Setting Goals

The New Year will be here in a couple of days and, with it, comes a fresh start for all of us. Many people make New Year’s resolutions but I prefer to set goals instead. To me, a resolution implies a commitment that, if not met, will lead to disappointment and frustration. How many people do you know who resolve to lose ten pounds by swim suit season and, when they don’t, feel as if they’ve failed? What if, instead of a resolution, they set a goal?

A goal is something we strive to achieve. We can break it down into bits and pieces and, if we aren’t able to completely meet our goal in spite of our best efforts, we still see progress, which increases our self-esteem. So, if that person who wants to lose ten pounds lost five, instead of being down on themselves and possibly giving up, they would recognize and celebrate the weight they had lost.

I write down my goals for the coming year in a small spiral notebook. Throughout the year, I add to the list and, once a goal is reached, I take great pleasure (and satisfaction) in checking it off. I’ve made my first entry for 2021: Finish writing (and publish) the fourth book in my Small Town mystery series.

How about you?

Happy New Year!

Taking time to read

Through the years, I've hosted several book launch events and participated in lots of craft fairs, etc. to sell my books and I very much appreciate those readers who bought them. But, I've gotten the following responses from several people. Words I, and probably every other author in the world, has heard many times.

“I used to love to read but I don’t have time now.”

“I’m in school and all of my reading is text books.”

“I have three young children and no time to read.”

Which presented me with the topic for this post: Taking Time to Read. 

Here’s a plain and simple fact: We can’t “make” more time - the reason I didn't title this post Making Time to Read. We all have the same twenty-four hours in each of our days and, I will grant you, how we spend those hours is largely dictated by our responsibilities. Life is complicated and demanding for most of us. We need to take care of business first but we also need to take time to do the things we enjoy. All work and no play. . . .  For me and many others, that includes reading in the genre of our choosing.

So, I’ve presented the problem: we’re all busy. Since I believe in focusing on solutions, rather than problems, here are a few suggestions for those of you who want to read but believe you don’t have the time.

1.    Waiting time can be reading time. All of us occasionally go to the doctor and the dentist, places where we usually have to wait. Instead of idly thumbing through a magazine or sitting there tapping your foot, why not bring a book with you?

2.    Schedule time to read into your day. Most of us have a schedule to keep and we somehow manage to do that. What if we included reading time in our schedules?

3.    Soaking in the tub is relaxing and therapeutic. Why not read while you soak?

4.    Turn off the TV at a designated time every evening – and use that time to read.

5.    Another TV option is turning it off when you find yourself flipping through the channels with nothing good to watch. Instead of spending your time that way, you could be reading.

Until next time, Happy Reading!

Gratitude

Despite what Hallmark and Lifetime would have us believe, Christmas is in December and Thanksgiving is this month. Why so many people feel the need to "jump the gun" and ignore that baffles me. I know we live in a fast-paced society but seriously?

Thanksgiving has traditionally been a day to celebrate all the things for which we are grateful. One day, out of three hundred sixty-five days in a year, when many families sit around their dining room tables, hold hands and tell, one at a time, what they’re grateful for. Which is great but. . . .

What about the other three hundred sixty-four days? We’re all busy living our lives; we can easily get so caught up in work, writing and/or other responsibilities that we take things and people for granted. We forget to stop to appreciate all that we have and to be thankful for our many blessings. We need to remember that each day is a gift, a present. 

Do we get up in the morning, thankful to be alive? Are we determined to make the most of each day or do we slog through life, bitter and complaining? Do we notice all the little things that go wrong in our day or do we focus on the ones that go right? 

There’s so much beauty in the world. Do we take time to appreciate and enjoy nature? Do we tell the important people in our lives how much they mean to us? Do we stop to give thanks (and credit) to others who encourage and support us? 

Our world is in chaos right now with the pandemic and the political unrest in the U.S. but, in spite of all that, there's always something to be grateful for. I think of gratitude as an attitude we should strive to possess and express every day, not just on Thanksgiving. In our complicated world, often, the simplest words can have the greatest meaning. The following lines, from a poem I learned as a child, sum it up. “Thank you for the world so sweet. Thank you for the food we eat. Thank you for the birds that sing. Thank you, God, for everything.”

The Cincinnati Strangler

In 1965, I was fifteen years old. My main interests were boys, learning how to drive and school, pretty much in that order. So I paid little attention to the news, never realizing how what was going on then in my city would mirror the novel I would write many years later.

You see, after my first Malone mystery was published, a friend asked me if the book was based on The Cincinnati Strangler. Since I'd never heard of The Cincinnati Strangler, I did some research and what I learned actually gave me chills. 

