The 3 Years it took to write By Accident

The 3 Years it took to write By Accident

It’s taken 3 years to bring By Accident to publication.  By Accident is the fifth in my Santa Monica police procedural series. Back in the day, whenever that was, I could write one crime novel a year. That was then. This is now. Things have happened in the meantime....
You Take Proving Your Identity for Granted?

You Take Proving Your Identity for Granted?

You take your identity for granted. Flash your driver’s license and maybe a credit card, and that’s it. We all know identity theft is lucrative for thieves, misery for the victim. Does this sweet old face below look like it’s laundering drug money? You think the...
The Basics of My New Life in Ottawa, Ontario

The Basics of My New Life in Ottawa, Ontario

You don’t realize how time and energy-consuming it is to set up the basics of life, life as we know it in the 21st century. Life, for me, includes an Internet connection, smartphone, and TV, a bank, credit card, driver’s license. I’m sorry it’s taken so long for...
How could you have a disappointing weekend in Quebec City?

How could you have a disappointing weekend in Quebec City?

My new life in another country. Quebec City is one of the glories of Canada. My friend Judith Cassis was visiting. We decided to take the train from Ottawa to Quebec City and hit all the highlights. No research, no guidebooks. We’re smart. We’ll figure it...
How could you have a disappointing weekend in Quebec City?

Arrival in a New Country

I’m now living my new life in another country.  The basic set up of a new life in Ontario, Canada requires patience and grim determination.  Stamina as well. A few days have passed since the hellish date of departure, and fortunately, that’s now  past. I’d...

The Stuff You Accumulated: Now You’re Moving

What you paid for something, in the end, comes down to what you can shove into the moving van or the U-Haul. What you paid for stuff has no relationship to what you can sell it for at a yard sale. How did you accumulate all this stuff? Everyone I know has a story...