Tuesday's Overlooked Films: Born to Kill (1947)

This gritty, well-acted film noir from 1947 is directed by the reliable Robert Wise. The main stars are Lawrence Tierney, Claire Trevor, and Walter Slezak. But the weasel-faced great character actor Elisha Cook, Jr. steals the show for me. Tierney had a long acting career including a fine role in a 1990 Seinfeld episode. In this film he does a lot of shifty eye mannerisms and speaks in clipped dialogue. The never colder Claire Trevor is the femme fatale of femme fatales. Walter Slezak plays the bible-quoting, seedy private eye. Esther Howard plays the perfect floozy who is determined to solve the murder. The film, considered by many as a classic, is a lot of fun to watch.

Tuesday's Forgotten Movies: Ministry of Fear Directed by Fritz Lang

I've been a big fan of Director Fritz Lang's movies for some time, and I never pass up the chance to watch a new one (for me, at least) like Ministry of Fear based on Graham Greene's novel. Throw in the talented Dan Duryea playing a bit role, and I've simply got to watch it. I wasn't disappointed in this atmospheric espionage drama involving Nazi spies, desired objects smuggled in baked cakes, and a most odd first editions bookstore. Ray Milland plays a likeable protagonist, and the lovely Marjorie Reynolds is his romantic interest. Lang does some artful things with the camerawork, and the pace moves right along. I haven't read Greene's book, so I don't know how faithfully the movies follows his work of fiction. While Ministry of Fear doesn't rate as high as the classic The Third Man (Greene wrote the screenplay, then the novel) does, I enjoyed watching it just the same. You might, too.

Tuesday's Forgotten Movies: The Prowler Starring Van Heflin

I'm a bit late with this post, but better late than never, as they say. This gritty, well-acted 1951 film noir stars Van Heflin and Evelyn Keyes playing in meaty roles as the romantic interests. Both competent actors are very fine. I've seen them in other movies but always as support players and never as the dramatic leads. When Susan Gilvray (Keyes) reports a prowler she thinks she has spotted outside her house, the police officer Webb Garwood (Heflin) arrives and investigates. Susan is a lonely, rich housewife, and Webb is a greedy ex-jock. When they meet, the love/lust bug bites them. Of course, Susan is married, and Webb strings Susan along until he can figure out how to do away with hubbie and get away with it. Everything goes smoothly until new complications develop, and the lovers have flee to a deserted old mining town where things really come unraveled. Their roughing it while staying at the primitive mining camp is somewhat puzzling, since their clothes never get dirty, and they eat rather well. John Maxwell also stars, and the uncredited Dalton Trumbo wrote the snappy script. He also is the voice behind Susan's hubbie who has a popular radio show. IMDb.com gives The Prowler an impressive 7.3/10 rating, and I'd concur with it.

Introducing My New Cozy Mystery Title: THE AMBER TOP HAT

They're back...Isabel & Alma are sleuthing again. Quiet Anchorage, Virginia, is just like any other small town but with one notable difference: the dead bodies keep turning up. Fortunately, Sheriff Roscoe Fox, who never met a sugar-glazed doughnut served with coffee he didn’t like, can depend on the sisters sleuths Isabel and Alma Trumbo. This time tragedy strikes Blue Trent, one of the codgers affectionately known as the Three Musketeers who warm the wooden bench just outside the flower shop on Main Street. One summer morning, Blue’s nephew Ralph is discovered murdered while seated inside his taxicab, leaving Blue devastated. Alarmed about their old friend’s emotional state, Isabel and Alma put away their Scrabble board, grab their pocketbooks, and get busy doing what they do best: snooping. The clues have never been any scarcer, and they have their detective work cut out for them. Their spunky young assistant Sammi Jo also pitches in. The amber “top hat” sign mounted to the roof of Ralph’s taxicab just might hold the key to unlock the mystery of his murder. The fourth series title, The Amber Top Hat is a clean read and a traditional whodunit set in a charming small town. Join Isabel and Alma when they set off on solving their latest mystery as amateur sleuths that is as fun and challenging for them as it is for the reader.

A Cozy Place Where The Sun Always Shines

One of the things I've discovered is casting my story on a sunny, clear day sets a cheerier mood and creates more likeable characters than a story that happens on a rainy, dreary day. It only makes sense. So, I decided to just use bright sunny days in my two cozy mystery series. Furthermore, I also decided I'd set my cozies in the good, old summertime of the year. This idea is especially appealing when I sit and write the cozy title during the cold wintertime. My latest cozy title is The Corpse Wore Gingham, the first book in my Piper & Bill Robins Cozy Mystery Series. The sun is always shining down on Piper and Bill.