From October 1965 to December 1966, a man attacked, raped and murdered seven Cincinnati women. He strangled them, using either an article of their own clothing or something that was readily available to him. With one exception, the women were attacked in their homes. All of The Cincinnati Strangler's victims lived within a few miles of Westwood. The media dubbed him “The Cincinnati Strangler.”

The Cincinnati Police apprehended Posteal Laskey, a cab driver, after the last attack. He was arrested and convicted of the seventh murder. He never confessed to having committed any of the crimes but the attacks stopped when he was taken into custody. He died in prison in 2007. 

If you read Mixed Messages, much about The Cincinnati Strangler will sound familiar to you. Although I didn’t know about the real life case when I wrote my novel, there were a shocking number of  similarities between what I wrote and what actually happened. 

In Mixed Messages:  

The story begins the week of Halloween.
The Westwood Strangler attacked women in their homes.    
He used whatever was at hand to strangle them.  
There were seven victims.  

The Westwood Strangler was on the loose in a            neighborhood on the west side of Cincinnati. 

Was all of that a bizarre coincidence? Or, did my subconscious somehow retain memory of the crimes without my conscious mind realizing it? I guess I'll never know.

If I've piqued your interest, you can click on the cover on the right side of this page to read about the book and/or to order your copy.

Once Upon A Time

When I was a little girl, my mother used to read bedtime stories to me. Every time she read “Once upon a time,” I knew I was about to be drawn into a good story. I settled back against my pillow, confident that, no matter what happened to the characters in the course of the book, at the end all would be resolved and I would hear the words “And they lived happily ever after.”

Those were fairy tales but they made a lasting impression on me. Starting with Mixed Messages, the first book in my Malone mystery series which takes place at Halloween, I put my characters in some dangerous situations and gave them lots of problems, but I’m confident readers will be satisfied when they finish each book. Because it is a series, some things carry over to the next book but, by the end of Marnie Malone, the fifth and last book in the series, all loose ends are tied up. 

Once upon a time, a family of four lived in an old Victorian on the west side of Cincinnati - where a serial killer is attacking women in their homes.

It’s the week of Halloween and, in addition to worrying about a maniac on the loose, Ann Malone Kern struggles with several personal issues. Her primary concern is her marriage which, like her west side neighborhood, is in jeopardy. Her husband is drinking heavily and his behavior toward her is erratic. One minute, he’s the kind, loving man she married and, the next minute, he’s cold and cruel.

Ann dismisses a psychic’s warning that she is in danger. But, when she receives a series of ominous biblical quotes in addition to the love poems someone has been sending her, she grows nervous and suspicious of everyone, including her own husband.

As the bizarre and frightening events unfold, Ann discovers a handmade tombstone marked with her name, pushing her close to the edge.

          Will the Malones live happily ever after?  

If you enjoy character-driven, family-oriented mysteries, you can read about and/or order the Malone mysteries at: https://www.amazon.com/-/e/B007VDDUPQ or you can click on a book cover on the right side of this page. Happy Reading!

In these tough times

What a year, huh? Covid 19 has impacted every area of everyone’s life. And, for the most part, not in a good way! Just when we think things can’t get any worse, well, you know, something else happens.

My mother is ninety-one and I hoped with all my heart that she’d be able to avoid going to the hospital during the Coronavirus. Unfortunately, that didn’t happen. Almost eight weeks ago she fell and broke her right hip (she’d broken her left hip twice eight years ago) and was taken to the hospital. By the Grace of God, she came through the surgery and, after a week in the hospital, she was transported to a skilled nursing/rehab facility where she spent five weeks. She hated it there and, although I wasn’t allowed inside the building because of the virus, everything I saw and heard (and have since learned) reinforced her opinion.

Anyway, long, long story short – I was given less than twenty-four hours’ notice that they were sending Mom home. Needless to say, I was very glad she was coming home but I wasn’t prepared for her homecoming. I needed special supplies I didn’t have so it was a mad dash to get them. My niece and my aunt helped me with some of that and I’m grateful to them.

Mom’s confined to a wheelchair twelve hours a day until the surgeon authorized more than 25% weight bearing on her right leg. She has an appointment this coming week for an x-ray and I’m praying she’ll be at 50% or more. Because I don’t have the strength to lift her, my brother was coming over every morning and evening to get her in and out of bed. This past week, thanks to the wonderful people at Council on Aging and Helping Hands, we have an aid for an hour every morning five days a week to do that and more. My brother still comes in the evenings and in the morning on the weekends.

