The storm’s a-coming. You can smell it in the air: rain’s on the way, maybe thunder, maybe more, but the high winds are what you hate. They make you run for shelter and pray hard. The storm’s a-coming, and in “Lightning Down” by Tom Clavin, it’s never as mild as you hope[Read More…]

All eyes are on you. Twelve of your peers have decided your fate, and you haven’t a clue what they’ll say. None of their faces are readable. Nobody’s smiling but then again, there are no scowls. Will they find this court case favorable for you, or will this go bad? You[Read More…]

Pick a card. Any card. Don’t show it to anyone. Just look at it, quick, and put it back in the deck anywhere at random. Now think about that card. Think about the number, the suit, how many symbols were on it, the color, the shape. Concentrate hard on the card you[Read More…]

Memories flood your brain at the oddest times. They’re spontaneous and unbidden, random and fleeting. You may be tinkering in the kitchen, and thoughts of a childhood friend pop into your head. Raking leaves, and Grandpa’s car enters your mind. Reading a book like the new novel “An Elderly Lady Must Not Be Crossed” by Helene Tursten, and you[Read More…]

You’re not using semaphore flags. Nope, what you’re saying is clear and concise, spoken in plain language, enunciated, not rushed. You’re not mumbling, you’re communicating as precisely as possible but as in the new book “I’ll Take Your Questions Now” by Stephanie Grisham, it’s possible, even still, that the message is received all wrong. It is[Read More…]

You had a sandwich for lunch again today. If you had to estimate, you’ve eaten thousands of those things over the last five years. Chicken sandwiches. Sandwiches with lunch meat. Sandwiches with a burger. Vegetarian sandwiches. Grilled cheese sandwiches, yeah, you could be in a rut. So tomorrow, why not try something different? Read “Gastro Obscura” by Cecily Wong and Dylan Thuras, and see[Read More…]

Two plus two equals four. It’s one of the things you can’t deny. It’s a fact, no matter what. Another: change will occur. And: people will surprise you sometimes. These are things we hang out hats on, things that are immovable, like taxes and death. As in “Dare to Know” by James Kennedy, they’ll happen,[Read More…]

Photo credit to Ecco. Your morning cuppa joe came from Hawaii last month. Mixed with a little milk from a farm upstate, it’s the perfect pick-me-up. When you add cereal from Iowa, grapefruit from Arizona, and a tiny bit of chocolate from Pennsylvania, you’re set for awhile. And when you’re hungry again, grab[Read More…]

The silence is intense. It was the first thing you noticed: no cars, no neighbors’ radios, no sirens, nothing but crickets and the sound of wind through leaves. The second thing you noticed were the stars because, without street lights, you can see them. Sometimes, you wish you could camp forever or[Read More…]