Tuesday's Overlooked Films: The Killers Starring Burt Lancaster

This 1946 film noir classic is hardly a forgotten movie, but I saw it for the first time, and liked it fine. It stars Burt Lancaster in his movie debut, the drop-dead gorgeous Ava Gardner, and Edmond O'Brien. William Conrad plays one of the killers sent to blow away Ole "The Swede" Andreson (Lancaster). I've seen Conrad in quite a few films noir, and he's always reliable. From what I remember of the famous Ernest Hemingway short story, the movie provides the back story of what may have transpired before the execution takes place. Life insurance investigator Jim Reardon (O'Brien) draws the assignment to investigate the murder since Ole took out a $2,500 insurance policy. Reardon gets an able assist from an old neighborhood pal of Ole's, Police Lieutenant Sam Lubinsky played by the droll Sam Levene. Ava Gardner plays the femme fatale Kitty Collins who Ole has the misfortune to fall deeply in love with enough to take a three-year prison rap for her. Lancaster played his role rather understated while O'Brien did a solid job playing the persistent, tough-nosed insurance detective. The narration is told through an interesting series of flashbacks, and the plot is complicated by crosses and double crosses. For the most part, I could follow the bouncing ball of the plot. Where did the stolen dough end up is the question I kept asking myself. By the final scene, I found out the answer. The Killers is a quite enjoyable movie and worth seeing for a second time.

Tuesday's Overlooked Films: The Lineup Starring Eli Wallach

This rather late entry in the film noir genre was directed by the stalwart Don Siegel in 1958 and stars a manic Eli Wallach and a suave Robert Keith as partners and hit men. I've enjoyed Don Siegel's other crime pictures, and this one didn't leave me disappointed either. The cops-and-robbers chase scene finale on the unfinished Embarcadero Freeway is alone worth the time spent watching The Lineup. Wallach and the older Keith (playing Wallach's mentor) show up in San Francisco where the film is shot on location as a pair of psychopathic hit men. Their task is to make a pick up of heroin smuggled into the country by unsuspecting tourists who just disembarked from a cruise ship back from the Orient. What makes the hit men so fascinating (remember this picture is from 1958) is how their casual violence is portrayed. For some screwy and creepy reason, Keith always wants to know the dying words of their victims. One thing I noticed was the cops having to use the police call boxes on the streets to reach the station house except for the motorcycle cop who uses the radio on his bike. Also, I saw a dirigible (or is it a UFO?) floating above the Golden Gate Bridge in one of the scenes. The thing hovering in the sky really bugged me. didn't the film editors catch it before releasing the movie to the public? Stirling Silliphant (he once won an Edgar Award from MWA) wrote the sturdy script. Anyway, I enjoyed watching The Lineup, and you might, too.

Welcome To The Small Town I Call Quiet Anchorage

As far as I know, no small town exists that is named Quiet Anchorage. I googled it, too. There is just plain Anchorage up in Alaska, but I can find no Quiet Anchorage. But it's my literary small town. I don't remember how I derived the small town's name. Maybe I spotted the nautical term—quiet anchorage—used somewhere in my reading and adopted it. I know the small town’s creation came from my recollections of having grown up in a similar rural town found in northern Virginia.

Main Street is where much of the action takes place in the Quiet Anchorage of my Isabel & Alma Trumbo Cozy Mystery Series. The sun is always shining there. Really. It never rains. A wooden bench is situated in front of the flower shop where the three well-liked codgers--Willie, Blue, and Ossie--like to sit and watch everything going on. Nothing much gets by them.

A softball pitch down the street is the town pharmacy where prescription medicine is sold at the pharmacy counter and banana splits at the soda fountain counter. Naturally, a railroad track runs through one end of Quiet Anchorage. Following the scheduled trains's whistles plays a large part in the townies's (i.e., the residents) daily routines.

There is a men's barbershop and a lady's hair salon, though you won't find many scenes taking place there. I think the settings have been overused. Instead, the laundromat is where the always busy but friendly pair of lady gossips--Lotus and Rosie--hang out, catching up on the latest news. If you need groceries, the IGA should suit your shopping needs. The proprietor--Jumpy--is a burly man with a quick smile and a sales pitch for his lamb chop specials.

