Don’t Try to Impress the Reader with Fancy Words Have you ever searched your Thesaurus for twenty minutes trying to find the perfect word? And when you found it, was it a word you’ve never used before? Throw it away.

Fancy words are fine for literary fiction. But in the mystery genre you [...]

(This quiz was included in one of my Insider Newsletters a few months ago.) If you’ve read all my books you just might know the answers to these questions about my characters. Jot down your answers and then follow the link at the bottom for the question/answer sheet.

1. Which character was in two [...]

There is plenty of turmoil in the publishing, distribution, and bookselling industries these days. At least we, as authors, have the one thing that none of these businesses can do without: the content that readers want.

But it can be very discouraging if just when your book sales begin to take off, the bookseller [...]

Have you seen the movie, The Matrix? If you haven’t, you won’t understand what I am about to say.

For me, writing fiction is like being in The Matrix.

When I began learning to write fiction, I was like Neo when he first awoke—learning martial arts from the master, Morpheus. I plugged into My [...]

What if novels and other fiction came with parental guidance like movies? Could the rating system of the Motion Picture Association of America be applied to books? Imagine a PG-13 mystery. Or an R-rated thriller. Seem like a silly idea?

I’m not so concerned about young children reading my books. It don’t think [...]

My cozy mystery, Sweet Ginger Poison is on several Kindle Bestseller lists: #4 in Women Sleuths, #6 in Mystery, #28 in Suspense. The chart below is screenshot of the sales info from my Amazon Author Central account. (Click for a larger view.)

Three of my other books have also been on bestseller lists. [...]

Icy Hollow, the second book of my Rebecca Ranghorn Mystery Series is coming in several weeks. Rebecca’s buddy, Gabby G’Blee, is back to help her solve the murder. More details soon. Click on the cover to enlarge. If you haven’t already read the first book in the series, NAKED FRAME, you can find it [...]

Read my short stories free online. I write stories in various genres and combinations of genres, such as suspense, crime, humor, horror, fantasy, and adventure. (I also write mystery and suspense novels.)

To read a short story, click on it’s cover:

Get five new short stories FREE right [...]

Rebecca Ranghorn is a private investigator specializing in cheating husband cases. After she is framed for murder, her best buddy from high school comes to the rescue. But when she goes “undercover” in a nude café to gather clues, Rebecca puts both of their lives in danger, and they begin to understand that [...]