Will They Like It?

That’s always the worry, eh? Will they like the new book? The one I spent a long time on and did a lot of research for and chatted with professionals in various fields to make sure I got the details correct. The Dead of Sled…

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The Shirt off Their Backs

It was more than a year past when we went out to lunch with Wez and Mitzi Nicholson at a Cracker Barrel in the middle of Illinois. I complimented him on his Green Bay Packers shirt. Wez, an Australian, loved football, and Green Bay in…

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Fireflies and Tennis Balls

It was wonderfully warm last night, so me and the dogs went outside. About 9 p.m. the sky was a dark blue, almost black. Barely enough light for tossing tennis balls in the yard. I sat on a bench and watched them play, then I…

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“You need to read this,” he told me

Death claimed many friends in 2022. This year will be better, brighter, someone told me. 2023. Fewer tears, they said. Five days in and it is worse. Horribly, horribly worse. Rembert Parker died last night in an Indiana hospital, surrounded by his family. He was…

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Something Wicked ….

LUNA HAS A NEW BOOK! Wickedly good! Good girl Prys Bane is the ultimate witch princess—titled, rich, beautiful, and from the best royal bloodlines. But the STEM genius would rather hide with her statistics and crush on a forbidden bodyguard than marry a proper prince.…

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HORRORS!

I sold a fantasy-horror tale! A sort of ghosty-vengeful spirit thing involving a tall ship. I was quite happy with it. Snoopy dancing happy, actually. I’ll let you know when it is coming out. Every once in a while, I like to exercise the scary.…

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Death and a Roller Derby … Excellent!

When the teaser art mentions that the main character has to compete in a supernatural roller derby … after she’d been murdered, I had to jump on for the ride. I was lucky to get a spot on her blog tour. Check it out: Who…

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Sad Shoes and Concrete Conversations

Taking Missy to a vet appointment Wednesday morning, I fell on the concrete sidewalk. OUCH. I looked around to make sure no one had seen me. Then I picked my sore self up, thankful I’d held onto her leash, and trundled down the walk and…

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I Sit in the Sun and Cry

Missy has shared her life with me for ten years. One of the first rescues from Hudson’s Halfway Home, she was a discarded puppy mill breeder thought to be a year old. It took popcorn to win her over … a story for another time.…

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I LOVE HER WORDS

I LOVE HER WORDS. I’m a serious fan. Faith is one of my all-time favorite writers. She has this creative bent I adore and envy, and so I look forward to each new book. I am happy to host this stop on her blog tour.…

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sTaMpS

The price of stamps went up today. Just a couple of cents, but still … they went up. Since the Postal Service provided plenty of warning, I bought a lot of Forever Stamps. A lot. I’m old fashioned (and old), and so I send cards…

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Who doesn’t love a good tale about …

Kestrel, the King’s Privateer, is preparing to wait out the annual storm season when she receives an unexpected royal order to capture and deliver a rare creature for the king’s menagerie. Before she can weigh anchor, news reaches Kestrel of a long-ago friend in desperate…

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HAVING FAITH

It’s easy to fall in love with Faith Hunter. As a writer. As a soul. When she has a new book out, I buy it. And I usually buy two copies so I can give one away in my newsletter drawing … letting someone else…

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Intangible Friends

I used to have invisible friends when I was a kid. An only child, I would invite them to play boardgames with me. My parents knew I liked games, bought me games at Christmas and birthdays, but weren’t into playing them. So, my imaginary/invisible friends…

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Christmas Cards are Killer

I love Christmas cards … sending them, receiving them. It’s always been a big deal to me. Takes me a long while to manage my card list, as I write a note in every one, and I include one of those newsy letters with fancy…

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Pineapple and Agent Down

It is my pleasure to host a stop on Janet Walden-West’s blog tour. Because reading her books is a pleasure. I love her writing. Janet was gracious enough to indulge me by answering a few burning questions about her work and life. What is your…

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Romancing the Summer

A Taste of this Tasty Book: The heels of his Hessian boots thudded against dusty floorboards as he made his way through the gloom. He pushed a door open with a flattened hand, wincing at the faint whine of a dry hinge. A flash of…

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Altered States of Middle Illinois

I lived in a dumpy apartment in a sketchy neighborhood after I graduated from college and moved to Quincy, Illinois. It was what I could afford on the starting salary of a news reporter. I didn’t know anyone when I moved to the town ……

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Greg Cox is Tied-In

THE MAKING OF A MEDIA TIE-IN WRITER (AS IF I EVER HAD ANY CHOICE) A guest-blog by Greg Cox on sale now             How does one end up writing new stories about other people’s characters? Looking back, it seems as though I was always destined…

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Blonde not Blonde

My Kenosha buddy Miya is a daring soul who often colors her hair in vibrant colors. They look good on her. Since the Covid lockdown, I’ve been doing that too, trying on different shades (courtesy of a sale on such hair products on Amazon). They…

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A Box of Rocks

I am a box of rocks sometimes … especially when it comes to technical things with web programs, macros, codes, and the like. More, I’m sometimes savvyless (yeah, it’s not a word, but it fits) when it comes to presentation. So I’ve been taking a…

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Listening to the Night

I’ve always enjoyed jigsaw puzzles, giving me time to play with the pieces while I mentally plot whatever book I’m about to dive into. Lately, however, I find it fun to play with the puzzle pieces while I listen to a book. Never used to…

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Oh, Horrors!

My buddy Steve Sullivan (Stephen D. Sullivan) has an AWESOME NEW BOOK OUT (Dr. Cushing’s Chamber of Horrors) and I read it and LOVED IT. And Amazon won’t let me post a review because they say I am biased and too-connected. Okay, they might be…

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Finding Faith

SPELLS FOR THE DEAD available July 28 … Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, and more Nell Ingram faces a dark magic with no known origin in the newest pulse-pounding paranormal procedural in the New York Times bestselling Soulwood series. Nell is a rookie PsyLED agent, using…

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Just Wanna Write

I have all these ideas bouncing around in my head about ghosts and mysteries and murders and working a dog or two in a story and trying to figure out who the villains are and what to do to mess with the lives of the…

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Feeling Good

It is wholly wonderful to finish a novel and send it into production. Makes me feel good, awesome really. Makes me want to go outside and toss tennis balls to my dogs until it seems like my arm will fall off … and that’s just…

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Snoopy Dancing

I entered a contest this past spring, the Soon To Be Famous Illinois Author Project. My buddy Don Bingle told me about it and encouraged me. AND … pretend you hear a drum roll … I won. Two categories for indie-published authors, Adult Fiction and…

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The Lawn Chair is Empty

Wrinkles Lord of the Lawn Chair Oct 20, 2006 – Sept 16, 2019 My feet are cold; there is no dog laying across them. He was always there, Wrinkles, from the first day he arrived at my house. Always at my feet, drooling on my…

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Dog Tired and Trying to Write

I have an old dog with health issues, and I get up during the night to check on him. I have a puppy that’s not yet housebroken … a youngling that needs to go outside every couple of hours. I get up for her, too.…

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