WHERE DO THE IDEAS COME FROM?

     How I Work

     Almost every week I get at least one new idea for a story. Of course, there's no way I can write them all. What I do is jot them down on whatever piece of paper is available. For every ten, one of them sticks in my brain and won't let go. It brain-bounces until I find myself jotting notes. More ricochets and I end up with something that looks like this . . . ideas scribbled on the back of a placemat while waiting for breakfast.

Have I written this one yet?

Nope, but it's in the pile, waiting for its turn 

at the keyboard.

BOOK TRAILER: DOWN THE RABBIT HOLE

DOWN THE RABBIT HOLE
PETER ABRAHAMS

BOOK REVIEW: THE ELEVENTH PLAGUE

THE ELEVENTH PLAGUE

Jeff Hirsch

Scholastic

2011

Available:  Hardcover, paperback, Kindle, audio

     Fifteen-year-old Stephen Quinn's life of roaming the countryside and salvaging seems normal. It's all he's known. Long before his birth America was almost destroyed by plague and war. It's a dangerous world. His family is one of the lucky ones. They've survived. Or at least he and his father and grandfather have. Their days are spent scouring the countryside for items to trade for the things they need to survive. When Stephen’s grandfather dies and his father is hurt and ends up in a coma Stephen is on his own. That is until he ends up in Settler’s Landing. It's a town that's totally different than he could ever have imagined. Families live in houses. Kids go to school. It's a community that seems too good to be real.

    This was a compelling read about a boy who has to figure out what's real and what isn't. Who he can trust and whom he can't. That even the perfect life hangs on a thread. It was a great read.

Target audience: Grades 7-10

Mystery / Suspense: Very Good!
Kid appeal: High

COLOR TRAP GAME

COLOR TRAP GAME

Don't be fooled by false clues!

Colour Trap » Puzzle games

THE MYSTERY BEGAN ON PAGE 2

THE MYSTERY BEGAN ON PAGE 2

A GIRL'S BEST FRIEND

(MAGGIE  BROOKLYN MYSTERY)

LESLIE MARGOLIS

When he checked on Mitsy she stared right back at him, dark eyes anxious. Like she smelled something dangerous.

So he grabbed an ice tea, plain and simple. Headed for the cash register. Paid. Stepped outside and gasped.

Mitsy's leash still dangled from the meter, the knot tied tight.

But Mitsy? She was gone.

BOOK REVIEW: HARDY BOYS: HAUNTED

HARDY BOYS: HAUNTED
Franklin W. Dixon
Simon & Shuster
2008

Available: Paperback & Kindle

    Brothers Frank and Joe Hardy are still solving mysteries. They're special agents for ATAC in this Undercover Brothers series, an updated spin-off from the original series. Their latest mission takes them to the Undercliff House of Detention. Before it was a detention center, it was an insane asylum.

EYE WITNESS TEST

EYE WITNESS CHALLENGE

Sleepwalker Coca-Cola commercial

Think you'd make a good eye-witness? Take the challenge.

Watch the video and then answer the questions about what you saw. No cheating. Don't read the questions before you watch the video or it doesn't count!

WARNING! WARNING! WARNING! WATCH THE VIDEO BEFORE SCROLLING DOWN

BOOK REVIEW: THE MYSTERY OF THE JADE PRINCESS

The Mystery of the Jade Princess review

THE MYSTERY OF THE JADE PRINCESS

Marilyn Granbeck

Scholastic

1989

Available: Paperback

Sue and Jenny are excited.  In just two days the Chinese New Year's festivities begin. It’s a fun celebration. Sue's brother is practicing for the parade as one of the dragon tail handlers. The girls get to wear exotic costumes and perform in a special program of Chinese dances. But this year something is different.

DEAR READERS: TUNE IN FOR CHAPTER 3

  

Chapter 3

    The ambulance is on its way," Mom announced as she rushed into the bedroom. When she saw Grandma Charlotte's gray face her eyes grew teary. "I should have called for the ambulance as soon as we arrived. Jessica, go out to the porch and wait for them."

