people I originally wanted to insult.

I’ve also honored a few people in my writing. A good boss. A coworker who went above and beyond. Someone I admired for whatever reason. I may give their first name to a minor character who helps the protagonist.

But mostly, my characters create themselves. And it may take time for me to figure them out. For example, it took until book 4 of the Harmony Duprie Mysteries to understand why Harmony drove everywhere. That didn’t come from anyone I knew. (No, I’m not going to tell you. You have to read the books to find out.)

So, I mostly don’t base my characters on real people. How about our other authors? Follow the links below to read their responses.

As always, please stay safe until the next time.

July 27, 2026

Have you modeled any of your characters on a real person? How do you disguise them (if needed?)

 

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

 

 

 

Pie, Cake, Or Ice Cream? #OpenBook Blog hop

  By Open Book

May 11 2026

Do you prefer pie or cake?

Have you ever included either in your writing?

Orson held the door to the restaurant open for me. I nodded at the waitress, who, with a puzzled expression on her face, nodded back. I think she recognized both of us, but couldn’t place why. If I wanted to scream, this was my chance. But for whatever reason, I no longer felt threatened by Orson, and led the way to an empty booth. I slid onto the bench so my back was to the door, figuring he’d be more comfortable being able to watch who came in.

“I’m going to get dessert,” I told him as I took a menu from the holder. “Their pies looked delicious.”

“Ice cream or whipped cream?” he asked.

“Depends. Berry pies are whipped cream, apple are ice cream, and what goes with cherry changes with my mood. How about you?” This seemed more like speed dating than an interview with a famous thief.

“Ice cream. Always.”

Conversation lagged until the waitress came and took our orders. Blueberry pie and coffee for me while he got the traditional apple pie to go with his coffee. I mentally filed away the factoid that he took his coffee black. Orson watched with interest when another police car flew down the street in front of the restaurant. “Must have been an accident or something,” he said.
from: Her Ladyship’s Ring

I’m a cake person, despite the excerpt above. I like the flavor and texture of a good, moist cake. (Something I’ve never quite conquered.) A well-done frosting is a great way to top it off. You have to match the frosting to the flavor of the cake. I can’t imagine anything but a cream cheese frosting to go with carrot cake.

How about pie?

I used to have several great pie recopies. My apple pie was fantastic. And I make a light, flaky pie crust. But pies were never my choice when I’m out. (But I am a whipped cream over ice cream person when it comes to pie.)

How about ice cream?

Well, it isn’t included in the title, but ice cream — that’s always my first choice. None of that fake ice milk or dairy products. It’s got to be real ice cream. (It’s getting harder and more expensive to get it these days.)

And I have included ice cream in my stories. In fact, it became a major clue in the mystery of The Samurai’s Inro.

“The only items the Cookes identified as missing were a Japanese inro and the ice cream cones in the freezer. The culprit trashed the house, so they are still trying to get things cleaned up and figure out what else is gone.”

I tilted my head. “A bunch of kids broke into the house to throw a party and ate the ice cream. The what did you call it- inro?- is somewhere in the mess. And you want to blame Jake?”

How do our other authors feel about the choice of dessert? Find out by following the links below.

And, as always, please stay safe until the next time.

Goal update: I’m at 54800+ words. That’s 3000+ words. It’s hit the spot that I’m so close to finishing the book that I resent any other writing I have to do.

May 11 2026

Do you prefer pie or cake? Have you ever included either in your writing?

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

Items I’ve Acquired Along the Way #OpenBook Blog Hop

  By Uncategorized

Sept 29, 2025

Tell us about an iconic or weird object in your home.

Let me apologize for the poor quality of the photos.

The lighting is terrible, and the pictures were taken at night with no daylight to brighten the shot.

There are two items to share.

This troll was purchased from a little shop along a back road of Tennessee. (Maggie Valley area, if I remember correctly.) That was over twenty-five years ago. He’s had a few decorations added and lost a few along the way, but we’ve managed to retain his personality.

He has acted as a guardian all these years, in three different homes. We’ve got him moved into a spot where my daughter’s cat can’t get to him.