We also have a nurse, a physical therapist and an occupational therapist, each coming twice a week. Coordinating all the schedules has been a daunting task but I’m truly grateful for each and every one of them.

I’m not going to sugar-coat what’s been happening and I know that Mom’s road to recovery has a long way to go. As my mother’s primary caregiver, there have been days when I felt as if I’d reached my limit - physically, mentally and emotionally - but I’ve learned so much through all of this. I think the most important thing I’ve learned is that, no matter what happens to us in life, there is ALWAYS something to be grateful for. I’ve discovered that, when I focus on the good things, more of the things that happen are good.

Inspiration

The historic Story Inn

Several years ago, a friend and I took a mini-vacation to Nashville, Indiana. On the way home, completely by accident, we came across The Story Inn. It looked interesting and, since they served lunch and we were starving, we decided to go inside. And I immediately felt a strange sensation, one I couldn't and still can't explain. 

A few days later, curious about the inn, I decided to look it up on the Internet and I read this:

When the current owner of the inn took over the business, he was a skeptic but he now knows for sure the inn is one of the most haunted places in Indiana. One of the most common stories among guests and hotel staff is the “Blue Lady”. She is believed to be the spirit of the wife of Dr. George Story. The room where the Blue Lady is always seen was once called the Garden Room. However, it has been renamed after its most frequent visitor. People believe that if a blue light is placed in the room in the on position, the Blue Lady would appear. However, there have also been cases when the Blue Lady would just appear on her own. She is described as having blue eyes and has the habit of leaving behind items that are blue in color. Some people also reported smelling cherry tobacco, the Blue Lady’s favorite, when she was still alive.

But time passed and I forgot about The Story Inn - until I was trying to come up with ideas for a new mystery series and it popped back into my head. Physically, the "fictional" Storyville Inn doesn't resemble the "real" inn at all but the history and the atmosphere do and it will be the setting for my fourth Small Town mystery. Which just goes to show that a writer never knows when or where inspiration will strike. 

Had enough of reality?

We're living in a scary time. Every day, when we turn on the TV or the radio or go online, we're told there's something else to be concerned about - as if the current pandemic isn't enough. To me, the scariest part is all the misinformation out there, which makes it difficult to know what to believe. 

If we aren't careful, we can become negative and depressed because what we "take in" - whether we want it to or not - will affect us. But we have choices. Instead of worrying about what's next and letting reality overwhelm us, we can turn to fiction where the characters will have their own problems, which will take our minds off of ours.

Escape to the fictional town of Storyville, Ohio and immerse yourself in Kate's world.

Small towns are known for being good places to live and to raise a family. But there are secrets behind all closed doors (Secrets in Storyville) and crime in all places (Murder at Maple Ridge) and Storyville is no exception. After a string of burglaries (Out of the Woods), Kate's mother says, “First the home invasions and now this. I’m afraid to ask what’s next.”

https://www.amazon.com/-/e/B007VDDUPQ

New Release

Kate Morgan, a single mother raising her eleven-year-old daughter, Mandy, in Storyville, Ohio, feels like she’s finally getting her life together, both professionally and personally. Her first mystery novel is about to be published and she and Chad Hollingsworth are engaged to be married. She’s looking forward to a bright future. Until the past comes back to haunt her.

Eleven years ago, a string of home invasions took place in Kate’s hometown, threatening the safety and security of the elderly residents. The burglaries stopped abruptly – until now.

And, eleven years ago, Bobby Benton, Mandy’s father, left town, never returning – until now. The police consider Bobby a person of interest in the crimes and, for the sake of her daughter, Kate is determined to figure out the identity of the perpetrator in order to clear his name. However, she quickly discovers that’s easier said than done.

https://tinyurl.com/ybgn8myf

It takes a village

There are a staggering number of books published in the world every year. Although it's difficult to pinpoint the exact number, it's safe to say we're talking about several hundred thousand in the U.S. alone. Stop to think about that for a minute. 

With all that competition, here's the bottom line: an author can’t successfully promote his or her book alone. We authors need your help. So, as a reader, what can you do? 

·       When you read a book you really enjoyed, spread the word. Tell everyone you know about it. Because the most effective means of promotion is word of mouth.

·       Write a positive review on amazon and Goodreads. I know this sounds like a lot of work but, believe me, once you do it, you’ll see how easy it is. A lot of readers have the mistaken impression that writing a review is similar to writing a book report. It isn’t. A four or five star rating and one or two sentences telling what you enjoyed most about the book can make all the difference in the world.

