Hazelnuts

I just returned with my husband from the latest nut and fruit gathering session. And no, he's not the nut I gathered, not this time anyway.


Five years ago, we planted hazelnut trees. We had a yield of a couple dozen nuts from one tree last year and they were tasty. This year all six trees are producing and we have collected three quarts in a week and a half. Only the first tree is producing right now and is still full of nuts. I'm looking forward to having my own hazelnuts for Christmas.

When I bought the trees, I bought several different varieties. As it turns out, they mature at different times. On one tree, the nuts are turning brown and falling while on the others they are smaller and still white.

Some people say that the trees should be trained to a single trunk, but I haven't done that. I am watching for a shoot some distance from the parent tree. If I find one, I'll dig it up and replant it twenty feet away from the others.

If you'll notice in one picture, there's a larger nut. That's a black walnut that fell a couple of weeks ago from a 50-foot tree at the side of the house.

Trivia question: What kind of tree produces hazelnuts?

Answer: The Hazel tree. Some things are easy.

Sale of Murder Mystery Novel

On June 5 through June 9, Murder Among Friends, the 7th novel in the Rachel Christie Murder Mystery series, will be on sale. For the first two days the price will be discounted to $0.99 and for the last two days the price will be $1.99. The normal price is $3.99. If you like strong female main characters, small town mysteries, private investigators and strong plots, this is the book for you.

The book description is as follows:

A secret, known only to a group of seven, rocks a nursing home with murder. It's a secret the members tell no one. Except someone does know. That someone is ruthless enough to kill frail, suffering, defenseless people, preying on their vulnerabilities to get the secret. 

When the Sheriff of Stone City asks private detective Rachel Christie to find his mother-in-law, who has been missing for three weeks, Rachel fears the worse. Her partner Cody has a friend connected to the murders and wants the agency to help his friend. Rachel only hopes that she can unravel the crime and save the others before all end up dead. 

A stand-alone murder mystery, this is number 7 in the Rachel Christie Mystery detective series.

Please feel free to send me a comment at this blog.

Vacation and Crowds

I have noticed many things as a result of my recent vacation to that wonderful land of children and that world-famous mouse. After visiting that fantasyland at least 30 times, we finally became the family of the day. What does that entail? Well, for us, it was being upgraded  from a room with a garden view to a two-bedroom suite with no view. Whether we received a better view or not I'll never know because of the trees blocking any view whatsoever, but we did receive much more interior space and a little card that said we were the Family of the Day. Twice previously, we had rooms at the Polynesian where the view was blocked by a giant Palm. If I had planned my engineering projects like this, half of Texas would be dead today.

My husband is one who does not get into the hooplah that encompasses the family of the day and refused to even have his picture taken when we arrived. He seemed to forsee that it wasn't what it seemed to be. It turned out that the hotel was busy with many conventions and I would not doubt that we were upgraded to make room for the conventioneers that did not have a room. Whether or not they looked at our past stays is speculation. We were thankful for the extra space.

I suppose I should have seen the handwriting on the wall when the parking lot was full and the next parking lot, the convention center parking lot, was being paved. The guard failed to explain this and we ended up parking a mile away. Not nice for someone with an injured leg.

Prior to leaving on vacation and, being the klutz that I am, I fell in the garage and hurt both legs that have yet to heal fully. I learned that people who are in crowds feel anonimous to everyone around them. They are the only ones who are enjoying themselves and no one else matters. I had to constantly be on the lookout for anyone who would abruptly change directions, so that I would not suffer another unlucky fall.

I also noticed that in the restaurants which were open in this low season, half the people were saving seats for others and the other half were sitting and talking after finishing their meals. I marched back and forth across a large restaurant four times before finding an empty table.

Also, in the fantasy portion of the amusement areas, people were constantly being run over by people pushing double baby carriages and by wheelchairs occupied by people who appeared fully capable of walking. I appreciate the idea that people need baby carriages and people who are handicapped need wheelchairs, but most of the people I saw took no regard for average people and tended to overrun them. I was hobbling due to the fact that I was injuried, but many in wheelchairs would get out of those chairs and walk naturally. Also, many of the double baby carriages that were running people over had no children in them. None at all.

What I have learned from my last vacation is that I need to find a much quieter place to vacation. Crowds of people tend to act like drowning rats in a bucket. When too many people are involved, they tend to climb all over everyone else caring nothing for anyone else.

In the end, it was not as bad as I expected, but not good enough to go back. Heavy sigh.

