Bio & Personal Stuff

On this page... Bio, Personal Stuff, Pics, and Links!

The Official Bio:

I had only one ambition as a child—to be a writer. When everyone told me hardly anyone ever makes a living as a writer, I briefly considered becoming a policewoman (because the trench coats looked so cool in all those '70's police dramas) or a psychologist (with the hope of finally understanding my family). Nevertheless, heart won out over practicality, and I became a writer. The police and psychology bits, though, come through in my mystery writing.

Now, I delight in mixing humor with mystery in my new Josie Toadfern mystery series, published by Avon Books. I am also a humor columnist; my column, Sanity Check appears every Monday in the Dayton Daily News (Dayton, Ohio) and covers everything from shredding pantyhose for stress relief, to talking refrigerators. My fiction credits include short mysteries published in Murderous Intent Mystery Magazine, Futures Mysterious Anthology Magazine, and Orchard Press Online Mystery Magazine.  

 For Sanity Check (humor) columns, click here. 

For Photos from Events, click here.

The Personal Stuff:

Where I live and with whom:  In Ohio with my husband, two daughters, three cats, one dog, and a 25-year-old Pothos ivy named Rocky.

Personal hobbies (besides, of course, an obsessive passion for reading): Refinishing furniture and bike riding. I like the fact that these are physical activities, a nice counterpoint to the mental work of writing. 

Favorite season: Fall, with summer a close second.

Favorite colors: Red, purple, royal blue.

What's my sign: Capricorn.

What's my era: Let's just say I remember when "what's your sign" was considered a unique pick-up line... and when I went to high school, disco was the rage, not retro.

Favorite foods: Anything except avocados (my only food allergy), with a particular interest in chocolate, Italian cuisine, and sushi.

Phobias: heights and deep, deep water (so you can imagine how much I love diving boards).

Why I write: Can't stop! It's like breathing to me.

What I read: Mysteries, of course. Pop psychology books. Mainstream fiction. Decorating/cooking magazines. The Atlantic Monthly. The Dayton Daily News. The Writer and Writer's Digest.

My Belief System in a Nutshell: Regard and interact with everyone as God's creations. (And if you can do that for more than 5 minutes straight, you're either Gandhi or Mother Teresa.)

Personal Non-Writing Goals on Which I'm Currently Working: Meditate every day and walk every day for half an hour.

My Most Favorite Word: Festoon

My Least Favorite Word: Promulgate

The Pics:

The Cats: 

Candy (who can't wait for the next Josie Toadfern novel to print out!), adopted from SICSA in 2002.

... and Cookie, adopted from SICSA in 1998:

IN MEMORIUM... Snickers, rescued from the Mojave Desert in 1985, when my husband and I lived in Ridgecrest, CA.  I was taking a walk in our Navy base neighborhood, when a man pulled up in his truck, dumped out this 6-week old calico kitten in the middle of July, then sped off. The temperature was 102 F. Naturally, the kitten came over to me. Naturally, I adopted her. 

Snickers lived to be 22, going to the great kitty box in the sky May, 2007.

The dog, Cosmo. 

We adopted him in July, 2003 from a Beagle Rescue near Columbus, Ohio,

Here's another picture of Cosmo, with me at the "Woof Walk" at Woodland Cemetery and Arboretum in Dayton, Ohio on June 11, 2005. Many famous people are buried at the cemetery, including Orville and Wilbur Wright, Erma Bombeck, and Paul Laurence Dunbar. The "Woof Walk" is an annual event to raise funds for the Cemetery's foundation. Folks from all around come with their dogs to take a guided tour of the historic cemetery... (and local shelters bring dogs available for adoption.) Since I write fairly often about Cosmo in my Sanity Check column for the Dayton Daily News, Cosmo was this year's local celebrity/canine guest of honor. (I'm just the human on the end of the leash.) Cosmo and I had our picture taken in front of the Johnny Morehouse gravestone. Here's the story behind the gravestone: back in 1860, the Miami-Erie canal ran through Dayton. Five-year-old Johnny fell into the canal and his dog jumped in to pull him out. The dog got Johnny out, but not in time to save the boy's life. After Johnny was buried at Woodland, the dog came to the gravesite and refused to leave. He guarded the gravesite morning, noon and night. Locals fed the dog, but no one could get him away from the gravesite, so there he died. Later, this memorial marker was created at the site. Locals still leave money and toys at the site. 

Links:

I admit it—I love Links on Web sites! (But then, I also love looking at other people's vacation photos... go figure.) Here's a list of some of my favorites!

BOOKSTORES

OTHER MYSTERY SITES:

Avon Books

Crimespree Magazine

Mystery Scene Magazine

Futures Mysterious Anthology Magazine

Orchard Press Online Mystery Magazine

Mystery Writers of America

Sisters in Crime

Short Mystery Fiction Society

Mystery Lovers Corner

The Cozy Library

Antioch Writer's Workshop: I can't say enough about how great this workshop is! I first went as a rather shy student in 1990; I've been going back ever since as student, panelist and instructor. If you want to write, give yourself this gift: go to this workshop.

Candles By Victoria: This is the web-based business from which I buy the wonderful home-made "Laundry Scent" candles that I include in my Josie's Stain Busters Contest winners' baskets and in baskets that I sometimes give as door prizes at speaking events.

OTHER WRITERS:

Jill Churchill

Mary Kay Andrews (Kathy Trocheck)

Carolyn Hart

Earlene Fowler

Jeffrey Marks

Heather Webber

Don Bruns

Judy Clemens