    I was glad to get out of there. I didn't want to be the room if Grandma Charlotte died.  With the scrapbook clutched in my hands, I waited for the paramedics. My fingers traced over the faded dragonfly that had been embroidered onto the cover. At one time it probably was black, but now it was sooty gray.

    A distant siren wailed. It grew louder as it got closer and died when the ambulance pulled up in front of the house with its red lights still flashing. I led the two uniformed men to Grandma Charlotte's room and then hurried outside.

    I waited in one of the three wooden chairs that stood guard on the porch. With nothing else to do, I figured I might as well look at Grandma Charlotte's scrapbook. The first page read:

Charlotte Crane

age 11

1932

    The words were written carefully in black ink on yellowed rough paper. Three faint pencil lines served as a guide for the letters. At eleven, Grandma Charlotte had neater handwriting than I do.

    "I wonder what Grandma Charlotte meant by the 'riddle of the Liberty Lady?'" I whispered.

    Maybe there wasn't a riddle, but something Grandma Charlotte made up like hearing people in the house when Mr. Thomas said no one was there. Of course he could have lied.

My right knee began to bounce. I had to push it down with my hand to make it to stop. What was taking the paramedics so long? 

    I turned to the second page. This scrapbook wasn't anything like the ones Kelsey and I planned to make. The pages were heavy off-white paper, kind of like construction paper, but different. Instead of mostly photos, Grandma Charlotte had filled the pages with an assortment of stuff.  

There were cut-out newspaper clippings and pictures of animals from magazines, all carefully glued down. She must have kept every birthday, Easter, get well, and Christmas card. 

    One page had black hair taped on it with just one word written, "Mixie's." Gross.  Who was Mixie?

    The photographs were small and black-and-white. She had used the same little black corner frames to hold all of them in place on the pages.

    A cute little Scottie dog appeared in several. Mixie. I flipped back to the page with the hair. 

    Dog hair. Double gross.

    In one picture Grandma Charlotte was climbing a tree in a dress. Except for the hair-style and the dress, Grandma Charlotte could have been my twin. 

    "That's weird," I said and studied the black-and-white picture. "Grandma Charlotte is so old, but if she looked like me when she was my age, does that mean I'm going to look like her, when I'm her age? Scary." I made a face. I want to look older, but not that much older. "I wonder if she had dark red hair, too?" I couldn’t tell in the black and white photo.

I shivered even though it wasn't cold and turned the page.

    In the next picture of her she was dressed as a princess with a tin-foil crown. Below it is said, "TOOTH FAIRY PRESENTS." I guess she was supposed to be the tooth fairy. She'd glued three copper pennies, two nickels, four dimes, two quarters, a fifty cent piece and three silver dollars in a circle.

    On the third to the last page was a letter. It was from my great-great grandfather to Grandma Charlotte. She had labeled it, Daddy's last letter to me.

June 16, 1932

Eureka, California

Dear Charlotte,

    Happy birthday. I hope the Sutro Baths are enjoyable and a suitable place for you to spend your most important twelfth birthday. I miss you and your mother. I'm sorry I'm not there with you. There is a special birthday present waiting for you when you return next week.

    I arrived home from New York last evening and have secreted away our future. Tell mother all is not lost. I beat the bank's closing and have a golden surprise hidden away at home. If something should happen to me, solve the riddle of the Liberty Lady.

    I hope to see you soon.

                                            Love,

                                               Daddy

    On the second to the last page was a short newspaper article. The headline read, Pedestrian Killed in Hit and Run. "Mr. Jonathan A. Weston was tragically run down by a hit-and-run motorist on the evening of June 20,1932." 

Under it was glued a memorial card from his funeral. 