Several blocks over from Main Street is Church Street with a brick rambler and a powder blue sedan parked in the driveway. My sister sleuths Isabel and Alma Trumbo reside there with their lovable beagle named Petey Samson (yes, he uses two names as I tell why in my book). Isabel is older and wiser while Alma sometimes goes off half-cocked.

They spend a lot of their time doing stuff on Main Street. You can read about their start as a pair of sleuths in the first book Quiet Anchorage, which is named after their small town. Now you know all about Quiet Anchorage. I hope you'll stop by for a read.

Tuesday's Overlooked Films: Chicago Syndicate Starring Dennis O'Keefe

This uninspired 1955 mob film stars Dennis O'Keefe, Xavier Cugat, Allison Hayes, and Abbe Lane. O'Keefe, a veteran actor I've enjoyed watching in other crime films, plays a tough guy CPA who infiltrates the Chicago mob to get the right damning ledgers from a mob boss played by Paul Stewart. Allison Hayes plays the daughter of the previous accountant who was exposed while working undercover and gunned down. I won't reveal more about the plot so as not to be a spoiler. Xavier's flashy band does a couple of snappy numbers, and his then-wife Abbe Lane sings a song. Lane is the gangster's girlfriend who knows more about the shady operations than she lets on. Carl Sandburg's famous poem "Chicago" is quoted at the beginning narration to help to set up the movie in the city of the same name. IMDb.com rates Chicago Syndicate at 6.5/10 which sounds like a fair mark to me. Enjoyable but nothing really special.

Married Couples Who Like To Read Books

While I was developing the personality profiles for my married couple who are the mature sleuths featured in my second cozy mystery series, I debated over whether to make the husband and wife as fellow book lovers. In the end, I decided to do it, but I let the husband Bill Robins read his favorite types of books (military, hardboiled, etc.) while his wife Piper Robins read her preferred fiction genres (chick lit, cozy mysteries, etc.). I thought it was an effective way to show their common interests besides just their being sleuths in the series. Their first cozy mystery title is The Corpse Wore Gingham.

I wonder how often do the married couples in real life share a mutual passion for reading books. Is "the he/she must be a reader" on the list of desired traits for finding a mate? :-) My wife and I, for instance, both enjoy reading books, and we recommend titles to each other we think the other might also enjoy reading. Our reading tastes are similar, though I lean more toward nonfiction such as sports and history. We go to the library and to the bookstores together. I just read my first "fun book" this year, an Anne George mystery Murder Boogies With Elvis, which I enjoyed and recommend to other mystery lovers.

Does your significant other also enjoy reading books? Do you read the same types of books?

Tuesday's Forgotten Films: The Good Die Young Starring Gloria Grahame

This gritty 1954 crime drama stars Laurence Harvey, Gloria Grahame, John Ireland, Joan Collins, Stanley Baker and Richard Basehart. Robert Morley and Margaret Leighton also are featured. What a good cast. Lewis Gilbert who went on to helm movies like Alfie and James Bonds was the director. Maybe the American actors (Grahame, Ireland, Basehart) were included to make the British production appealing more to the U.S. viewers. The straightforward story involves four men who are strangers hooking up to rob the post office with Harvey as their ringleader. Three men are basically good but need the money for various important reasons. Harvey is a good-for-nothing playboy who was decorated in the war for dubious valor. Each of the men have wives who are also good and bad. Grahame and Collins do a nice job in their roles. Everything climaxes at Heathrow Airport. I got a big kick out of watching The Good Die Young.

What's Playing at the Drive-In Movie Theater?

Asking that question is something from the distant past. I haven't gone to a drive-in movie theater since the early 1980s. The last picture show I can remember seeing at one was a Peter Fonda (who?) movie. I always thought he deserved a lot more credit than he got for an actor. But then that can also be said for many entertainers.

Sadly, the drive-in movie theaters have gone the way of the dinosaur and dodo bird. I can remember passing by one outdoor theater down near Lexington, Virginia, a few years ago. Folks there must still find watching a movie from inside the comfort of their cars to be a relaxing form of entertainment.

When I was a kid, my parents took us to watch such pictures at the drive-in theater as the Jerry Lewis screwball comedies. I remember seeing Western films with The Duke (who else?) and Robert Mitchum. I'm sure there were other movies, but I can't remember any of them by title at the moment. Drive-in movie theaters evoke the nostalgic past in those of us old enough to remember using them. A big box store (one of the chains) now stands where our drive-in movie theater screen once did. The big box store sells the large screen TVs, but it just isn't the same as the drive-in movie theater.

