Me to author-friend Connie Brockway, “Movers come on Tuesday for the furniture going to California. The Husband flies down on Wednesday while I get my hair done. Thursday I fly in the afternoon and we get the third bed delivered. :cue the suspense music: Will it be the right one at last?” Yep. That’s our… Read More

The California move, the bed part Continued from part 1 I searched for bed frames online and, as happens, The Husband and could not agree. :sigh: Finally I found a Shaker style which I knew he’d like and ordered it. We managed to have it delivered on one of the days we were in California… Read More

The Husband and I flew to N. California for five days of wine tasting, eating and much, much walking (because of the eating) and as we were flying back, I took these photos of Mt. Rainier and, as the sun set, Seattle with Mt. Rainer in the background. I know—that mountain looks fake, doesn’t it?… Read More

Get out your wallet! It’s time for Summer Reading Recommendations with New York Times bestseller Jayne Ann Krentz, bookseller and reviewer John Charles, and Christina Dodd. You can watch on Jayne’s Facebook page, and here are the URLs for your book buying pleasure. Jayne’s recommendations Play the Fool by Lena Chern Solving a murder while… Read More

Our new greenhouse is built and operational! I know what you’re thinking: Wow, The Husband got busy early this year! Yes, well, he knows how dedicated I am to my garden and he likes me to be happy. Also, I’m a nag. The truth is, we’ve been discussing a greenhouse for years. Our main goal in… Read More

On Facebook, a question was posed to me: How many of your characters have traits or personalities of “real” people you know? Let me take the long way around to answer that question. Often at autographings, after I’ve thanked a reader for coming to the bookstore to meet me, shaken her hand, signed her books,… Read More

This summer I’m pleased to announce The Husband did not construct a miniature Taj Mahal in our backyard. What he did (and is still doing) was rebuild the walk between the house and the stone circle to be forever free of weeds. (I can hear you chuckling, but that is our hope!) It’s an amazing… Read More

On June 5 at 4am, my 96-year-old father-in-law died of natural causes. What to tell you about Tom? He was eccentric, funny, opinionated (but that was okay because we usually agreed), outspoken and intelligent. He didn’t suffer fools gladly. Because he grew up in a small Idaho mountain town during the Great Depression, he was… Read More

When people discover I’m a writer, there are a lot of reactions: Have I read you? Should I know you? And— Are you going to make me a character in your book?  The answer: No. I know somewhere in this world exists that person who is interesting enough to be a fictional character, but I’ve… Read More

Rae ran into the kitchen yelling, “Grandma! We got a dog!” Verona turned away from the accounts spread across the table. “Well, let me see it… My God, what’s that?” She pulled off her reading glasses and stared as the fifty pounds of red muscled beast bounded in, tail wagging, and explored her kitchen. Rae… Read More