Why I Started Writing:

I’ve always loved to write. One of my high school English teachers told me she thought I could make some money with my writing, but I was all about math and computer science back then, so I followed that dream instead.

After retiring from a career in software development, I was out running in a park one day while listening to an audiobook. As I jogged along the dirt path, I decided I could write a mystery as good as the one I was listening to. (I expect most of my fellow authors will chuckle at the hubris in that!) When I got home, I sat down at my laptop and started typing. Over the next few weeks, I discovered writing a novel wasn’t going to be as easy as I thought. 

I started reading books on the craft of writing, and I read novels with a view to understanding how they were structured. Although I was learning a lot about plots and characters, I knew I didn’t want to produce a novel just to put a feather in my cap. I wanted my work to be something my family would be proud of. I decided my goal would be to create entertaining and thought-provoking novels that reflect God’s light in a dark world.  

But why mystery? Of all the genres of fiction, mystery is the one that attracts me, because it’s about the search for truth. A mystery novel features a problem to be solved, and the main character has to use all of his/her talents and persistence to track down the solution. This not only challenges readers to use their own problem-solving skills, but it’s also a reminder that much of life is a mystery, and each of us has an obligation to search for the truth.  

Authors Who Have Influenced Me:

When I want to laugh out loud, I read Mark Twain. I like Agatha Christie, Josephine Tey, and Dorothy Sayers for their clean and complex mysteries. Raymond Chandler, John D. MacDonald, and Marilynne Robinson astound me with their prose. I find spiritual inspiration and comfort in the books of C.S. Lewis, Abraham Heschel, Corrie Ten Boom, Francine Rivers, Catherine Marshall, and Viktor Frankl. The coming-of-age stories I love are by Harper Lee and Betty Smith. I read Beryl Markham’s memoir with a sense of awe at her life and talent for writing about it. When I wanted to get an idea of how a modern novel was constructed, I outlined one of Hank Phillippi Ryan’s books, and I am especially indebted to James Scott Bell for his works on the craft of writing. 

Books I Have Written:

My first three novels that make up the Watch Series of Cozy Mysteries are The Watch on the Fencepost, Dead Man’s Watch, and Time After Tyme. A timepiece is an important part of each book, and the stories feature half-sisters Kathryn Frasier and Cece Goldman who chase villains and solve crimes while negotiating life’s many challenges. 

My fourth novel took to the air in 2023 with private pilot Cassie Deakin, who lands in the middle of a mystery and reluctantly hunts for a murderer in Lacey’s Star: A Lady Pilot-in-Command Novel

My fifth novel, The Other Side of Sunshine, is a middle-grade book featuring two young girls who were secondary characters in Time After Tyme. The girls, Reen Penterson and Joanie Finelson, were so popular that several readers encouraged me to give them their own series. This book is under contract with Elk Lake Publishing. 

What I'm Working On Now:

I have two projects in the works: 

The second book in the Lady Pilot-in-Command series 

The second book in the Reen and Joanie series 

 I also write a bi-weekly post for the Kill Zone Blog, a blog for authors of mystery, suspense, and thrillers.