My sister’s here in Hilo for two weeks, on what has become her traditional yearly visit. Laura is five years younger than me, so when we were little kids, although we shared a bedroom, we didn’t hang out together that much. I mean, why would a mature (in her eyes, anyway) ten-year-old girl want to spend time with her dumb five-year-old sister? an occasion when … Continue reading Sisters
Today the Chicks are happy welcome the marvelous (and prolific) author Vicki Delany, who has penned more than fifty books! (Wow.) Today she talks about research–the fun kind–as she wings her way to the United Kingdom. Are we jealous? Yes, indeed! Take it away, Vicki: My Research Trip to England It can sometimes be difficult to take the characters in a cozy mystery series out … Continue reading Guest Chick: Vicki Delany
As regular readers of this blog already know, our beloved Chick Kathleen Valenti has flown the coop to wing her way off and engage in other fabulous adventures–though she promises to come back and visit! As a result, we find ourselves in need of a replacement. Not surprisingly, our thoughts turned to Marla Cooper, one of the founding members of Chicks on the Case. But … Continue reading A Job Interview with Marla Cooper
Thanksgiving is now past, which means we’re full-throttle into the holiday season. For some, that means hot toddies by the fireplace, ugly (or beautiful, depending on the eye of the beholder) sweaters, picking out a Christmas tree, and tobogganing in the snow. (Okay, having just typed that, I had to look up the etymology of “toboggan,” a word I heard a lot more back in … Continue reading Holidays in Hilo
The coming of autumn heralds Robin’s and my annual return to Hilo, Hawai‘i, where we hunker down for six months avoiding the brutally cold and wet Santa Cruz winters. (Yes, that was a joke. But seriously, the weather is far more pleasant in the islands this time of year than in Northern California.) As I write this, we’ve been back on the Big Island for … Continue reading Aloha, Hilo!
Bob Dylan famously proclaimed to the world that “he not busy being born is busy dying,” thereby dividing life into two segments: the period when we consistently make the most of our life and move forward, after which we merely exist and begin marching towards our grave. But having just celebrated my 68th birthday this past weekend, I’ve been thinking a lot about our human … Continue reading Busy Living; Busy Dying
It’s hard to believe, but it’s been fifty years since I graduated from high school and started as a freshman at the University of California, Santa Cruz—home of the fighting banana slugs. Fifty years? Yikes! I don’t feel that old. But there it is. the bike path at UCSC So next month I’ll be attending my 50th reunion of the Santa Monica High School class … Continue reading It Was Fifty Years Ago Today
I don’t think of myself as a huge sports fanatic, but of late I’ve been doing an awful lot of sports watching: the Tour de France, the Euro Cup, baseball, Wimbledon. Part of it is the timing, since this is the period when those sporting events occur. But it’s also definitely an escape from, well…the world. Because truly, who enjoys reading the newspaper headlines these … Continue reading Why Can’t They All Win?
“You spend half the year in California and half the year in Hawai‘i? What a perfect life that must be!” Such is the response I tend to get upon people learning of my dual life in Hilo, Hawai‘i and Santa Cruz, California. They’re right and they’re wrong. Yes, it is marvelous getting to live in two such beautiful locations. I’ve been in Santa Cruz since … Continue reading Home Away From Home
It’s now been several weeks, but my trip to Texas to see the eclipse is still burned brightly into my eyes (not literally, thank goodness, as I wore the special glasses as required). Because seeing the eclipse of the sun at totality truly is an awesome experience. Up until that point, the sun as it’s being covered slowly by the moon is also pretty darn … Continue reading Eclipsed by Warmth
Happy book birthday to Leslie Karst—for today her first Orchid Isle Mystery, Molten Death, erupts into the world! Here’s the synopsis: Retired caterer Valerie Corbin and her wife Kristen have come to the Big Island of Hawai‘i to treat themselves to a well-earned tropical vacation. After the recent loss of her brother, Valerie is in sore need of a distraction from her troubles and is … Continue reading Release Day News: MOLTEN DEATH
Tomorrow, April 2, you’ll get to read on the fabulous Dru’s Book Musings about a day in the life of Valerie Corbin, the protagonist of my new Orchid Isle mystery, Molten Death. The day she’ll be describing is one while on vacation on the Big Island of Hawai‘i—a trip that doesn’t end up going exactly as she’d planned. As many of you know, my wife … Continue reading A Day in My Life in Hilo
Chicks on the Case 