A sense of place plays a critical role in determining whether a reader “gets into” a story or not. Good place names can lend an aura of reality to even the most fictional of places. Conversely, an obviously made up place name in a story that pretends at reality can make a location that seems perfectly real to the author seem perfectly ridiculous to the reader.
Continue readingWhat good is time travel anyway? For Col. Ben Ming, head of Jalanesia’s armed forces and husband of President Calla Ang, it’s nothing but a headache. Time Traveler Jack Wragsland transported Calla to this space/time. So it wouldn’t be fair to simply shoot him, when Jack’s enemies attack him through Calla. But boy, is it a temptation. If Ben is going to save Calla he’s going to have to save Jack as well, even if it makes him crazy.
Continue readingBetween Christmas and New Year’s, Ellen Rosings travels a landscape of doubt. Can she and Tony truly forge a permanent relationship, and will their families support or oppose their intention to marry?
Continue readingLiving in the shadows, Psychic Vampire Janet Dryer was a killer addicted to Soul Fire–until her lover tried to kill her at Woodstock in 1969. These days, she haunts exotic night clubs and draws energy from throbbing drums.
Her popularity as a sarcastic blogger lands her on Dance From The Heart, a celebrity ballroom competition. To her shock, the head judge is her ex-lover, the Vampire Hunter who tried to kill her.
Continue readingSuppose your new bed was possessed by a demon who had to satisfy you every night. Would you sell the bed? keep it for life? or try to free the demon?
Continue readingWarning: Strong Opinions and occasionally Strong Language ahead. This is a Rant that may hit home with a lot of you. I used to play a lot of on-line Scrabble. Then the app went wonky on me, and I switched … Continue reading
I first began teaching at a small private school that got its furniture and texts from public school discards. The history textbook I was given was a massive, excruciatingly dull text listing kings, Prime Ministers, and battles, interlarded by great … Continue reading
Calendula Isadora (Callie) is an uncommonly powerful witch with a mind for science. But her independent ways run afoul of her San Francisco coven house, especially when she creates life in the form of a massive golem. And her unseemly affection for her human boyfriend? Such things are simply not done among respectable witchkind.
Continue readingA few months ago, I posted my Crème Brulee Brownies baking adventure. Those were good, but they aren’t my favorite. One May, several years ago, I reasoned that even though I had no children I was a dogmom and that … Continue reading
Today I’m going back over fifty years Between cultures, in fiction, in all our lives, childhood can have similarities and differences. Teaching the theory is a wonderful thing, and something I’m prone to. I will teach how to create a … Continue reading