Murder Mystery Novel Sale - 5 Days Only

Murder One Too Many, the fifth in the Rachel Christie Murder Mystery Series is on sale beginning today for 5 days, half the time at $0.99 and then $1.99. The normal price is $3.99. The book has been re-edited and, although it is No. 5 in the series, it is a standalone mystery. The description is as follows:

The CEO of a hospital dies and her body is found in a shallow grave. Her husband kills himself from an apparent suicide. Or was it? Rachel Christie was in a room fifty feet away and heard no shot. Yet she heard a woman scream. Rachel's investigation gets her too close to the answers and a dismissed employee attempts to kill her. 

What secret does the hospital hold? Is someone killing hospital executives and relatives out of revenge? Rachel must unlock the answers before anyone else dies.

The book has a 4.3 out of 5 star rating on Amazon out of 23 customer reviews. I hope you enjoy reading this full-length murder mystery that has many twists and turns and that you will leave a review on Amazon.

Happy Easter!!

HAPPY EASTER!!

Here's hoping that all of my fans and fans-to-be have a happy Easter or happy holiday weekend! Be careful of those chocolate bunny ears. They can be addictive. And don't forget to pick up a copy of my latest book, "Murder Haunts Myrtle Beach" or any of my other Rachel Christie Murder Mysteries for your weekend reading.

Do Hurricanes Really Change Lives?

Today, as I was sipping my 20-year Cockburn port, I was reminiscing about my days as a Mechanical Engineer in a large refinery in Texas. Even when the hurricane was close to the coast and the local news station said that everyone should stay home, the refinery in which I worked said that everyone should report to work. Against everything in my being, I did go to work, only to be told around noon to go home. In the meantime, the management asked that I go around and see why other people were not at work. Some were afraid for their spouses and others were too afraid to come to work.

I knew a lot of people who were, as we all know, human. They had lives with children, loves and a hatred for the hurricanes. As I reminisced about those days, I remembered a book I read about a hurricane devastating a chemical plant and the lives of those who worked there. I honestly believe that this scenario could have happened in real life. What follows is my review of that book, one of only two books that I have reviewed on this blog. The book was called "The Sleeping Dragons of Texas."

Sleeping Dragons is a murder mystery involving people trapped in a chemical plant during a hurricane. They cannot get out because the roads are flooded. They cannot turn off the power and just sit by and wait because that would be like dropping a hot glass into ice water. Red hot steel would snap like glass if cooled too fast. The sleeping dragons are chemicals which would escape and their fiery tongues would lash out in every direction and scorch everyone in their path. The manager is conflicted. Shutdown early and lose your next promotion. Try to get through it without pain. But make a mistake, shutdown too late and people die.
In the midst of all the technical matters are real people. Loving. Lusting. Hating. Helping. Trying to get ahead. Trying to avoid work. Trying to find love. Trying to decide who they are. Real people with real emotions and real problems. How do real people resolve their conflicts? Not generally with murder. But when the opportunity presents itself, real people do kill. When real people lust and love, their reason is conflicted. Murder seems a reasonable choice.

I'm trying to describe the plot without giving it away, but the plot does not go in a straight line. The plot goes around like the winds of the hurricane. Who is guilty and who will go to jail? What can be proven and what cannot? A good murder mystery involves, not only who is guilty, but can they be convicted. Is there clear proof? Interspersed with this are two executives looking back at the murders and trying to make sense of human nature. Something that most of us think are impossible for top executives.

Danger abounds and the danger not only threatens the lives of the people in the plant, but the people in nearby towns. The people in the plant battle the hurricane and the plant, but also worries about their loved ones.

As I said, having worked in a refinery, I found the plot plausible for a chemical plant on the Gulf Coast and not at all beyond imagination. I'm just glad I no longer work at such a plant.

Bargain eBook - Murder Along the Blue Ridge

Murder Along the Blue Ridge is available today through Thursday at the bargain price of $0.99. This is 75 percent off the normal price of the Rachel Christie murder mystery that takes place along the Blue Ridge Parkway in which two people die from cyanide poisoning--a runaway bridegroom and an informant for narcotics officer Deputy Skyler of the Stone City police. When a bag of cyanide crystals is found in Skyler's home, the state police arrest him, saying they have more than enough evidence to put a noose around his neck for the crime.

Skyler claims he was framed by one of his many enemies and begs private detective Rachel Christie for help. Rachel dislikes Skyler because of their history and refuses the case even though she doesn't believe he's guilty.