    Grandma Charlotte had put several small pictures of her father on the same page.  He had a wide smile under a large handlebar mustache. This page was not as neat at the others. The writing was smudged and the page had been spattered with water.

    Pasted on the last page of the scrapbook was a hand written poem. The writing was the same as in the letter. At the top, the author had drawn a dragon. Each corner had been decorated with clusters of leaves and flowers.  

I read the poem aloud.

"From the east to the west they traveled.

From the North to the South I'm told.

Dragon wings beat the rhythm,

Of the hidden treasure of gold.

There came a lone Liberty Lady,

In her right hand she held a key.

She rode a magical beast;

The iron horse of victory.

In secret silence she came to stay

In our house hidden safe away,

Not like the other fallen In depression on that Black Day.

She covered herself in star flowers,

Dreaming of fortune for hours;

Hidden deep beneath the wood

Alone in her ivory tower.

Dragon wings beat the rhythm,

Of the hidden treasure of gold.

Find the Liberty Lady,

For her secrets to be told.

Of all the hidden treasures I own;

The money, gold, and precious stones,

Not one of them can compare,

To the love a-waiting at home."

    "That's some poem." 

    I jumped.

    Mr. Thomas's nephew stood at the edge of the porch. He had come from the backyard and was carrying two Cokes.

    "It's okay," I said and then ignored him, hoping he'd go away. He didn't.

    I closed the scrapbook and set it in the empty chair next to me. "It's something my great-grandma Charlotte had in her scrapbook from when she was a kid."

    "Here." He held out one of the two Cokes. "I'm Josh. Sorry I was a jerk earlier."

    "It's okay." I said and took the Coke. I didn't want it, but I took it anyway. He might have put poison in it to get even with me. "Thanks." I pretended to take a sip.  

    He sat on the porch railing. He didn't look so bad when he wasn't glaring at me. He still wasn't as cute as Todd or as tall.  I wondered what Kelsey would think of him. 

    "I'm Jessica." It was impossible to be rude when he was trying to be nice, not if we were going to live in the same house for the next two months." I should have known the Coke wasn't Gram's or Great-Grandma Charlotte's. They never drink anything but water, plain ice tea without sugar, or sour lemonade."

    He laughed and then said, "Let's just forget it?"

    "Okay." 

    We drank our cokes in silence. I stole a glance at Josh and decided he really wasn't so bad. At least he was someone close to my age. Someone to talk to.

    "I was wondering," I said. "Why did your uncle want to spend the summer in Eureka? It's foggy half the time and there's nothing to do here."

    "He's a writer, but I haven't seen him write since we came. He says he's soaking up local color.” He crumpled his coke can. “Hank isn't my real uncle. I don't even really like him."

    "Then why are you with him?"

    "It was him or a foster home."

    "Oh," I said. When he didn't say more, I felt I'd been a little too nosy and stared at the street like it was exciting to see a car drive by. A group of older teenage boys came around the corner. One bounced a basketball, three had skateboards, and one coasted on a mountain bike. They crossed the street and disappeared around the corner.

    "Hank isn't so bad," Josh said to end the silence. "He pretty much lets me do what I want as long as I stay out of his business. The only thing I have to do is be in my room by ten and stay there."

    "You're lucky. My parents still think I'm too young to be left alone during the day which is why I'm stuck up here until Gram is out of the hospital and back on her feet."

    He finished his soda and belched. I sort of laughed and his face reddened.

    "Is the old lady going to be okay?" he asked. 

    "I hope so."

    "Is she normal?" He tapped his head with his finger.

    "Yeah. She was okay when she and Gram came down for Christmas. She's just old, not crazy."

    "Well, before you got here she said all sorts of strange things about lost ladies and prowlers in the house. She kept pointing to the walls and crying there were too many dragons. She even said your grandmother's accident wasn't an accident. It was creepy sitting with her."

    The front door opened. A paramedic guided the front of the narrow gurney. Great-Grandma Charlotte was strapped down, but her head rocked from side to side.

