A miscellany of thoughts about dogs, cats, writing, life in the Ozarks, & occasional book reviews
While mystery fiction has quite a few dog-related series, none of them were set in a boarding kennel at the time Deadly Ties was published. Makes a great setting with plenty of characters coming and going—and dogs, of course! The kennel becomes the physical “anchor” for the book, and for the entire series. As the series …
Continue reading Digging for Treasure
When I travel, I'm often asked "What's it like to live in the Ozarks?" Borrowing a Native American phrase I like to say that to live among these hills is to "walk in beauty." You needn't take my word for it, though. Here's a slideshow of photographs taken by Arkansas photographer David Dedman: These photographs capture the beauty of our …
Continue reading The Beautiful Ozarks
One of my favorite places in the world is a library. That's where I'll be today, visiting with fans and friends at the Fayetteville (AR) Public Library. If you're in the area, I hope to see you there! * I'll be back here soon to share more about facts and folktales in regional mysteries. Remember …
Continue reading Sharing a Love of Mysteries
According to the Old Farmer's Almanac, every fog in October means a snow in December. The hills and hollers I call home have been cloaked in fog at least five mornings to date, with friends in remote homesteads and farms reporting even more. We've been lucky (so far) that the sun breaks through by mid-morning and …
Continue reading October Journeys
I'm an "up close and personal" kind of researcher. So when I'm working on my regional series, that means I'm often out in the hills, meeting people and listening to the stories that have been handed down, one generation to the next, keeping the old legends alive. The story of the Yokum Dollar is one of …
Continue reading Folklore in Fiction