Skyler says he has no motive and no connection to the runaway groom. Or does he? An indiscretion and cover-up fifteen years ago may be at the bottom of it all, but no one is willing to talk. With the dead bodies mounting, Rachel still refuses the case. Finally, Skyler's eleven-year-old daughter steps in and Rachel can't say no.

Although this is the sixth in the series, it can be read as a stand alone mystery.

Happy Reading!

Snow! Snow! Snow!

My last post was on the small amount of snow that we had and how the local weatherman made a big deal out of it. Well, this time I'm making a big deal out of it. When I woke up this morning, we had twelve inches of snow. After the snow finally ended, the ruler I held measured seventeen inches. I know some of you who live in the north may not think this is much snow, but this is the most our small town has had in over twenty years. Definitely the most I've seen since I've lived here and that has been a little over ten years.

You would think that this would make a good day for staying indoors and writing, but, no. For me, it was a day of watching the snow and the scenery unfold. From dark clouds in the distance over the Blue Ridge to whiteout conditions where nothing could be seen for more than a few feet, it made for a day of contemplation and daydreaming. Come to think of it, it was a good day for planning scenes for future books--if only I could remember things that long.

It will be another few days before we dig ourselves out of the snow and clear our 800-foot driveway and see civilization again. Hopefully in that time, I can come up with scenes for my next Rachel Christie mystery.

A Recipe for Laughter: Snow and Sangria

Yesterday evening, the young local rookie weatherman was stationed in our town, known as Stone City to my readers, for the first significant snowfall of the season. His first comment was, "Oh, gosh, it's so cold out here and it's been snowing all day." He went on to measure the snow on the sidewalk and said that it was one inch. I laughed so hard. Then I rewound the video and laughed some more. I did it another time. Sorry, but maybe life in a small town doesn't have much enjoyment or maybe I just had a little too much Sangria with my pizza. To those of us who have lived in places where it has snowed at least two feet and where the wind chill factors were fifty below, it was funny. To be honest to the younger people who live in the south where snow is rare, maybe it was a big deal.

The eastern part of our state received more inches than the western part, some breaking records, one of 1/2 inch of snow. I would prefer to have twelve inches of snow versus ice of 1/2 inch. The loss of power without a generator in below freezing temperatures is not a welcome thing.

On another note, thanks to all of you who bought my books in the Rachel Christie Murder Mystery series while on promo. You pushed Murder Among Friends into the top 100 mystery books, if only for a few days. I raise my glass on this cold day to all of you. Happy reading!

Blogging About Nothing in General

It has been a while since I have blogged, but I want to say that I have not forgotten my loyal readers. They are what make us write what we do. They enjoy what we write and we write for them.

It has been a wonderful and trying month since last I posted. Many things have happened. Of course, everyone has been enjoying the holidays and the pain of having to pay the bills after those wonderful times.

For our family it has been a time of enjoying ourselves and of having some hardships. A friend and a relative have each been in separate car accidents since I last posted. Luckily each escaped with minor injuries, but with significant losses to their vehicles. In both cases, their vehicles were totaled. I am thankful that they escaped with minor injuries. I am confused that two vehicles had air bags and they were supposed to activate, but didn't. It was like calling the police and getting a busy signal. That's not supposed to happen.

Also, during the last month we have celebrated several birthdays and an anniversary. My wedding anniversary was celebrated at a local restaurant and hotel. The O'Henry Hotel, having been named after a famous North Carolinian writer, is always a nice place to go and the Green Valley Grill offers local cuisine. We took our own 2002 La Grande Rue Grand Cru which was purchased in 2004 and saved for a special occasion. And, by the way, it was a wonderful wine, with a great nose and full bodied, that went well with prime rib and filet mignon. It just so happened that this weekend the O'Henry Hotel sponsored a day for celebrating the writers of North Carolina.

If you are interested, this weekend my seventh book, Murder Among Friends, in the Rachel Christie Murder Mystery series is on sale for $0.99 to $1.99 and the eighth book, Murder One Too Many, is on sale for $1.99. Both have ratings above 4 stars on Amazon.

New Cover for Murder Haunts Myrtle Beach

As I previously announced, my latest book, Murder Haunts Myrtle Beach, has been released on Amazon and CreateSpace. As I was looking at my No. 8 in the Rachel Christie Murder detective series on Amazon, I wasn't satisfied with the cover, so I engaged Laura Gordon of Book Cover Machine to do the cover for the eBook and paperback. I think she did an excellent job and was professional in every way, replying to my questions and comments right away. Also, her prices are reasonable. She has some wonderful ready-made covers available on her website.

