I met Rainer Bantau a few years ago through the Writers Guild of Texas, and got to know him better as we worked on projects as members of the WGT Board of Directors. I love his sense of humor, his heart for service, his desire to bring out the best in others, and his dedication… Continue reading The Human Pipeline
Category: Stuff of Mystery
As a reader and writer of the mystery genre, I am interested in everything related to law enforcement and crime. For research results and musings on the stuff of a good whodunit,..
Shining the Light on #ModernSlavery
If you’ve followed my blog for awhile, you know that ending human-trafficking is a cause I am passionate about. Perhaps you wonder why this cause haunts me. Today seems like the right day to share what I have witnessed. My family moved to Kerrville, Texas in 1984. I was about to be a sophomore in… Continue reading Shining the Light on #ModernSlavery
From Modern Slavery to Chocolate Muffins
Have we talked about how much I love chocolate? I’ve been addicted as long as I can remember. And bread… well, that’s just a gateway drug for me. I am learning that if I can stay away from bread and crackers I have a much better chance of staying on my food plan. So you… Continue reading From Modern Slavery to Chocolate Muffins
Reconnaissance Work–Hospital Security
Since my primary work-in-progress (WIP) is a medical thriller, I use every visit to every hospital to research setting and security. Today was one of those days. One of my husband's duties as a ministry intern while in seminary is to visit church members in the hospital. Since I know two of the three people… Continue reading Reconnaissance Work–Hospital Security
Researching WWII Children
I am the first to admit that I can justify almost any form of procrastination, but my hands-down favorite is research! This became such a problem while in graduate school that one of my professors made me parrot "It's not done, it's only due" every time she saw me about campus. I had missed too many… Continue reading Researching WWII Children
Capital Punishment: A New and Improved Decision?
One of the best parts of being a mystery writer is attending Mystery Writers of America meetings. Granted, I’m not a full-fledged member yet, but I’m working towards it and thrilled that they allow unpublished authors to attend. Each meeting of the Southwest chapter has a guest speaker presenting an aspect of mystery writing, the… Continue reading Capital Punishment: A New and Improved Decision?
Everything is a Mystery
A number of us from my local writers' guild just completed a challenge to observe our surroundings for ten days, and each day to come up with five potential novel ideas. At the end of the ten days, we were to turn the three best ideas into elevator pitches of fifty words or less and… Continue reading Everything is a Mystery
Appearances are Deceiving
I had a great time at the Mystery Writers of America’s monthly meeting Saturday morning. Our guest speaker was a psychotherapist who shared information on personality disorders in order to help us develop more accurate, rounded, and dynamic villains. After the presentation we ate and visited. Hanging out with a group of writers is always… Continue reading Appearances are Deceiving
Praying for Aurora, CO
Like most people, I was shocked to learn about the shootings in Aurora, CO. My prayers are for the victims, the police officers and FBI agents working the case, the EMTs and doctors who had to ignore their own feelings to care for the wounded, the families of all involved, the community as a whole,… Continue reading Praying for Aurora, CO