    Her eyes fixed on the scrapbook in the chair. She cried out in a feeble voice, "Don't let him get his hands on that. You have find the Liberty Lady first." Then she closed her eyes and lapsed into unconsciousness.

    The legs on the gurney folded up as the men slid it into the back of the ambulance.  One paramedic hopped in beside her and the other man hustled to the driver's seat. The back doors slammed shut and the ambulance sped down the street. Its lights were flashing, but they didn't turn on the siren.

    "Jessica, we have to go," Mom said. "We'll follow them to the hospital."

    I handed Josh my half-full soda and scrambled into the car taking the scrapbook along.

    Would the ambulance get to the hospital in time? Even though I'd rather be back home with my friends, I didn't want Grandma Charlotte to die.

 Be sure and come back next week to find out what happens in 

Chapter Four.

To read the whole book at once, or make it a part of your personal library, find it in paperback on 
AMAZON
or
HERE

BOOK REVIEW: THE GRIMM LEGACY

THE GRIMM LEGACY- mystery book review

THE GRIMM LEGACY

Polly Shulman

Scholastic

2010

Available: Hardcover, paperback, Kindle, audible

    Elizabeth's life is turned upside down when her father remarries. She has to transfer schools so her dad can pay her new stepsister's tuition at college. Home life is not the same and Elizabeth can't seem to make friends at her new school because they've all know each other forever. When her social studies teacher recommends her for a job at the New York Circulating Material Repository, she jumps at the opportunity. It's a strange place, kind of like a library, but instead of books, it lends things. Old historical things and new contemporary things. Secret things, like the magical Grimm Collection in the basement. The job is working out great. It's interesting and she's making friends. But then articles start to disappear. She, along with her new friends are caught in a mysterious quest to recover what's been taken.

    This is a fun blend of a contemporary story filled with fantasy and blended into a mystery. A fun read, both fast paced and funny. It should delight both fantasy and mystery fans.

Target audience: Grades 6-9

Mystery / Suspense: exciting

Kid appeal: Yes!

BOOK REVIEW: THE PITY PARTY

The Pity Party - mystery book review

THE PITY PARTY
8th Grade in the Life of Me, Cass

Alison Pollet

Scholastic

2005

Okay, so I'm breaking my own rules, THE PITY PARTY is not a mystery, but it does have mysterious elements. Like a missing friend and  . . .  I really liked the story and the main character Cass so I'm writing a review anyway.

It's the beginning of her eight grade year for Cass Levin, "not Levine." She attends New York City's Elston Prep with her two best friends. It should be a great year, but when the class lists come out, she doesn't even have one class with either of them. Worse, they seem to have every class together and she starts to feel a little left out. The situation forces her to make friends with other students, one boy in particular, Rod Punkin. He's not the kind of boy your parents would love. His own parents don't seem to like him either. Just as she decides he's not as bad as his reputation, he disappears.

The voice is strong. The story poignant. It reveals a lot about how easily misconceptions can color one's own self identity and friendships. A fun, enjoyable read with a touch of humor, exploring the angst of navigating eighth grade.

Target audience: grades 6-9

Mystery/suspence: subtle

Kid appeal: Strong for girls

BOOK REVIEW: HALF-MOON INVESTIGATIONS

Half-moon Investigations mystery review

HALF-MOON INVESTIGATIONS

Eoin Colfer

Hyperion Books for Children

Available: Hardcopy, paperback, Kindle, audiobook

Twelve-year-old Fletcher Moon is a licensed Private Eye, graduating at the top of his on-line private detective academy class. He even has a silver plated badge to prove it! Which he likes to show to every one. Which also makes him a little nerdy. Still he has managed to solve several cases at Saint Jerome's elementary and Middle school and when kids need help they go to him. That's why one of the school's most pretty and popular girls, April Devereux hires him to find a stolen lock of a pop star's hair. She even provides him with a suspect. It's Red, one of the infamous Sharkey Boys and the son of a well-known local criminal. The case sounds easy and lucrative. But then things start to go wrong with the investigation and the clues just don't add up. Things escalate. The Devereux Wendy House [play house] is burned and he becomes the suspect on the run. Forced to team up with the most unlikely partner, together they piece together the clues to a rash of crimes.

