Gay Yellen: Talking to Trees

A recent article in The Wall Street Journal has me thinking about the emotional connection humans often feel for trees. In "Why a Tree is the Friend We Need Right Now," columnist Elizabeth Bernstein describes her relationship with the banyan tree she first encountered while worrying about a sick relative, and to which she returned again and again to seek comfort under its boughs.

The heartfelt gratitude she expressed for her banyan reminded me of Shel Silverstein's poignant picture book, The Giving Tree, and also of my own tree-friends.

My relationship with trees began with my childhood summertime reading and the mimosa tree in our front yard. I'd climb up to the sturdy limb that perfectly fit the curve of my back and, cocooned in the cool, dense shade of its feathery leaves, I'd read my latest Nancy Drew.

In the neighborhood today, hundred-year oaks and other wizened trees abound. Like the WSJ columnist, I feel an attachment to many of them. I revel in the shade of the ancient oaks that shelter a nearby path, bending toward each other like a giant arbor. There's one with a burl that looks like a teddy bear. I pat its fat belly as I walk by.

Down the street there's one that appears to be winning a decades-long power struggle with a city sidewalk. I cheer it on as it pushes the cement away from its powerful roots. Another favorite shelters a little fairy house.

Fairy house tree.

I also mourn the giants cut down too soon, along with the charming brick bungalows they stood beside—only to make way for new, gentrified, and decidedly unremarkable houses. 

Thoreau once opined that "trees indeed have hearts." So when the WSJ states that a "calming and awe-inspiring tree is the perfect antidote to anxiety," I heartily agree. Especially nowadays, when anxiety seems to lurk around every corner.

Do you have a special relationship with a tree? If not, go out and find one. Spend time there. Hug it, if you feel the need. It might be the start of a beautiful friendship.

Gay Yellen writes the award-winning Samantha Newman Mystery Series. She'd love to hear from you, in a comment on this post, on Facebook, BookBub, or via her website.

Good Things Come to Those who Wait, But . . . .

Hello, Stiletto Gang and Readers: As I write this, I'm packing my bags and getting ready for the adventure to start. One daughter-in law is expecting twins, (a boy and a girl) and another daughter-in-law is expecting a baby boy. It's an exciting time as a grandmother, and after 2020, what's truly exciting is now that the entire family is vaccinated, we can be together again.

But as you know, twins come at their own schedule--they could be on time, or they could come early. My other daughter in law is a registered nurse and as she's always on her feet, her babies have come early as well.  (My first granddaughter was born in the bathtub!  Talk about unexpected.

We're going to need a bigger table!

So with all this good news, why am I fretting? I'm also expecting edits on the sequel to Black Pearl, my Cold Case Suspense, while I'm also researching book three. Trying to do research while chasing around the three "existing" grandchildren is going to be interesting. 

I have decided to add a few more hours to my day (truthfully night) to get everything done. My hope is when I return, I'll be smarter (tons of research) thinner (chasing grandchildren does that), and have a book on the verge of being released. 

In the meantime, I'll wait . . . with the following caveat. 

Happy Summer and see you in August with the big reveal???

Why Do You Read Blogs? by Debra H. Goldstein

Why Do You Read Blogs? by Debra H. Goldstein

In the past, I’ve written about the reasons I write blogs. Some include interacting with readers, hoping to attract new readers, sharing my thoughts in a forum that reaches more people than journaling would, and because I enjoy it.

I also subscribe to several blogs and read them religiously for their humor, insight, or because I like the people who write them. At this point, I keep telling myself that I shouldn’t sign up for another blog, but I feel an obligation to follow friends or people who interest me. Of course, if they tend to be too longwinded, I merely glance at the heading and hit delete (do you ever do that?).

 

To me, the soft spot for a blog is 300-500 words. Just enough to take in immediately. Just enough to make one major point that the reader should leave with. Although a lot of bloggers do giveaways or share personal tidbits, that’s not why I follow them (okay, maybe for the personal tidbits. Let’s be honest, I also read People magazine and TV Guide from cover to cover).

 

Why do you read blogs? Why do you follow this specific blog? Leave a comment for a chance to win a copy of my new Sarah Blair mystery, Four Cuts Too Many (mass market or e-book, but U.S. only). I’ll look forward to reading your answers.

