Mary King's Close A few years ago, I had the great fortune to visit Edinburgh, Scotland. One of the sites I visited was a place called Mary King's Close, which was essentially an underground village of sorts. I'll have to write a blog post about that someday because it certainly deserves attention. Mary King's Close was the most fascinating things I'd ever seen and it has stayed with me ever since. To my dismay, after my return home, I discovered that I had completely missed

Deacon Brodie's Tavern on Edinburgh's Royal Mile Edinburgh, Scotland was a major source of inspiration for Widow’s Peak , the final installment in the Widows & Shadows  historical mystery series. I had the chance to visit in 2023 and fell completely under its spell—so much so that bits of the real city found their way into Ravenna’s latest adventure. One spot that stood out was The Deacon Brodie Tavern on the Royal Mile, which I reimagined as Brodie’s Docket in the book. It’s

King Arthur's Seat In the last book of the Widows & Shadows series, Widow’s Peak , I drew inspiration from an actual place in Edinburgh, Scotland: King Arthur’s Seat. As the highest peak in Holyrood Park (822 feet), it was the perfect muse and location for my fictional Iverloch Hall.  Arthur’s Seat isn’t just any hill. It’s an ancient, extinct volcano that has stood sentinel over Edinburgh for centuries. This scenic site has also been a popular destination for hikers and tour

Right about now you’re probably thinking: “Uuuhhh…whaaa?” But you read that right: Beetle wings were once used as shiny baubles on...

Do you like dark fairy tales? If so, then Piper by Carmen Erickson is the book for you! It's based on the tale of the Pied Piper of...

I found a series by Jann Franklin that I'm really looking forward to. It's Christian cozy. Before I get to the story, I want to say how...

Book 2, Killer Cache, releases in December 2025 In December 2025, the second book in my Hazardous Hoarding series, Killer Cache, will...

In a few days, the third book in the Small Batch Mystery series will release. This series is a story of amateur sleuth Rook Campbell ...

Not too long ago, I wrote about the political history of lace. I was surprised by what I’d learned. I hadn’t imagined something as simple...

In the 1945 Sherlock Holmes movie, Pursuit to Algiers , Holmes states “Poison is a woman’s weapon.” This idea is repeated in Game of...

I’m not sure exactly where my book Widow’s Blush began, what compelled me to write it, but it sprang out of my fascination with late...

In my last post I discussed the Irish alliance with the French in order to reinforce their arms against the British Crown in the Irish...

This month I’m releasing a historical mystery called Widow’s Blush. In this book a widow by the name of Lady Ravenna Birchfield is tasked...

When I think of lace, I think of an intricate, delicate fabric, thin as spiderwebs, adorning bridal gowns or fancy cocktail dresses. The...

In the past couple weeks, I've had the great pleasure of attending two fascinating lectures. One was at the public library in my town and...