...On Hope

March 1st......this date has always been a happy one for me. It has always felt like finally the first day of Spring was here!

It is not actually the first day of Spring, but it sure feels like it to me. Our one son is having snow where he lives, but there still is that hope that it will be the kind of weather soon where he can go out and not wear a coat, like on a nice spring day.

With spring comes a burst of energy to get my third book finished, the desire to get out and just take a nice walk outside (As you can tell, I am not a snow person).

March 1st brings a magical energy, a time of new beginning, and Hope.

Our cats even love March 1st - Lucy and Bailey have a renewed love of lounging in the sunlight and the birds that come out this time of year make for hours of fascination.

March 1st brings me hope, but that hope is there all year.

My husband took a picture of a rock surrounded by flowers and a butterfly that sits alone in the winter - in the Spring, it's surrounded by beauty.

He took a picture of it and put it on CafePress to help others find hope, because Hope is what everyone needs in life, whether to get into a school you want, get a job you want, survive a illness, be with the love of your life...hope wins.

Happy March 1st, everyone.

...On a busy life

Life is busy.  Sometimes way too busy.

What made me think of this is because I have been getting feedback about my suspense books, especially The Donation Man, that it is a "Quick Read" and that the larger print helps, too.

One reader said that, due to the snow storms that have hit the East Coast, she finally got to my book, the first time she's had to read a book in a long time, and she spent the day sipping coffee and reading.

She likes suspense books, and was glad I put one of the characters from my first suspense book in this one.  (She was also glad she read it during the day, not before bed!)

She wrote that she loves that the books are quick reads, and she didn't get sore eyes from small print.

Life is busy, she wrote, but staying in all day during snow storm with a comfy chair, and my book made for a good day.

So if you're reading this, thanks to you who want that quick read at home, in an airplane, during a snowstorm, wherever and whenever.  You know who you are, and here's to you - the busy ones.

...On Cats and Writing

It's finally done! My second suspense book, The Donation Man is now out! My third book, Break In, is 85 percent done. Thanks to Kelly Abell, I have a book trailer of both books on YouTube, which you can see here.

Now it seems that once a day, I encounter something that makes me say "that's a good idea for another book!"  Or "this would make a good suspense plot for a movie someday!".

Thanks to World Castle's great editing and cover design, I've been able to turn these ideas and my writing into novels. Also, because I am a member of The Cat Writer's Association, with my book Goldy's Baby Socks winning an award, I put cats in all my suspense books.

I love cats. We currently have two cats we adopted, and they add humor to our home with their shenanigans. So if I can do it, you can.....don't give up....have fun writing!

My cat Lucy working hard to inspire new writing ideas

You can do it!

Those are the words that I like to say to myself when I get "stuck" when writing a book, co-writing a song, or trying to wake up when my tabby cat, Lucy has woken me up at 4am. It is not that I don't listen when others motivate me. In fact, a friend of mine, Marsha, kept telling me I could write a fiction book. I would say "sure", but I really didn't believe I could.

One day, her words floated through my head, and I said in a booming voice to myself, "You Can Do It". I had written award winning picture books, songs, but could I really write a suspense fiction book? I tried, and with the help of World Castle Publishing, my editor, Kelly, World of Ink Network, and friends and family......I DID IT.    Now I keep a sign by my computer for my next book, my next song collaboration, and who else knows what is to follow....it says, " You Did it, Do It Again".