My second item is what I call a wall sculpture.

It was meant to be a garden sculpture, but I’ve never found an outdoor spot that suited it. So now, she and her little friends reside over my desk, keeping me company.

She was gifted to me by my daughter and lived in her box in my closet until we moved. Even once we arrived in Pennsylvania, it took a bit to find her a home because I was trying to force her to be outside. She didn’t fit anywhere I tried to place her, and when I gave up the effort, she let me know where she wanted to be.

There are other interesting items my husband and I have acquired along the way, but I think these two stand out.

What iconic items do the other authors on this hop have to share? Check them out by following the links below.

As always, until next time, please stay safe.

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

Sept 29, 2025

Tell us about an iconic or weird object in your home.

 

The Color of Money #OpenBook Blog Hop

  By Open Book

Aug 26, 2024

What is your area of the world best known for (in your opinion?)

The Native Americans recognized the usefulness of black gold for centuries.

They collected it from seeps in the ground and off the surface of creeks, and used it for many things, including medicine, ceremonial paint, and waterproofing. They even traded it for goods and services. We’re talking about crude oil.

Naturally, white settlers learned from the locals and started using oil. Which led to the desire to find  different ways to obtain it. Introducing Colonel Edwin Drake and welcome to Titusville, PA.

In case you didn’t learn about it in your history lessons, this is the area where the first commercial oil well was drilled and where the oil industry got its start. Wells drilled for other reasons had produced oil as a by-product, the well in Titusville was the first one specifically drilled to bring oil to the surface. That was back in 1859. 

Drake Well

 

The plot of land that the well was drilled on is now a museum and park which draws around 35,000  tourists a year. The oil industry has pretty much abandoned the area as oil no longer easily found, but remnants of it still remain. Money created by the oil rush has mostly followed the move to other parts of the country, but plenty of artifacts remain. Everything from magnificent, restored Victorian mansions to stately churches to crumbling factories.

St. Joseph Parish/ Rev. Johnathan Schmidt

And that’s the answer. The area is best known for the oil industry, which gained prominence here before shifting to many other places.

Oh, and Bigfoot may live here, too.

How about the other authors? It’ll be interesting to find out what their areas are known for.

As always, until next time, please stay safe.

What is your area of the world best known for (in your opinion?)

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

 

 

On Sale! The Fall of Jake Hennessey

  By Uncategorized

Have you read it? You should, before the release of The Rise of Jake Hennessey.

And it’s on sale for 99¢ for a short time.

Here’s a quick excerpt:

The flash of metal reflecting a blinking neon beer sign in the front window had Jake on his feet and halfway across the bar in a second.

“Settle down, Duane,” the bartender said, backing up a few feet.

Jake recognized Duane’s type. Too skinny, pockmarks in his face, scabs on his arms, shaking so hard Jake didn’t know how he remained standing. If Duane was crashing, he became doubly dangerous.

Chairs scraped as other customers moved out of reach of the steak knife Duane waved, aiming at everyone and no one. There’d be no happy ending to the situation, at least as far as Jake foresaw. He circled to get in behind Duane.

“Put down the knife,” said one of his friends from several feet away.

“Take it easy,” said the other.

Duane didn’t pay attention. The weapon traced aimless circles in the air. He advanced two steps closer towards the bartender. “Don,” he slurred. “Don cheat me.”

“Nobody’s cheating anybody,” the bartender said. “Put down your knife and go home and sleep it off.”

It was easy to predict Duane’s next move. Jake had seen it repeated too many times. The druggie lunged at the bartender, but Jake reacted first and grabbed his arm. A dangerous maneuver, because tweakers often found bonus strength out of nowhere. He’d been in fights where it took three bouncers to subdue one meth head. Fate was on his side this time. The knife clattered to the floor, and a kick to the back of his knee ensured Duane did, too.

While all hell broke loose, with everyone yelling at Duane and Duane’s friends yelling at everyone else, Jake slipped out the front.

