PUTTING TRUST IN PICASSO I came back from my book tour to discover a hydrangea in my garden had given me a single puff ball blossom. It had been transplanted in my garden by a friend nearly 4 years ago and till now, had never bloomed. At last, I’ve discovered what it looks like: a w
IF EINSTEIN HAD BEEN A HOPI A dear friend of mine has had a stroke. It’s not the first time for him and each event has left its mark. This stroke created a disconnect between what he wants to say and what he sometimes does say. The prognosis is good for his recovery but he’ll need
HAPPY ANNIVERSARY Today marks my 100th blog posting to the web community. What I really want to celebrate, however, are my readers, a silent bunch but loyal. Last month, I had 143 visitors to this site and 70% were repeat readers with new people trickling in all the time. I don’t kn
A WRITER’S SEARCH FOR AN AUDIENCE A week before the Round Up, the sleepy, small community of Pendleton looks like an ideal place to retire. The downtown has undergone a considerable upgrade which gives it a western atmosphere. Even the cement paving has been designed to look like a
A FINAL RANT ON STEIG LARSSON Last week a friend alerted me to an article from the New York Times Sunday Book Review (9/14/2010) about Stieg Larsson, author of the trilogy that began with The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo. She’d read my rant about the first book. The rest of the trilo
Tomorrow I leave for the second leg of my book tour to promote my two novels, Heart Land and Gothic Spring. I enjoyed the last trip. (Blog 6/21/10) I didn’t sell many books but I met interesting people, including some delightful librarians, and saw some beautiful country.
I’m allergic to plumbing and all things mechanical. Even the simplest task of replacing the filter on my water purifier can be daunting. Last week, the light on the filter started to blink red, a sign it needed to be changed. I’ve done it a few times, but on this occ
Labor Day marks the beginning of school, the theatre and ballet season and end-of-year inventories. It’s the month I came into the world and it’s the one month I read the horoscopes. I put no faith in them, but I read them anyway. I’ve seen lots and lots of books wri
A TALE OF THE ITZY BITZY SPIDER I was astounded yesterday to discover the spider in my driveway, the one that built a twelve foot span between two hedges, is still at work (Blog 8/17). I had to cut through the web a 4th time in a week. After a couple of days of not finding one, I thou