The Books I Need

After what’s felt like a long, cold winter, I’m packing up my house, getting ready to move. I can’t bear the cold in my Central California mountain village. Since I grew up in northern Ontario, I know this is baby cold. I must have thin, runny blood since moving to...

Inspiration from Unlikely Places

Inspiration comes from unlikely places in the form of ears going ping, ping, ping and your fingers tingling as you reach for a pen or keyboard. Cherry Mattias, DVM, and I attended the Writers of KernSpring conference yesterday. Writers of Kern (WOK) is a branch of...

Sisters in Crime LA Chapter – A Sigh at Leaving the Board

I am leaving the board of directors of Sisters in Crime Los Angeles chapter, ending my two-year term with the Holiday party at the South Pasadena Women’s Club. I want to say thank you to my fellow board members, the Sisters and Misters for the chance to learn from...

Sisters in Crime – Bakersfield

Cherry Mattias, DVM and I have started a Bakersfield chapter of Sisters in Crime. We were thrilled last meeting to discover we’ve already we’ve grown out of our original meeting place at Marie Callenders. Sisters in Crime Bakersfield is one chapter of the 3600 member...

The Valley’s Dirty Air Just Gets Worse

Every time I drive down to Bakersfield from the mountains surrounding the Central Valley, I take a big breath at the top of the Grapevine on I-5, and try not to breathe the air on the flatlands below.  Forbes magazine declared Bakersfield “the dirtiest city in...