Clicking Our Heels: Summer Vacation - Beach, Mountains, On the Road, or Simply a Staycation?

Last month, the Stiletto Gang members shared where each most wanted to go when the world opened up again. Now, with summer here, people are making vacation plans. As always, each of us has a different idea for our perfect summer vacation - beach, mountains, on the road, or staycations.

Bethany Maines - Outdoors someplace sunny.  Could be the beach or the mountain or my backyard, but I want ice cream, a nap, and some sunshine.

Gay Yellen – Mountains. Hiking in a cool mountain forest is the best break from summer in the city.

Mary Lee Ashford – My summer vacation preference would be outdoors with a beach and a book! Staycations are fun but I’ve been working from home since March 2020, so I am more than ready to see some walls that aren’t my own. (1/2- Sparkle Abbey)

Shari Randall – I’d love to go somewhere with great museums and theater. I live near a beach, so I’ll admit it, I’m spoiled.

Linda Rodriguez – Anymore, I’m a stay-at-home person most of the time, thanks to health issues. In summer, you’ll find me inside in the air conditioning or sitting on my spacious porch, spinning or knitting and chatting with my neighbors.

Anita Carter – Definitely outdoors. One of my favorite vacations was when my husband and I traveled to Hawaii for 10 days. We island hopped, had the best time at the beach, and hiking through the mountains and around the volcanos. I’d love to go again. (1/2 Sparkle Abbey)

Debra H. Goldstein – I’m a beach person – even if viewing the waves lapping the sand from an airconditioned room. Of course, now that Broadway is going to be opening at the end of Summer, I wouldn’t mind making a trip to New York part of my summer vacation.

T.K. Thorne – I have to see the ocean regularly or something inside doesn’t get fed. Also, I live on a mountain, so I get my tree and fresh air fix every day.

Debra Sennefelder – Staycation. I really don’t like summer weather. I much prefer air conditioning.

Kathryn Lane – My husband and I spend the summers in the mountains of northern New Mexico, near Taos, where we enjoy outdoor adventures as well as watching wildlife drift by from our cabin deck.

Dru Ann Love – I like sightseeing various locations, so outdoors. Staycations are good as well.

Kathleen Kaska – It’s the beach for me – anytime.

Lois Winston – I much prefer a warm getaway in the winter, but I’m not a beach person. I love exploring museums, ancient sites, and foreign cities.

 

 

 

 

 

When I Visited Walden Pond

By Kathryn Lane

The past three years, my husband and I have spent the summers in a cabin in northern New Mexico. We are isolated, in a way. We are connected to the outside world with excellent internet, workable phone communications, and muddy dirt roads during the rainy season.

As I watch the deer, elk, birds, and the occasional bear, I’m reminded of my favorite Henry David Thoreau quote "We can never have enough of nature." And that takes me to his experiences at Walden Pond.

During my corporate years, I mostly worked overseas, but on two rare occasions I had domestic assignments. One of those instances, I went to Boston for three weeks. I loved the city and became mesmerized by its history, especially that pertaining to the American Revolution. Being from Mexico, I did not know US history and this was a unique opportunity. In the evenings, I walked the Freedom Trail, stopping along the way at Faneuil Hall, the old State House, and continuing to Paul Revere’s statue and his home, now the oldest building in downtown Boston.

One weekend, I visited Lexington and Concord where the revolution started. Being an avid cyclist at the time, I rented a bicycle so I could visit Walden Pond. Thoreau’s book, Walden, intrigued me and here was my opportunity to cycle around the entire pond and enjoy the place where he had lived for a couple of years.

The pond, a kettle hole formed by retreating glaciers about 10,000 years ago, was worth seeing, not to mention experiencing the place Thoreau made famous. The shores of the pond consisted of terrain suitable for walking but I quickly learned that tree roots and sharp rocks were not kind to bicycle tires! After fixing a flat halfway around, I decided to walk the bike the rest of the way to make sure I could ride back to Concord where I’d left the rental car.

Now that I live close to nature part of the year, I reflect on Thoreau's years there and his writing.

The central ideas expressed in Walden are experience, self-reliance, and worship. He examined the fundamental elements of humanity. Very lofty ideas.