Let me know what you think.

Release of "Murder Haunts Myrtle Beach" on Amazon

The latest murder mystery, "Myrtle Haunts Myrtle Beach," in the Rachel Christie Murder Mystery series is now going through final edit and will be for sale next week on Amazon. For some reason, this book took twice as long to write as the others and was much more difficult. Possibly, it was because I put even more of myself into the book than usual and parts were quite emotional for me to write.
     
Over the last seven books, I have found that seeing the story in a different format helps find typos and spelling errors, as well as some plot problems. I suppose that seeing it over and over in the same format, I tend to skip over things. So, I sent a copy to my Kindle and reviewed it there. As the another step in editing, I have just printed the book in paperback form on CreateSpace. Both of these methods help spot errors which I wouldn't have found if I had only reviewed it on the PC, even using spelling and style checkers. I also cooperate with another author and we review each other's books. That puts another set of eyes on the book and helps to find areas where the wording does not flow well or where the facts were obvious to me but not to someone not so familiar with the plot. The last thing is the final edit by an outside source.
     
Following is a brief synopsis of "Murder Haunts Myrtle Beach."

Private Investigator Rachel Christie is thrown into a case where her emotions rage out of control. She has solved difficult crimes in the past, but this time it's different. This time it's her lifelong best friend who is stabbed and is sent to the ICU. Her reasoning ability is clouded and her moral compass is smashed. Her emotions, more than ever, control her actions. The clues lead her from Myrtle Beach, a thousand miles away, to a seedy gentlemen's club in Houston and to her buried and forgotten past. A past that's not what she remembers. A past full of drugs, human trafficking and murder. Can she control her emotions enough to uncover the assailant of her friend or will she, too, become another victim?

I want to thank my readers for their loyalty and for their patience.

November Markdown

For five days beginning November 7, I am running a promotion of the Rachel Christie Mysteries, which will be $2.99. That's a 50 percent markdown on the original cost of the collection. In essence, the reader gets 3 mysteries for $0.99 each. This promotion only lasts for 5 days on Amazon.

Rachel Christie is a strong female private investigator operating in a small community along the base of the Appalachians. This series is full of mystery and action, and is meticulously plotted with many twists and turns. Rachel Christie is determined to solve murders at the expense of her own life. Thwarted by the bad guys and good guys alike, she keeps going until the murder or murderers are brought to justice.

They're Back!

It's that time of year when the mountain temperatures fall below freezing, our leaves change to vivid bright colors and we are inundated with creepy crawly ladybugs. They fly around and land on anything -- first the white house, then the dark brown door and then eventually on me. I used to think these little bugs were cute and helped nature protect the plants by getting rid of aphids and other little infestations. However, when I find one crawling on my shirt because I stepped out onto the deck for a breath of fresh October air, the time for cuteness is over.

I rarely see ladybugs in the spring and summer months when our plants could use them. Oh, no, they wait until October to swarm upon us like a plague of locusts and invade our house through any small crack they might find. We have sealed almost ever crack in our aging house and made sure that the new additions have been sealed tightly with caulk. One of our neighbors is not as fortunate in keeping the ladybugs away. His house is older
than ours and has not been sealed. Ladybugs cover all the furniture. Oh, yuck!

How did ladybugs get their name? I had to look that up because they sure don't act like ladies to me.
According to Animal Planet, since the farmers in the Middle Ages thought it was a miracle the way ladybugs ate only bad insects like aphids, these farmers were grateful to the little insects for saving their crops. In return, they called them ladybugs after Jesus' mother Mary, who was also called Our Lady. That may have been well and good when the ladybugs helped farmers, but these days they haven't help us at all. Our vegetables and fruit trees survive without their help while the
ladies are in the woods gorging themselves.

I was writing my next novel today, but now all I can do is itch all over after finding a ladybug crawling on my neck. Looking out the window in the late afternoon, I can still see them swarming about the house. Come on, November. Do your job and rid us of this infestation.

Where Do Characters in Books Come From?

Where Do Characters in Books Come From?

I have been asked by several readers about where I get my inspiration for the characters in my Rachel Christie Mystery Series. One went so far as to say, "I know someone like that. I'm sure you don't know that person. You live nowhere near me."

I have to say that the characters in my books have exaggerated characteristics of people I have known. For example, the sheriff from Newtonville in my second book, "Murder in Emerald Hills," is based on a dear relative who cannot speak five words without two of them being a curse word. I love her dearly, but to me it's like fingers on a chalkboard every time I hear her talk. She is the gentlest of people and fair in every other way. I don't know where she picked up her vocabulary, but she would have been a good sheriff, so I made her into one.

