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
Welcome to “Chicks Celebration,” our fun new Chicks on the Case feature! Join us as we Chicks share what we’re currently celebrating (book release, new idea, recent read…). 1. Which Chick is celebrating? Leslie 2. The reason for the celebration? The launch of the first book in my new Orchid Isle mystery series, Molten Death, which releases this coming Tuesday, April 2. (Buy link here.) 3. What have … Continue reading Chicks Celebration: Launch of “MOLTEN DEATH”!
This is a story of rejection, perseverance, and generosity. A few years back, the mystery writers convention Malice Domestic announced that the subject for their next anthology of short stories would be food and cooking. I’d never penned a short story before, but given my love of all things culinary, I thought, “Great! I’ll try my hand at it and write a one about food!” … Continue reading Long Story, Short
Where do you get your ideas for characters? Are they based on people you know? Are they based on you? Such are the questions authors are often asked. And for me, the answers are: everywhere, yes, and yes. But it’s not quite so simple as that. None of my characters are based solely on any one person. Rather, they’re mostly an amalgam. Or perhaps the … Continue reading A Rainbow of Characters
Chicks on the Case 