·       Purchase a paper copy of the book you enjoyed and give it to a reader on your shopping list. An avid reader will love nothing more than receiving a book for Christmas or their birthday.

·       Follow your favorite authors on amazon and Goodreads. That way, you’ll get an email notification whenever they publish a new book.

·       Take a chance on a new (to you) author. It’s fine to read the novels by Big Name authors but you’re missing out if you don’t give small press and self-published authors a chance. Not all writers can be a Mary Higgins Clark or a James Patterson but we all have stories to tell that you just might love.

In these trying times

Every day we’re bombarded with news of the pandemic, which has affected each of us – in different ways. Some more than others. To quote a post on Facebook, “We’re all in the same storm but we’re not all in the same boat.”

So, what can we do to avoid becoming depressed and negative in these trying times? I don’t claim to have the answers for everyone but I can tell you what works for me. 

1.  I’m a writer. That’s what I do and what I love to do and my books won’t write themselves. So, like every week before the virus hit, I sit down at my desk and write - six mornings a week. I’m currently working on “Out of the Woods,” the third book in my Small Town Mystery series, and I hope to publish it in a few months.

2.  I need to be productive. At the end of the day, I want to feel that I’ve accomplished something. So, I stick to my normal routine as much as possible. Because, virus or no virus, I have things I need to do – so I do them. Cleaning, cooking, caring for my mother . . . the list goes on and on.

3.  I stay abreast of what’s going on in the world but I don’t let the media convince me to immerse myself in news about the virus. Like always, my TV doesn’t go on until evening when I watch the shows I enjoy. And, as I've always done, I read in bed each night before I go to sleep.

4.  I avoid interacting with negative people. While I have compassion for those who are unhappy, to me, life’s too short to spend my time listening to and/or responding to people who insist on constantly whining and complaining. Some people seem to revel in misery. I’m not one of them; I choose to be happy. So, I will continue to post jokes, etc. on Facebook. Anything I can do to bring people up – not down.

5.  And, last - but actually the most important to me. I get up every morning and I thank God for the day, asking him to guide me in everything I think, say, do and write. Knowing that He’s in charge takes a huge weight off my shoulders. And for that I am grateful.

A Silver Lining

A while back, there was a commercial on TV that showed a family sitting down to dinner, telling viewers that was how things “used to” be. Then the screen flashed to what things are like now, basically saying we needed to accept and to adapt to the frantic, hectic life of today’s world.

I haven’t seen that commercial for a couple of weeks but, every time I saw it, it made me angry. Because I don’t believe that’s how we were meant to live. And now, because of the pandemic, the world has slowed down and we have time to literally and figuratively “smell the roses.”

In order to minimize the spread of the virus, people are staying at home as much as possible, only going out to shop for the necessities. Many people are realizing they don’t need all of the things they thought they did. That there are more important things than money and possessions. Parents are spending more quality time with their children and families are once again sitting down to have dinner together.

Every cloud has a silver lining.

Is there a silver lining to this horrible virus? The potential for positive change? A lesson to be learned from it? I think so.

Granted, when all of this is over – and it will be, some people will go right back to the stressful way they were living before the virus hit. But others will learn from it and CHOOSE to simplify and slow down their lives as much as possible. To go back to the basics. To focus on what’s most important to them. And to appreciate and to be grateful for all they have. Even a few small changes can make a big difference in the quality of our lives.

Where are the Children?

As Ann Kern starts her new business as an interior decorator, the temperatures have risen, tulips and daffodils are in bloom and there’s a feeling of endless possibilities in the air. She has no idea that her world is about to be turned upside down.

When Janis Riley, a woman for whom money is no object, contacts her to redecorate her house, Ann is elated. But the initial visit with her first client leaves her with mixed emotions. Why did Janis react so strangely to seeing a photo of Davey, Ann’s six-year-old son?

But Ann has bigger problems. Her husband, David, a recovering alcoholic, has lost both his mother and his job and Ann worries that he’ll start drinking again. To add to her concerns, their next-door-neighbor, Dorothy Baker, is severely depressed but Ann’s efforts to help her are rebuffed.

Ann is terrified when she wakes up the day before Easter to find Davey gone. Another child, Kelly Kramer, has been missing since December. Where are the children? And what, if anything, can Ann do to get her son back?

https://tinyurl.com/ydbvjzq5

Book Bashing

We authors are constantly asking our readers to spread the word about our books. To tell their friends, to review them on Amazon and Goodreads and to recommend them on Bookbub. 