I think that the heroine in my book, Rachel Christie, is obviously some version of me. Whether she is really me or the me I'd like to be or a combination of the two, I'm not sure. She portrays strength, doesn't take any crap and, yet, contains a soft spot for the underprivileged and those in need of saving or those who cannot protect themselves. Maybe, she's the person we'd all like to be: rough and tough when necessary, but tender and caring when needed. Most of us, however, don't have the gumption to be that person.

We all know people like the ones in my books and admire different characteristics in each of them. As one of my friends once said, "You cannot get all of your friends together in one place. All of them have aspects of ourselves that we admire in them and wish we were more like them. But they all have aspects of ourselves we don't like as well. Each one would clash with everyone of our other friends." I'm glad to say that I admire and accept each and every one of my friends for who and what they are. They are, indeed, an inspiration.

For those of you who have seen yourselves or your friends in my characters, send me an email and let me know what you liked and why and what you didn't and why. Also, if you have a good friend who is different from any of my characters, describe them to me in an email and maybe I'll be able to put them into a future book. That's something I like about eBooks. They can be interactive with input from the readers. And I do appreciate each and every one of you, my readers, and thankful for all the comments I have received from you.

Writing, Squirrels and Chestnuts

I have been writing my next book, No. 8 in the Rachel Christie Murder Mystery Series. It has been difficult since the heroine Rachel Christie faces a crisis in her life and it's hard to write bad things about my characters. Good things are easy to write.  My characters are like my children. You never want anything bad to happen to your children, even though, sometimes, it makes them stronger. So today I collected chestnuts. I cannot believe that it is that time of year again.

The nuts are falling and the squirrels are trying desperately to keep us from collecting them. Lots of husks were on the ground, but the nuts were gone. To keep the squirrels from scavenging all of the nuts, we shook the tree limbs until the nuts that were ready to fall fell to the ground. The reason I know it was squirrels is there was nothing left behind but the husks. If it were deer, they would have left their hoof prints in the soft soil (we've had an abundance of rain) and the outer coatings of the nuts would have been left behind. Also, I saw two squirrels scurrying to the field and disappearing near the trees. A good sign.

I never really thought about how chestnuts were made or how they were collected prior to planting our trees. However, I have a much greater respect for the people who collect them. If you will notice the spines around the nut covering in the picture, you will see they are long and pointed and very sharp. I had on heavy duty leather gloves, but I still have pricks in my fingers from recovering the nuts from their pods. I enjoy chestnuts with dressing around Thanksgiving, but the pain in collecting them make me appreciate the nut much more.

What Do You Do With A Stolen Truck?

What do you do if you clean out your mother's checking account and steal her truck in a city? You drive to the country in broad daylight and find what you think is a deserted road, but is in actuality our driveway. You find a place where you think no one can see you, but our neighbors are watching from their living room. You take a moped out of the back of the truck and drive the truck over the hill into the woods, leaving the keys in the truck. You then walk the moped down 400 feet of driveway and then drive out of the lane, thinking no one has seen you. What an idiot!


The story all began when I was sitting at the computer (I'd like to say I was writing on my next book, but I wasn't.) and I heard a noise like a truck on the main road a quarter of a mile away or maybe even a tractor in the next field. I wasn't sure. I put it out of my mind. But not for long. About five minutes later another noise. Another truck. I looked out and saw our widow neighbor and her son. They came to the door and told us that a man had driven a truck over our hill halfway up our driveway. Our driveway is steep and it has a bend behind a knoll where someone driving cannot see the house, the perfect place to ditch the truck, so it would seem.


They continued to tell us that a man drove the truck behind the knoll, removed a moped and then pushed the truck over the hill and drove off on the moped. They added that the man was wearing a white tee shirt and jeans. Maybe that's the best clothing for a criminal to wear. Like driving a white pickup truck. Nobody notices a man in a white pickup truck, particularly when he's wearing a white tee shirt and jeans. But our friends were watching from their living room window where they could see perfectly that section of our driveway.

My first reaction was, "Is someone in the truck and hurt?" Our neighbors hadn't looked on their 800-foot drive up the driveway to our house, so we all decided to check it out. Before we reached the site, the neighbor's son had already looked inside and said, thankfully, that no one was in the pickup.