   What makes this book really stand out is that while Half-Moon (Fletcher) is a wise cracking hard-boiled kid detective, his slang is totally "kid". He doesn't sound like a kid impersonating some 1950s detective. He sounds like a kid with a bit of attitude and a quirky way of looking at things. The mystery itself is spot on. Real, believable, and again totally "kid." I look forward to reading the next Half-Moon Detective installment.

TARGET AUDIENCE: Grades 4-7

MYSTERY / SUSPENSE:  Keeps you guessing until the end

KID APPEAL: Kids will love it!

BOOK REVIEW: THE HUNTED

The Hunted - mystery book review

THE HUNTED

Gloria Skurzynski & Alane Ferguson

National Geographic Society

2000

AVAILABLE: Kindle

The Hunted: A Mystery in Glacier National Park is the fifth book in the National Geographic Society's National Parks Mystery series.

  Twelve-year-old Jack Landon's mother is a wildlife veterinarian and has been called to Glacier National Park to discover why there is suddenly a shortage of Grizzly cubs in the park. That is just one of the mysteries, he has to help solve. The other is why his younger sister Ashley [10] has been acting strange. She's been ditching him and going into the woods early in the mornings. Alone. Plus she's been lying to their parents. He has to figure out why. His search to unravel the truth brings the Landon kids face to face with an enraged grizzly.

  The authors have sprinkled in a healthy dose of information about Glacier National Park, Grizzly bears, the environment and illegal immigration while spinning a fast paced adventure for kids to read. Kids that love wildlife, the outdoors, and mysteries should enjoy this book. There is definite a message the authors are trying to get across.

TARGET AUDIENCE: Grades 5-7

MYSTERY / SUSPENSE: exciting

KID APPEAL:  Wildlife & Outdoor lovers

BOOK REVIEW: THE CASE OF THE PECULIAR PINK FAN

The Case of the Peculiar Pink Fan - mystery book review

THE CASE OF THE PECULIAR PINK FAN

Nancy Springer

Philomel Books

2008

AVAILABLE: hard copy, paperback, Kindle & Nook

 FROM:

   THE CASE OF THE PECULIAR PINK FAN is the fourth book in the An Enola Holmes Mystery series.

   Fourteen-year-old Enola Holmes, the younger sister of the famous detective Sherlock Holmes, has runaway to pursue her own detective pursuits in London, England. Because it's 1889, Enola has taken extraordinary measures to maintain her independence from her overbearing brothers and society at large. As the mistress of disguise, she manages to fool the world as the indispensable assistant of "Dr. Ragostin, the Scientific Perditorian." Of course there is no Dr. Ragostin, but who would turn to a young girl for help if they knew that? While on another case Enola spots an old friend, Lady Cecily. The young girl notices Enola and frantically signals with a pink paper fan that she's in danger and in dire need of rescuing. But from what? Cecily is whisked away by her chaperones before Enola can learn more. After tracking a series of clues Enola discovers her old friend is being held prisoner and if not rescued soon, will be forced into a dreadful marriage.

   This is a delightful read and a stand-alone mystery in the series. It's full of clever language and unusual situations showcasing the outrageous exploits a most remarkable young girl. Less experienced readers may have a little difficulty getting into the story, but if someone read the first chapter to them they'd be hooked and finish it on their own.

TARGET AUDIENCE: Girls-- grades 7-9

MYSTERY / SUSPENSE: Full of stealth & disguises 

KID APPEAL: Advanced readers & Sherlock Holmes fans