Highs and Lows of Creativity

Published by National League of American Pen Women, Atlanta Chapter, Pen Graphs, May 2022 One moment I’m in the Chattahoochee River dancing with dogs and the next day I’m in a cave with my character, Myra, pregnant and alone. The collaboration with other dancers in the river for National Water Dance Day was profound forContinue reading “Highs and Lows of Creativity”

A Blessing Quilt for a Writer

My sister makes exquisite quilts. At my pre-launch—I signed a contract for my first book party—she asked my supporters to write words of encouragement for me on pieces of material that she incorporated into a blessing quilt. I’m holding the quilt in my banner photo. When I think about giving up, I reread the thoughtsContinue reading “A Blessing Quilt for a Writer”

Miss Kopp Just Won’t Quit by Amy Stewart

This historical novel was a freebie given to me by the author at the 2018 Bouchercon Literary Festival in St. Petersburg, Florida. The protagonist is based on New Jersey’s first female deputy sheriff in the early ninetieth century. The Kopp sisters, Constance, Norma, and Fleurette, were real people. Constance developed a probationary system for womenContinue reading “Miss Kopp Just Won’t Quit by Amy Stewart”

The Vampire Effect Applies

The narrator in Sacred Fount by Henry James, published in 1901, applies the theory that as one party to a relationship gains, either physically or intellectually, the other loses, is drained by the “sacrificer” until depleted; thus, the vampire effect. The characters in any story about obsession would fit into this framework. Dorian Gray in OscarContinue reading “The Vampire Effect Applies”