The Used Bookstores Found In My Cozy Mysteries

I made the main characters in my first cozy mystery series into avid readers of fiction, particularly mysteries. Isabel and Alma Trumbo, my sister sleuths in the Virginia small town of Quiet Anchorage, make it a practice to visit used (secondhand)bookstores in search of their future reads. It's something alluring about the smells of a used bookstore. You never know what obscure reading treasure you might find in one. Isabel and Alma's habit is to hang on to every book they read because they might want to re-read it. They also discuss what will happen to their trove of mystery books once they are gone. Alma believes the town will use their books to establish the first public library, or perhaps to stock the first used bookstore. Isabel favors both ideas. You can begin reading about Isabel and Alma's love of reading mysteries as well as their sleuthing adventures with the first book in their series, Quiet Anchorage.

Tuesday's Overlooked Films: The Boogie Man Will Get You Starring Boris Karoloff & Peter Lorre

This undemanding, fun 1942 horror spoof stars Hollywood giants Boris Karloff paired with Peter Lorre, two excellent reasons why it may be worthwhile to watch. Karloff plays the "mad scientist" at a New England inn, and Lorre is the town sheriff/coroner/physician/or whatever you need. There are lots of moveable corpses and snappy one liners, and I chuckled a few times. The horror element isn't too creepy, so I wasn't looking for much frightening stuff. The film run time is a bit over an hour, so the foolishness isn't carried on for too long. Lorre appears as if he's having a blast, and Karloff's eyeglasses never move from their perch on his forehead. The Boogie Man Will Get You was good stuff, making for a nice change of pace for my old movies viewing.

Tuesday's Overlooked Films: "Framed" Starring Glenn Ford and Uncle Joe

Every now and then, I'll run across a film noir that is a fun surprise. Such an entry is the 1947 crime melodrama Framed starring Glenn Ford, Janis Carter, Barry Sullivan, and Edgar Buchanan (later to be Uncle Joe on Petticoat Junction). It's obviously a low-budget "B" picture, but that only adds to its gritty appeal. Glenn Ford plays an out-of-work mining engineer who drives a truck without brakes down into a small mountain town (located probably in northern California). Of course, he runs into bad luck with the local law, and the bar waitress Janis Carter with the seemingly heart of gold pays his court fine. She's too good to be true, and she is just that. Ford teams up with Buchanan playing a silver miner who can't get a loan from Barry Sullivan, the sleazy local bank vice-president. We quickly see Carter and Sullivan are up to no good, and Ford had better watch out. Carter makes for a great icy blonde femme fatale. What a pity she didn't star in more films like this good one. Glenn Ford is always reliable in these films with his low-keyed, earnest performance as seen in this one. Framed was entertaining from start to finish.

Where the Sidewalks Begin and End in My Cozy Mysteries

Something as ordinary as sidewalks has always intrigued me. I grew up in a small rural town with few sidewalks, and I thought of them as a luxury to walk on where I didn't get the mud caked on my shoes. Our Main Street even featured dual sidewalks. Maybe a few of the side streets did, as well. The other small towns I passed through either did or didn't offer its residents sidewalks.

The larger the town was, the more likely it featured sidewalks. Some of the hamlets were no more than a sign staked in the ground at a crossroads or at a railroad crossing. I guess there was no budget to build the sidewalks. Who would use them anyway? So, my small town with its sidewalk had arrived, so to speak.      

Flash forward many years later when we moved to our suburban neighborhood. Sidewalks were one of the criteria we used to pick the neighborhood we wanted to live in. I encounter the sidewalks on every street. Since I'm a big walker, I'm in walking heaven. I make it a point to take a walk daily (doc's orders) and take advantage of the sidewalks found just outside my front door.

When I started writing my Piper & Bill Cozy Mystery Series, they became a married couple who also like to take daily walks in their neighborhood. Bill's doc has told him to walk for health reasons, and Piper sees to it he does.[book:The Corpse Wore Gingham|24404034] is a fun, light-hearted cozy mystery suitable for bedtime reading or anywhere else the reader wants to relax and escape into the entertaining story.

