The Dark Petals of Provence Is Now Available!
Hi everyone, Just a quick note to let you know my new novel, The Dark Petals of Provence, is now available in all formats: paperback, ebook, and even audiobook. As I mentioned in my newsletter, I was terribly disappointed when the physical book was out of stock for a while but it’s now available. Whew! Dark Petals was inspired by the evocative yet sinister books by the French writer Marcel Pagnol. Pagnol grew up in Provence and created stories based on his childhood experiences for both literature and film. One…
The Undomestic Goddess Dialed into my Stressful Pandemic Life
Sophie Kinsella’s novel, The Undomestic Goddess, starts off with the question, “Would you consider yourself stressed?” I smiled when I saw that. It was a question the main character Samantha reads on an intake form before her massage appointment. And it so resonated with me considering this stressful pandemic life I’ve been living, that we’ve all been living, since 2020. I couldn’t stop reading. I mean, my answer to that question was “yes, without a doubt!” As the massage starts, Samantha grows so worried about an email she forgot to…
Wendy Webb Reveals Secret Spirits in a Dangerous Lake
Hi readers, just a quick note to let you know that I interviewed the author Wendy Webb for the November, 2020 issue of The Big Thrill magazine! Wendy writes suspenseful stories set in the upper Midwest, Minnesota to be exact. Some folks call her the “Queen of Northern Gothic” fiction and for good reason. She knows how to spin a tale that dovetails eerie history with contemporary times. Lake Superior: A Dangerous Force All Its Own The setting for many of her novels is a fictional small town in Minnesota,…
The Perfect Way for Me to Celebrate Galentine’s Day
I have watched every episode of the show Parks and Recreation, many of them twice. And yet I never remembered Leslie Knope talking about Galentine’s Day. What is Galentine’s Day? Well, as Leslie says, it’s ladies celebrating ladies. A day, right before Valentine’s Day, when you recognize those special female friends, or “gals,” in your life. The friends who have supported you through thick and thin. Coincidentally, I’m seeing a friend tonight. A friend I admire and a friend who is dear. A friend who has helped me along my…
Sue Burke Dreams Up Super Intelligent Plant Life
Sue Burke has spent a lot of time around words. She’s worked as a reporter, editor, translator, and writer. A Clarion alum, she’s published over 30 short stories and now two science fiction novels. The first, Semiosis, focused on a group of people who leave Earth to colonize another planet. Her new novel, Interference, centers on a follow up team’s time on Pax where a clash of cultures ensues. In both novels, Burke brings plants to life as characters, which I, as a horticulturalist, found fascinating. Plants don’t have brains…