Book Description:

Jake Hennessey deals in selling fine jewelry of an illegal nature. The thrill of getting away with it is his addiction. When he hears a rumor about a rare old book in the personal collection of a small-town librarian, he gets the urge to try a new game.

After all, even jewel thieves get bored.

But the librarian, Harmony Duprie, isn’t what he expected and the challenge becomes serious business.

In order to win, Jake’s going to have to play by a new set of rules—and make them up as he goes along—because this time, he’s playing for the rest of his life.

Available at retailers below

https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/the-fall-of-jake-hennessey

https://books.apple.com/us/book/id1615685161https://books2read.com/u/3kLM9g

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-fall-of-jake-hennessey-p-j-maclayne/1141380917?ean=2940161033050

Seven Days and Counting #CoverReveal

  By Uncategorized

I’ve been waiting for this since the day over a year ago when I first started writing what turned into The Ranger’s Dog Tags.

Tagline: It isn’t the first time Eli Hennessey has disappeared. Is it the last?

I changed the first chapter of the book three or four times.  Here’s how it begins:

The squad car screamed down the street, its red and blue lights tearing through the darkness. I feathered the gas pedal and waited for a second set of headlights to pass. Dolores, my salsa-red F-type Jaguar, growled in anticipation.

Thank goodness no one else was out on the streets of the small town of Oak Grove at three in the morning. When I let Dolores loose, I’d break traffic laws left and right on my way to the Aldridge house. Eli’s house. No matter how fast I drove, the fire trucks would get there first.

I pulled back onto the street as Lando’s voice came through my phone again. Anxiety bled through the speaker. “Scotty hasn’t heard from Eli either, Harmony.”

While we’re waiting for the official release date – April 22nd – here’s the first look at the cover. Thanks to K.M. Guth for another fine job.

And here’s one more look at the blurb in case you’ve missed it:

Eli Hennessey has vanished.

His house in Oak Grove is in flames, his cell phone is out of commission, and friends in Florida can’t find him. It’s up to Harmony Duprie to track down her missing lover before her life shatters and his ends.

Harmony’s first discovery: Eli tricked her into signing paperwork putting her in charge of his company. Had he planned his disappearance?

The answers won’t be found in Oak Grove. Harmony hightails it to Florida in search of Eli and the truth.

I hope you’ll join me in a week to get the answers!

Changes in the Wind #IWSG

  By IWSG
 
 
July 1 question – There have been many industry changes in the last decade, so what are some changes you would like to see happen in the next decade?
 
The awesome co-hosts for the July 1 posting of the IWSG are Jenni Enzor, Beth Camp, Liesbet, Tyrean Martinson, and Sandra Cox!
 
I missed out on the big change in the writing industry when it became possible for authors to self-publish, or when putting a book on sale at 99¢ was almost a guarantee of big sales figures. Such is life. But there are a couple of changes I’d like to see happen.
 
First, I’d like to see Amazon change their policies on ebook returns. Their current policies allows readers to use Amazon as a lending library. Buyers have seven days in which to return a book. I can easily read a book in that time frame. Authors have reported watching a series being purchased and then returned one book at a time. That’s just not fair. Amazon, can you fix that? 
 
While I’m picking upon Amazon, how about their review policy? I’ve had reviews removed because Amazon thought the reviewer was my friend. Guess what? Everyone who likes my author page on Facebook isn’t my friend. They’re called fans. That’s why  they write reviews. Oh, and how about pulling reviews that aren’t about the book itself. You know, those ones that talk about how Amazon messed something up in the download. Or were for a totally different book.
 
I suppose I should mention one that isn’t Amazon related. (They are easy to pick on!) I’d like someone to invent a way to make pirating books harder. Without making it harder for readers to read the book! Right now, it’s like playing whack-a-mole for an author to keep their books off pirate sites. One site goes down and another pops up. 
 
What changes would you like to see in the publishing industry? Let’s talk about it in the comments.
 
Until next time, stay safe.
 
 
 
 

Deadly Reality Photos

  By Uncategorized

Just a few of the pictures from my stay in Estes Park, CO for the Deadly Reality book signing on November 9th.