My Life
Lillooet to Barkerville- Day 4 of #MikeandTobyTravels
Today we left Lillooet at the @ss-crack of dawn and got on the road for Barkerville, a historic gold rush town maintained in total period authenticity. Mike had booked a room in the historic town, and we’d bought a good, old-fashioned map at the Lil’Wat gas station...
From Squamish to Lillooet and Lost Again- Day 3 #MikeandTobyTravels
Today we went from Squamish to Lillooet. Meaningless names yesterday but real, unforgettable places now. I woke to Mike gone in the preternaturally-early morning after a strangely-late sunset in a cabin on a river somewhere outside Squamish. It was nice to wake up at...
From Seattle to Squamish- Day 2 of #MikeandTobytravels
On the road out of Seattle toward Squamish, British Columbia, with my laptop on my knees. “Classic Vinyl” Rock is playing on the Sirius radio. The Chrysler Town and Country van we rented for the month has a smooth ride, juicy engine and most important, a roomy back...
Food safari from Maui to Seattle #MikeandTobyTravels
Day 1-June 16, Maui to Seattle I didn't know when we left, that we were setting out on a food safari from Maui to Seattle. Departure from home goes smoothly with our friends, Ken and Cindy, arriving on Maui to house-sit for us and keep the plants and dogs alive. Liko...
Lessons from #life drawing #7
The Norse goddess seems to glow in the light admitted from the high, sunshine-filled windows in this, the last of my lessons from life drawing. It would be hard to find depth on her perfectly-done marshmallow goldenness if it weren’t for the light source slightly...
Lessons from #life drawing #6
This week’s model has skin the exact shade of Werther’s chewy caramels, and she’s named for a Norse goddess. Her breasts look like scoops of vanilla ice cream with hazelnuts on top. Her legs are so long we all have to keep revising our pictures to fit them in. Though...
Lessons from #Life Drawing #5
I returned to lessons from life drawing #5 this week after taking off (with my sister) for a persistent sore throat that threatened contagion, and frankly, I needed a break. Instead of class last week, I spent the day at my computer, happily concocting my first spy...
My Writing
Top Six Effective Author Marketing Tools
If you have a book out, you’re looking for effective author marketing tools. What happens when you do a search for those keywords — ‘book marketing tools?’ About 9,200,000 results (0.29 seconds) A whole industry has exploded in recent years with the growth in...
Somewhere in California is here!
Somewhere in California, youngest sister Jade's story, Book 3 in the Michaels Family Romance series, is here! Check out the blurb: Dancing is everything—until it leads to love. Jade Michaels has a simple life: home, school, dance studio—and lot to prove in the shadow...
How to hit the bestseller lists with a book series
How to hit the bestseller lists with a book series began with leaving Amazon's Kindle Unlimited subscription program, which was the scariest risk I’ve taken since my journey as an author began. It was also awesome. I’ve made a six figure income and hit the USA Today...
Time for a Bitter Feast! #LeiCrimeSeries 12 is here.
It's time for Bitter Feast--Lei Crime Series 12 is here at last. It's different than any of the other books. But then again, I try to keep it that way. Here's the blurb: The farm-to-table food movement in Hawaii can be luscious, exotic… murder. Lieutenant Michael...
#Organic #farming hero of #Maui
Organic farming hero of Maui chef James “Kimo” Simpliciano has an enduring quality that reminds me of the sun-hardened monkeypod logs we pass as we walk along the red dust road of his farm. Far-seeing eyes hidden under a billed cap, Kimo speaks softly, each sentence...