There are so many books out there and we want our books to “stand out in the crowd,” to be read by as many people as possible. After all, that’s why we write. We have something to say that we believe will benefit others.

Word of mouth, reviews and recommendations are crucial to the success or failure of a book. Words have power! The more positive reviews a book gets, the better its chances. By the same token, too many negative reviews can result in fewer readers.

One of my favorite quotes, “One man’s garbage is another man’s gold” says it all, which is why my personal policy is to NEVER write a review unless I believe a book deserves at least 4 stars. 

Because reviewing a book is not the same thing as reviewing a toaster.

The toaster either performs as it’s supposed to or it doesn’t. If you review the toaster, you’re helping others to make a decision as to whether or not they should buy it. That’s a good thing.

But a book review is subjective, based solely on the reviewer’s opinion. Not on fact. Because the fact is we all have different tastes. I might not like a book you would love and vice versa.

So, if you're ever tempted to write a negative review for a book, please think twice. Ask yourself this question: Do I want to be a book promoter or a book basher?

Keeping It Clean

From the time I learned to read, I constantly had my nose in a book. When I outgrew the Little Golden books I loved so much, Judy Bolton and Nancy Drew mysteries became my favorites. Good, clean stories with intriguing plots, mysterious settings and characters I came to know and to care about. More than anything I wanted to write mysteries like Margaret Sutton and Carolyn Keene when I grew up. But for adults.

My father nourished my love of reading by bringing books by my favorite authors home to me from time to time. Dad didn't read fiction but he knew how much I enjoyed a good mystery. One day when I was ten or eleven years old, he surprised me with a copy of “I, the Jury,” a Mickey Spillane novel. 

I picked up the book and started to read, amazed and secretly thrilled that Dad had given me such an “adult” book. A day or so later, I had left my book on the coffee table, book marker in place. Dad happened to pick it up and read a page. His eyes got wide and he immediately confiscated the book. No more Mickey Spillane for me!

Back then, I was disappointed when my father took away my book but, as an adult, I’ve come to realize that what intrigued me as a child (probably because it was “forbidden”) bores me now. When I read a mystery/suspense novel with descriptive sexual acts, I find myself skimming over those parts to get back to the story.

I’m definitely not a prude and I have no problem with a sex scene and/or “colorful” language if it’s integral to the plot and, of course, it's perfectly acceptable and even expected in certain types of novels. A steamy romance wouldn't be very steamy without, well, some steam. By the same token, in a book about a street gang (think James Caan and Kathy Bates in the movie Misery), I can't imagine one of the members saying, "Gosh, darn it!" when he's angry. That’s unrealistic and I think fiction should be realistic, believable. 

But I seldom read those kinds of books and, in the books I write, I've chosen not to use profanity and to leave what happens behind bedroom doors (or anywhere else, for that matter) to the reader’s imagination. Because, it’s my belief that you can have a good story and still keep it clean.  

A Valentine's Day Mystery

Excerpt from Marnie Malone

"A sudden realization hit her like one of the bolts of lightning that continued to streak through the room every few minutes. Oh, my God! The gun! How could I have forgotten about it? Relief surged through her body. She was going to get through this alive! 

But she had to hurry. She knew her intruder would be back any second and she needed to be ready. She quickly turned to her left, stretched out her hands and burrowed them under Sam’s pillow, expecting to find the revolver she had hidden there. 

But she couldn’t find it. Her heart raced. Oh, my God! What if he found it while I was unconscious? 

The gun was her only hope. Without it, she was as good as dead. She pictured Sam coming home in the morning and finding her mutilated body. The word “mutilated” sent a shiver down her spine. But she knew her attacker was so full of rage he would take it out on her. It wouldn’t be an easy death. He would make sure she suffered first."

https://tinyurl.com/yc87jjec

Someone is stalking Marnie.

It’s Marnie’s last week at the law firm of Cliburn & Reeves and she feels like she’s riding an emotional roller coaster. Up when she wins the divorce and custody battle for Callie Jackson against her abusive husband, Jed. And plummeting down when one witness after another decides not to testify against Mark Hall, an attorney at another Charleston firm and an “alleged” serial rapist.

Marnie receives one threat after another and she constantly feels the need to look over her shoulder, convinced that someone is stalking her. With Sam out of town on business, she’s alone in the big, old farmhouse and strange things are happening. Noises in the attic, creaking floorboards and someone watching her from the woods.

As she tries to determine the identity of the stalker, the list of men who have grudges against her grows longer each day. In her line of work she’s made enemies. Is the stalker someone from the past or one of the men on her list? And, how far will he go?