My novels are genre, plain and simple. And I love writing them from a mountain cabin! Yet, as an author who loves history, you’d think I’d write historical novels. Mysteries and thrillers fascinate me and that’s what I write. I’m captivated by the twists and turns of mystery and suspense.

Of course, there are historical mysteries. Humm, I’ll have to ponder that thought while enjoying the mountain scenery of northern New Mexico!

Do you secretly wish you wrote in a different genre?

***

Visit me at https://www.Kathryn-Lane.com I love hearing from readers. Ask a question, suggest an idea, or comment about the blog.

The Nikki Garcia Mystery Series: eBook Trilogy https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08GZNF17G

Kathryn Lane started out as a starving artist. To earn a living, she became a certified public accountant and embarked on a career in international finance with a major multinational corporation. After two decades, she left the corporate world to plunge into writing mystery and suspense thrillers. In her stories, Kathryn draws deeply from her Mexican background as well as her travels in over ninety countries.

Summer time and the livin' was easy...

 by Mary Lee Ashford

Summer time and the livin' was easy... so goes the song.

Here it is - already the first of July and here in the Midwest we are definitely feeling the heat of summer. And the humidity...

I can't even imagine what it's like for some of you who are seeing triple-digit temps. I'm thankful every day that my air-conditioning is working and that I'm not relying on a fan like we did when I was a kid. 

Because I grew up in a very small town, my summers were mostly spent hanging out with friends and reading. 

When I think of summers growing up, I think of the sweet tea that my mom would steep in a pot on the stove and then cool and pour over ice.  In my mind I can smell the green grass that cushioned the blanket in the backyard where I'd park myself for hours with the latest book I'd checked out from the library. A comfy spot and usually a  radio along for a little background music. Now, I'm dating myself, aren't I? 

Different summers, different tastes in reading but always the backyard and a book. One summer I devoured Trixie Belden books. Another time it was Nancy Drew. My mom was an Agatha Christie fan and one summer I started on her collection of mysteries. 

There were chores to do, of course. But in retrospect, life really was pretty slow and easy. Not much rushing about. Time for really diving into a good book. 

What memories come to mind for you when you think about your summers growing up? Were you busy with activities or were your summer days slow and easy like mine? Any favorite reads come to mind? 

Leave a comment below and on Friday, I'll draw a name to receive a fun summer bag and a copy of my most recent book, Quiche of Death. (Or if you already have that one, thank-you for that, and we'll figure out a different one.) 

Mary Lee Ashford is a lifelong bibliophile, an avid reader, and supporter of public libraries. In addition to writing the Sugar & Spice mysteries series for Kensington Books, she also writes as half of the writing team of Sparkle Abbey. Prior to publishing she won first place in the Daphne du Maurier contest sponsored by the Kiss of Death chapter of RWA. 

She's the founding president of Sisters in Crime - Iowa and loves encouraging other writers. Mary Lee has a passionate interest in creativity and teaches a university level course on the topic. In her day job, she is a Deputy Chief Information Officer, and is happy to answer technology questions but probably can't fix your computer. She resides in Iowa with her husband, Tim, and Zoey the cat. Her delights are reading and enjoying her family, especially her six grandchildren. Her family has come to terms with the idea that plotting murders is a frequent topic at family gatherings. 

Quiche of Death - Book 3 in the Sugar & Spice series

When editor Sugar Calloway and baker Dixie Spicer went into business creating cookbooks, they found a sideline as amateur sleuths. Now a bitter family grudge could leave a fatal aftertaste…

At Sugar & Spice Community Cookbooks, the friends and business partners have secured a tasty new commission: producing a cookbook for the Arbor family. The Arbors have made their fortune in quiches, and Sugar and Spice have been invited to a weekend gathering where all the siblings, along with crusty matriarch Marta, will be in attendance. But it’s soon clear that this trip will come with a hefty slice of drama.

Theo, the only grandson, arrives with his flaky fiancée, Collette, who quickly stirs up trouble . . . and is found dead the next day. As the investigation unfolds, secrets—and recipes—are shared, and Sugar and Spice realize just how messy and murderous the situation may be. As another family member falls ill, can they solve the case without getting egg on their faces . . .and a target on their backs?

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Rambles from a reader by Dru Ann Love

I have nothing.

I was going to give you stats from my blog, but decided it wasn’t important for this blog. Check out my blog at drusbookmusing.com. Would you like seeing those stats?