Tuesday's Forgotten Films: "Teresa" Starring Pier Angeli

This 1951 war drama directed by Fred Zinnemann stars Pier Angeli, John Ericson, Ralph Meeker, and Rod Steiger. Ericson plays an American G.I. based in Italy where he meets and falls in love with the Italian girl played by Angeli. She is truly a war bride as the marriage takes place in her native village. Once the war ends, Ericson returns to his family in New York City. His mother is an overbearing, smothering type who takes over running his life again. Of course, after Angeli finally gets her official clearance to join him, the real trouble begins since Mother doesn't like her son's new bride. I enjoyed the movie though it's not my usual fare. I would have liked to see more of Meeker and Steiger (his debut), but they're roles are fairly minor. James Coburn has an uncredited role, but I missed seeing him. Wikipedia indicates Ericson is still living.

My Riding On March's Rollercoaster Weather

Yesterday I walked for the first time this year in my shirt sleeves, and the temperature hit 70 degrees, and even higher before the sun went down. This morning I went out to fetch the newspaper, and a cold rain pelted down on me. The thermometer reading was 42 degrees, and I wouldn't get in my walk unless it's late one. Sometimes I go in the late afternoon if I get all of my work finished for the day. I watched the weather forecast, and the meteorologist predicted more cold temperatures over the weekend. I just went ENOUGH ALREADY! Right now, I'm doing the final edits on my second book in the Piper & Bill Robins Cozy Mystery Series. I feel more like writing my cozies when it's warm outdoors since they are set in the good old summertime. I like Piper and Bill because they're an older married couple who love each other and pull together despite their good-natured fussing. You can catch up on the light-hearted, funny series by reading book one:, The Corpse Wore Gingham: A Piper & Bill Robins Mystery. It has gotten several favorable reviews on Goodreads and Amazon. Thanks for trying it out.

Tuesday's Overlooked Films: The Bigamist Directed By Ida Lupino

This very fine 1953 melodrama may feel dated, but I found it intriguing to watch. Wikipedia says it is the first film directed by a woman and also star the same woman who is the super talented and versatile Ida Lupino. I've enjoyed her other directed films noir like The Hitch-Hiker, also starring Edmond O'Brien. This time he stars as playing the husband of Ida Lupino and also Joan Fontaine. He turns in a complex and conflicted portrayal of a bigamist. I felt sympathy for his situation, but he was his own worse enemy. Interestingly, old Edmund "Kris Kringle" Gwenn plays the state adoption investigator who exposes O'Brien's double life. Several references are made about Santa Claus, a humorous touch. I liked O'Brien in this world weary traveling salesman role. His loneliness while on the road is what brings him into Lupino's orbit. The ending is pretty numbing and ambivalent. Lupino doesn't sensationalize or exploit the bigamist topic. Worthwhile viewing for fans of the film noir genre.

My First Crocus Sighting Is Now In The Books

It's now official! Today I made my first crocus sighting of the year. A neighbor down the block had a bunch of them in bloom in his yard. Last week at this time we had six inches of snow on the ground, and it seemed as if winter had no end. But it's looking up now. We'll still have some cool nights. And they'll be pollen in the air for the allergies. But I believe the snow removal is done until next November rolls around. My Facebook friends have left messages telling me their spring flowers are out already. I guess spring just took longer to reach us living in D.C. this year. At any rate, I'm working on the second title in my cozy mystery series I aim to publish later this year before the next snows fall. The cozy series is set in a fictional D.C. suburb, like the one where I live, and begins with [book:The Corpse Wore Gingham|24404034]. Check it out for one of your warm weather reads.

Welcome To The Farmers' Market In My Cozy Mystery

I set one chapter from my Piper & Bill Robins Cozy Mystery Series Book #1 The Corpse Wore Gingham at the Farmers' Market. There's a good reason for it, too. The Farmers' Market begins the first Saturday in May. We like to get to ours early in the morning. I always enjoy going for the first time after a long, cold winter. The vivid colors of the fruits and vegetables out on display catch my eye. I like seeing our favorite vendors again and chatting with them. The ace barbecuers at one end of the Farmers' Market fill the air with their delicious smoky odors. Everybody is in a friendly, upbeat mood. Of course, the fresh fruit and vegetables are so tasty, especially in making our garden salads. We eat salads around the year, but the Farmers' Market provides us with more variety of the salad ingredients. We're big fans of the tomatoes and cucumbers. It's interesting to see which fruits and vegetables are in season as the summer progresses into autumn. If you're a cozy mystery fan, check out what Piper & Bill discover by going to their Farmers' Market, and how it helps them to solve the murder mystery they investigate in The Corpse Wore Gingham.

