Welcome to my website. I am still in the process of learning website keeping, so some things are still kind of hinky. Be patient with me and check back often as the site develops. It’s very handy that the brilliant webmaster who created this site and is educating me on how to use it is also my brother. Thus far, our relationship is still quite cordial, even if I am a computer illiterate.
My first novel, a mystery entitled The Old Buzzard Had It Coming, is coming out in July of 2005 from Poisoned Pen Press. This book-writing business is a new thing for me, and the process of going from manuscript to published book is quite the adventure. I’ll keep you posted on how it’s going.
I stand before you as living proof that it’s never too late. I started adult life as a school teacher, then spent 15 years as a Government Documents librarian, after which I owned a small Scottish import gift shop for a decade. I’ve written stories all my life. The first story I remember was called “The Black Cat”, about a girl who had the ability to turn into a cat at will. I was six years old. My fiction writing has been mostly for my own edification throughout my life, however. I was always too busy being a professional whatever- I-was-at-the-moment. Then in 2000, after I sold the business, I suddenly had the leisure to write full time. Check the “Fact or Fiction” page to see how I came to write The Old Buzzard and its sisters in the series.
Yesterday I heard from my publisher that TOB (The Old Buzzard, for future reference), has gotten some very nice comments from some very well known mystery authors, namely Carolyn Hart and Tony Hillerman. (See “Books” page for the quotes). When I first read what these kind people said, goose flesh rose on my arms and I felt faint. The book isn’t even out yet. I was elated to the point of tears, and then just as suddenly, I was just in tears, and feeling very sad. My mother, without whom this book would certainly not be what it is, died in January. I must say that howsoever happy I am that this book is getting such good buzz, her absence is taking a good deal of the joy out of the fulfillment of this dream. The book is dedicated to her.
April 8th, 2005
Hinky?
Aside from that, I’m so proud of you I could “fly through the ceiling and explode” as Abby and her friend declared when they were 6!