The Viscountess

When I wrote Irish Eyes, a reader emailed me and said she wished there was more about Caroline’s story. She liked Caroline and even though the end of Irish Eyes mentions how she died, that character was no longer part of of Maggie’s story.

But it got me thinking. Caroline was a good character and I need to continue her story. So in the remaining books of the series, Summer of Love and An Emerald Homecoming, Caroline is affectionally referred to as a part of the family saga and legacy. But I felt Caroline deserved her own story. Thus, The Viscountess was born. In my mind, it shows the struggle of Caroline’s character in her friendship-ending quarrel with Maggie and redeems her, making her worthy of ancestral adulation. It closes the chapter on the family saga with all ends tied up.

An Emerald Homecoming

I’m a big fan of family stories and that’s one reason I created this series. I also found that there was an enormous gap in 20th century historical romance books. The last in the family saga had to be in the new century. And I was captivated by stories from a friend who survived 911 about what he went through to escape and those who didn’t. I remember when that happened and it inspired me to end our tale at that point in time in what I consider the most tragic occurrence in the 21st century that truly shaped the millennia so far. 

Summer of Love

I was born in the 1960’s, so I missed everything. But all my life I listened to people a decade or two older than me reminise about the era. The more I heard their stories of Greenwich Village, communes and Woodstock I saw the magical time as a perfect backdrop of history for someone who was looking for a new path, just as a generation did during that time. Even though only 50+ years have gone by, this time marked many firsts that changed an entire world and fueled a new conversation.

Irish Eyes

When I was in college, I wrote a term paper for history class about an Irish Immigrant coming to the US at the turn-of-the-century and getting involved in the seamstress labor union fight of the time. The idea of that character stayed with me all these years. So when I decided to write a historical saga about a family, I wanted the matriarch to be an Irish immigrant around 1900. The struggles of those immigrants astound me. Someone coming to another country and starting anew is brave and fascinating, as is the time period. I’ve read and researched a lot about this era and wanted to set this in Chicago, my hometown. As a history buff of my place of birth, I never shy away from talking about the significant events in the city’s yesteryear. The 1893 World’s Fair is a favorite and so many other things happened at that time. My later father, who’s grandmother was an Irish immigrant, got me hooked on our city’s history and I will put it in any book I can.

The Sailor and the Songbird

I’ve always had a special attachment to the WWII era. I love the movies, the clothes and the music. Who knows, maybe I was there in a past life. This is not a true story, merely a machination of my mind on what could have been, but I did know a real sailor on the USS Franklin – my father-in-law, LeRoy Hamilton. He was a young airplane mechanic who was thrown into the water and survived the long and arduous trip back to New York with the ship. He didn’t talk about the war much at all. Both he and his family were full of pride at his service, but it wasn’t discussed.

After his passing, I was able to interview some of his shipmates from the Franklin who lived nearby for the local newspaper on the 50th anniversary of the Franklin explosion. Looking in the rearview mirror a half-century later, their memories were foggy on the names and dates, but they spoke fondly about their comrades. And their recollection of their experiences during the incident was still crystal clear.  As I looked at pictures of the young men they were at the time, I saw the glint in their eyes with the joy and hope of the lifetime ahead of them. They didn’t look like old men, just guys.

It wasn’t the first war to end all wars, but with a sense of global purpose, a housing shift from an urban to a more suburban society, and the lasting impression of women who really worked and earned a living, it was a mark for changes to come. And they lived it. 

First Sight

When you meet a new couple you often ask how they met. As a former reporter I always had a curiosity about people. And especially when it comes to meet cutes. Over the years, I collected many interesting and some boring stories from people I met. The 20 most interesting ones are chronicled in this collection of love stories with a little fiction sprinkled in here and there. Falling in love, especially at first sight, renews people’s faith in love, while being grateful for what they have or hopeful that it can and will happen.

Cupcakes, etc.

Some writer’s say, “it came to me in a dream.” This series literally came to me that way. I saw The Little Shoppes building and the cupcake crew right in front of my very eyes. I expanded for the rest of the characters, but that was the catalyst. I love to tell women’s stories and the challenges of a bunch of women who own their own businesses in one boutique mall is very appealing. Together, they have their individual and collective highs and lows and personal and professional successes and failures, but the way they help each other is admirable. And the idea of the reality show/confessional format was too good to pass up. I admit, I watch my share of reality and contest shows and I always wondered why no one has written a book using a similar format. So I did. It’s so much part of our pop culture fabric these days. I can’t wait to tell more stories about these wonderful multi-faceted women. More to come.

Butterfly Bridal Boutique

In Book 2, we follow the path we began with The Little Shoppes fight with the town to keep their stories. But we also focus on several characters and learn more. Becky and Ali’s personalities, but not their journey, are based on a real mother daughter I know. I admire their relationship and this young mother’s commitment to let her daughter embrace the strong old soul she is. And Ken and Ron are based on many LBGTQ couples I know who are living the life they were meant to have and enjoy the magic of weddings and romance they deserve. All the characters are coming together for the final Book 3.

A Cup and a Book

A lot of Randa is an echo of myself. When I was working, I often fantasized about leaving it all behind getting off the rent race and doing something I always wanted to do. Randa chose. Now I do what I always wanted to do… write books and plays. She also has my roots of fighting for what you believe in and protecting your friends.

Secret Senior Sleuth’s Society Mysteries of Peacock Perch Series

Full disclosure, I live in a senior active adult community in sunny Florida. It’s great.

After living my whole life in the Chicago area, I was charmed at the collection of people from all over the world. There were Southerners, Midwesterners, New Englanders, New Yorkers, Canadians, Australians and Europeans, all living together. The varying cultures and differences were a refreshing change.

The other revelation was the vast experiences and knowledge from their former occupations. It was like a giant think tank. If you needed to know something, no matter what it was—from rocket science to exotic plants—chances are someone had done that for a living.

And with all the community activities, everyone spent a lot of time together. It soon became clear to me that there were very few secrets.

So, during the pandemic, I wrote an interactive whodunit play, with the help of our small community theater group, which lampooned how the gossip mill, both verbal and on social media, can take on a life of its own and help solve a mystery. Since we performed it on Zoom, attendees played detective in small groups and discussed clues and suspects. That gave birth to the Secret Senior Sleuths Society.

And in this book series, I can delve into the process of the detective work more with its twists and turns and explore the suspects, learn more about what motivates the detectives and take a peek at what it’s like to live in a typical American senior community. It’s probably not what most people expect of a retirement community.

It’s an interesting examination of a micro-society, although somewhat exaggerated, and how word-of-mouth can skew perspectives.