Recreating Main Street In My Small Town Cozy Mysteries

Sometimes I wonder how it would be if I revisited the small town where I grew up if just to see what it is like today. No doubt it would look wet and cold. So, let's make it a clear, sunny day in June. While I made my way down the sidewalk along Main Street, I wonder if the memories would come back to me. I wonder if I would see the details I've forgotten, or I haven't thought about in many years. So far, I've resisted the temptation to return, and I probably won't do it. I suppose there really is something to the old saying you can't go home again. 

Seeing Main Street through an adult's eyes is a lot different than through seeing it through a kid's eyes. As a kid I believe I was more aware of my five senses. You know, the smells, sounds, and sights I encountered on Main Street. For instance, I can still recall the unique pungent scent of the fermenting corn I smelled around the grain elevators and metal silos at the Famers' Co-op.

It was located next to the railroad tracks at the far end of Main Street. The railroad tracks that I remember so well have helped me to anchor the mental map I've drawn to create my fictional small town of Quiet Anchorage, Virginia. I like for my two sister sleuths Isabel & Alma Trumbo to visit Main Street early in the book. In fact, many of the scenes take place on Main Street, either on the sidewalks or inside the different shops. Main Street becomes an important place for Isabel & Alma to go to mingle with and meet their friends.

Tuesday's Overlooked Movies: The Great St. Louis Bank Robbery Starring Steve McQueen

This 1959 bank heist drama stars Steve McQueen in an early movie role. I enjoyed watching his other films over the years, so I decided I'd give this one a try. For some puzzling reason, IMDb.com only rates it 6.0/10.0. I quibble with that low mark. Granted, the movie's pace is slow and deliberate, but I find that to be a good quality as it allowed me to see each of the four gangster characters evolve. McQueen plays a college dropout who is hired to play the wheelman in a planned bank heist. Of course, McQueen doesn't have any experience, but one of the gang members vouches for him. The same gang member also has a younger sister who McQueen is sweet on. Despite their casing the target bank and meticulous planning, tensions run high and testy within the gang. Since this is a film noir, we know things aren't going to go well for the robbers. Crahan Denton as the boss has a few hang ups that get in his way. David Clarke who vouches for McQueen gives an especially edgy performance. Clarke died in 2004 at age 95. All told, I give this film a solid thumbs up. McQueen went on to make better pictures, but he does a good job in this one which proves again crime doesn't pay.

My New Cozy Mystery Is Set In The Cozy 'Burbs

Earlier this year, I published my first title in a new cozy mystery series: The Corpse Wore Gingham. This series is different than my first cozy series featuring the elderly sisters Isabel & Alma Trumbo. They reside in the fictitious small town of Quiet Anchorage located in Virginia. Just like in Cabot Cove, the murders keep turning up in Quiet Anchorage, and they keep Isabel & Alma hopping with their sleuthing adventures.

However, Piper & Bill Robins reside in the fictitious suburb of Beverly Park located in the Northern Virginia area just south of Washington, D.C. Piper & Bill, like Isabel & Alma, are retired, but the Robinses are a married couple who have taken up the role of amateur sleuth. Their unusual decision wasn't made as a fanciful whim but as a practical course as the murder plot in The Corpse Wore Gingham shows. After solving their first case, they find themselves tackling a second one. That's the book I'm working on right at the moment.

Beverly Park is a tidy and quiet neighborhood with its residents like the Robinses who have lived there for decades. Families are raised there. The kids grow up and move away, but their parents stay because they consider Beverly Park to be their home. It has a sense of civic pride, and the neighbors living there like as well as look out for one another. In some ways, my suburb of Beverly Park is like my small town of Quiet Anchorage.

Just as a side note, Isabel & Alma Trumbo will be back, so don't forget about them. I'm planning on their return for late this spring or early summer, so thanks for adding them to your summer reading lists.

My First Draft to Book 2 Is Finished Today

I believe the time was 2:10 p.m. this afternoon when I wrote the last word to Book 2 of my Piper & Bill Robins Cozy Mystery Series. I may have whooped out loud as I typed the final period to the final sentence. I know it's just a first draft--I've done enough of them to understand that--but I was happy at least for the moment. My other fiction projects this year have been editing and revising, so Book 2 is my first new fiction book I've written in 2015. I'll begin the first round of revising it over the next week, licking it into shape. Then I'll set the Book 2 draft aside for a few weeks before I begin the final edits. Meantime, Book 1 is The Corpse Wore Gingham where Piper & Bill Robins get started in their sleuthing adventures.