What the Dickens is Going On? - November 20, 2025

I was delighted to be invited to write a Thanksgiving story for the anthology The Perp Wore Pumpkin 2. It wasn't the first charity anthology I'd been in, and I couldn't imagine a worthier cause considering the times in which we live. The net profits were going to be donated to the Second Harvest Food Bank. The writers all volunteered their time and talent to produce stories with the theme of food and Thanksgiving. A special bonus for readers is the appearance of Thanksgiving-related recipes, which I was happy to pass along to my husband, our household chef.

My first thought was about the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade. Having grown up across the river from the New York City parade route, one of my earliest memories is attending the parade with my parents and sister. We didn't last very long. As a group of marchers approached us, I began to scream hysterically, terrified by these creatures with massive heads who were undoubtedly going to steal me from my parents and run off with me. Or at least, that's what I thought they were up to. I was inconsolable and created such a scene that we had to leave early. It was a while before the nightmares stopped, and we never returned to the parade again.

So I started with the Thanksgiving Day parade for my setting. As a dedicated fan of A Christmas Carol, I couldn't resist the temptation to plant Dickens references here and there. I finally arrived at a story about eager new police officer Sumi Lee who takes her assignment to accompany Santa's sleigh very seriously. Too seriously for her sergeant when she tries to arrest Santa and his elves. Will it cost her the job she loves? You'll have to read the story to find out.

Happy Thanksgiving to you and your families.

THE BRIDE WORE BLOOD! - September 23, 2025

My story, “The Bride Wore Blood,” appears in the new anthology, SOWEST: DANGER AWAITS! It is loosely based on my experience in the Mesa (Arizona) Half-Marathon in 2004, which was a celebration of my 60^th birthday and the first of my 11 half-marathons over the next decades. The only differences between the story and my real life are the lack of a murder during my race and my never having been a police officer.

When Mesa police officer Rennie Sutherland witnesses a murder in a hot air balloon as it passes her on a training run, can she outsmart the killer before he makes her his next victim? Only one way to find out! https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0FNS2H162

No Way Out! - August 27, 2025

Some days feel like that. There's no way out from the chaos of the world around us. But this time, it's a reference to my latest story. "No Way Out," which appears in the new anthology, Celluloid Crimes.

It's 1950 in Newark, New Jersey. When mobster Harry Harmony insists on hiring P.I. Chris Falconi to find out if his wife is cheating on him, Chris has hard decisions to make, the most important of which is how she can get out of this alive.

If you're interested, there's a link to purchase the paperback or ebook in the Short Stories tab on this website. I hope you enjoy it as much as I enjoyed writing this taste of black and white Hollywood noir films.