I was going to talk about return to the office – first week in July. Have you returned back to the office?

I was going to talk about my adventure last week – first time back in the city and met a few friends for lunch. Lots of chatting and hugs galore was given. It felt good to eat in a restaurant and laugh and enjoy each other’s company. Have you been in and about lately?

I was going to talk about the struggle with my reading. It still takes me a week and a half to read one book. One. Book. – How is your reading?

I was going to talk about movies – Have you seen “In The Heights?”

I was going to talk about streaming channels – my favorites are Netflix and Amazon Prime. What’s your favorite?

I was going to talk about TV watching – there is nothing on TV these days. My TV viewership is down, down, down. What about you? Are you watching less TV?

I was going to talk about traveling – I’m getting on a plane to visit my mom. What about you, any travel plans?

I was going to talk about virtual conferences – I’m looking forward to attending More Than Malice. Are you going? You can register here.

I was going to talk about reader convention – Bouchercon is in August and I’m going. It’s my celebration for the year I had and also I get to see my friends. Are you going? You can register here.

Thank you for reading my ramblings.

You Lie Down with Dogs, You Wake Up in Hot Water: Metaphors Aren’t Antisocial—But They Don’t Always Mix Well

I love metaphors. When I come across a great one while reading, I write it down as a reminder to spend time crafting them. Here are some musings on metaphors. Mixing metaphors—combining two unrelated idioms—is considered a grammatical faux pas. But in the right circumstances, mixing metaphors fosters a more creative comparison, makes your readers think, and may even produce chuckles.

·      Don’t eat with your mouth open for business.  

·      I’ll ride shotgun in the backseat.

·      Earl tucked tail and left in a cloud of smoke.

·      When life hands you a lemon, make an ice cream sundae.

·      Shape up or sink like a stone.

·      Don’t count your chickens before you put their eggs in your basket.

·      Beating around the bush may get you in deep water.

·      Cross that bridge after you’ve burned it.

·      The quiet before the storm preceded a blast from the past.

·      Wake up and smell the writing on the wall.

·      If you lie down with dogs, you’ll wake up in hot water.

Finally, what would a tip on mixing metaphors be without mentioning the master metaphor-mixer, Yogi Berra? Here are a few of my favorite Yogisms:

·      “Pair up in threes.”

·      “Why buy good luggage? You only use it when you travel.”

·      “The future ain’t what it used to be.”

·      “No one goes there [restaurant] anymore; it’s too crowded.”

·      “Baseball is ninety percent mental. The other half is physical.”

·      “When you come to a fork in the road, take it!”

 

I’m a Texas gal. Except for an eighteen-month hiatus living in New York City after college, I lived in the Lone Star State continuously for fifty years. Since then, Texas has been hit and miss—a little hit, but a heck of a lot of miss. There was a time when I thought I would happily die in Austin, Texas. But circumstances and weather—especially weather—changed that. Now I spend most of the year on Fidalgo Island in Washington State with a view of the bay and the mountains. When I get homesick, my husband and I listen to Willie Nelson. Soon we are dancing the two-step, imagining we are at our favorite honky-tonk in Tokyo, Texas, where the mayor is believed to be a dog. Who wouldn’t miss that?

 

I write the awarding-winning mystery series: the Sydney Lockhart Mystery Series set in the 1950s and the Classic Triviography Mystery Series, which includes The Sherlock Holmes Quiz Book, updated and released by Lyons Press on November 1, 2020. My Kate Caraway animal-rights mystery series includes Run Dog Run and A Two Horse Town. Eagle Crossing is scheduled for release in 2022.

 

Look for Sherlock Holmes of Baking Street, an anthology by notable authors and Sherlockians. I’m honored to have a Holmes short story included.

 

        On my website, you can also find my Five-Minute Writing Tips and blog posts about publishing,                 marketing, birding, and quirky things that come to mind. Kathleen Kaska

 

Just released in May—Sherlock Holmes of Baking Street. I was honored to be asked to contribute a Holmes short story or essay for this anthology. I'd always wanted to try my hand at writing a Holmes pastiche. Finally, this was the nudge I need. My story is "The Adventure at Old Basingstoke." Also included is my recipe for scones since the theme of the anthology is baking.