After we returned to the house, we called the sheriff's department and a deputy arrived within twenty minutes. That's good timing considering our small town is fifteen minutes away and the sheriff is fifteen minutes from there, and of course, this was not an emergency.

It appears the man was on probation and stole the truck three days ago. The sheriff's office had already identified the man and the truck's owner before the deputy arrived.

Right now, I think of this as hassle. But, maybe I can make some lemonade with it. It may provide some information for another book in the Rachel Christie Murder Mystery series.

Labor Day Sale!

Murder Among Friends, the 7th book in the Rachel Christie Murder Mysteries, has been discounted to $0.99 for the Labor Day Weekend. Normally, the price is $3.95, nearly a seventy-five percent discount. Rachel Christie is a private detective in a small town. She has many flaws and seems to clash with every police officer, but good detective work and a need to succeed to avoid returning to a former life make her good at solving her cases.

The synopsis is as follows:

A secret, known only to a group of seven, rocks a nursing home with murder. It's a secret the members tell no one. Except somehow, someone does know. But who? That someone is ruthless enough to kill frail, suffering, defenseless people, preying on their vulnerabilities to get the secret.

When the Sheriff of Stone City asks private detective Rachel Christie to find his mother-in-law, who has been missing for three weeks, Rachel fears the worse. Her partner Cody has a friend connected to the murders and wants the agency to help his friend. Rachel only hopes that she can unravel the crime and save the others before all end up dead. But, as time goes by, that seems unlikely.

Pick up your copy while it is heftily discounted.

Write, Write, Write!

Today was a productive day for my writing. I pushed aside an angry reviewer (who I don't think really read the book) and concentrated on the reviews I received from those who purchased my books, read the books and gave raving reviews. What's wrong with us that we concentrate on those few who take our books for free (or don't even read them) and then give negative reviews while overlooking many glowing reviews? We do injustice to our loyal fans, those who purchase our books, and care enough to give real feedback. Those are the ones that we want to please. Those are the ones we write for.

I read that we could receive 999 positive reviews, but it only takes one negative review that puts us in the dumps and puts a hamper on our writing. This has been the case with me for several weeks. Well, I say, enough of that. Not everyone is going to like our writing, the style or what we have to say. But we do have some loyal followers who like what we have to say and are willing to pay to read those books. I say we give our thanks to those reviews and readers who say that we have a product they want to read. And as one of my reviewers says, "Write, write, write." I am thankful for her and many others who are loyal fans.

In Cherokee with the Cherokees

This week we took a trip to Cherokee, NC. I haven't been there since I was a teenager, but the place hasn't changed much -- except for the giant strange-looking building containing Harrah's Casino. It was a great trip, not just because of reliving old memories, but because of visiting old friends we hadn't seen in eight years. I have no excuse for not going to Cherokee because it's only a four-hour drive from home, but our friends now live in London and were back on vacation. It was a treat to see them.


I was amazed at the Indian crafts from the double weave baskets to pottery to carvings at oodles of stores all up and down the main street. Since our visit was during the week, not many people were at the Museum or milling about in the shops. However, the play "Unto These Hills" telling the story of the Cherokee people had almost a thousand people in attendance on a Tuesday evening. We went back stage and saw how the scenery was transported on a small train car and where the actors waited in the wings. I was surprised that more accidents did not occur since most of the area around the stage was natural rocks covered with sand.

We had dinner at the restaurant only a dozen or so feet from the vast array of hundreds and hundreds of gaming machines. Our friends' daughter was fifteen years old and was fascinated with the way they treated her at the casino. Since no one under the age of twenty-one could be on the casino floor, we had to wind tortuously through the building to get to the casino entrance near the restaurant. The guardians said that our friend's daughter had to stay on the tile near the wall and not get on the carpet to walk the thirty feet to the restaurant. She felt like she was being treated like her dogs, being told to 'stay off the carpet'. I don't think she minded it much since she said she was going to tell people 'back home' that she was thrown out of a casino. Apparently the younger set thinks that is more interesting than being in a casino or gambling. She was a good sport about it.

At the restaurant, they seated our group in an unused section in complete privacy. At first we thought nobody else was there, but as we left, we saw the main section which was nearly full. It's always nice to have that feeling of having the restaurant to ourselves. The food and service were excellent; however, our friend had heart surgery a year before and was on a low fat diet. He ate his salmon and green beans while eyeing my husband's steak and potatoes au gratin.

Overall, we had an enjoyable trip with lasting memories with many people and things that can be used in my novels.


Sabena Stone -- Author of The Rachel Christie Murder Mysteries