The premise behind A Land Beyond Ravens, the final book in the Macsen’s Treasure Series, began with the question: how did the quest for the Holy Grail get started? A very big question with no definitive answer. Each of the four books in the series involves part of a fictional set of five sacred symbols…
Charlie and Mama Kyna is an award-winning charming book with beautiful illustrations for children. The story and illustrations are based on my internationally acclaimed film, Going Home, which was shown worldwide, including 45 film festivals and London Film Festival. The story is about a little stuffed animal frog, named Charlie who runs away in fear…
My lover walked out on me and I wanted to get him back! I took all of my negative energy and pain and turned it into writing. He and he alone was my inspiration! It all started when I took a memoir writing course at Dade County College. I had previously written a two and…
I moved to the Portland area in 1999. It was during that first year when I met a wonderful woman named Mary, who quickly became my best friend. Mary had cancer, as did my own mother, and was one of the most giving and special people that I had ever met. Before she died, she made…
Like so many thrillers, the idea for the plot of The Cutting came from something I found in the news. I read an article about so-called “organ tourism.” Americans traveling to foreign countries for transplants they couldn’t qualify for here at home. As most of us know, there’s of a chronic shortage of organ donors…
From the time I was a little girl I wanted to write for kids. I was sure the stories ahead for me were the fun and sparkly kind. I’d studied the craft, read books on writing for children, went to conferences, and was sure it was time. Then, while cleaning house, a story line came…
Many Americans do not understand the reasons and purpose of Islamic terrorism. People on the left side of the political spectrum blame the US foreign policy for the insane violence and the eruption of the volcano that breads that kind of hate movement. They are wrong. They simply need to examine the facts. Most Suicide…
The story behind My Son, John is an amazing one, and I tell it quite often. It began nearly twenty years ago, when AIDS was just becoming known in America as a killer disease. We knew little about it, but most of us weren’t too concerned since we figured it would never touch us because…
The story behind my book was my need to share my experiences dealing with emotions and weaknesses that are wide spread such as mental illness, cancer and alcohol abuse. My book has given me the thumbs up to reveal to the world that my son has schizophrenia without beating around the bush when asked: ‘What…
While I was doing research for the last Deputy Tempe Crabtree mystery, Kindred Spirits, I met and became friends with a Tolowa Native woman who lived in Crescent City CA. One of the many things she told me about was the Tolowa belief in Big Foot, including many recent sightings. I did some research on…
The Story Behind the Book 