Author Archives

Following the rules of writing effective opening scenes is vital so that readers will be able to suspend disbelief.  Readers must be grounded in the protagonist’s point of view in the beginning of a story.  They must see the world through

Music is a theme in both of my previous novels and will be a major theme in my forthcoming novel. In Olive Branches Don’t Grow On Trees, Silvia listens to music while she paints. Music inspires her:  “The music seemed to go right

Contemporary fiction is a perfect genre for expressing the theme of technology, as technology is so much a part of our every day reality. Silvia, the protagonist of Olive Branches Don’t Grow On Trees, is unique from most other 23 year old

I wrote my first story when I was ten years old.  It was called The Magic Pen. This story was about a pen, that when used, created stories and poetry without the use of any human input as if a sacred power came through the ink of the pen. I

I write realistic fiction for many reasons. It’s fun; it gives me joy; it makes me sane; I feel a need to tell stories to the world. I also write so that I can learn life’s lessons. In Olive Branches Don’t Grow On Trees, Silvia

What do the novels The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, The Canterbury Tales and On The Road have in common?  All of these great works of fiction employ the literary technique known as the journey motif.  The journey that the characters of these

Portland is the destination of the journey and so it is the last stop along the way. Situated near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia Rivers, Portland has several bridges and is also known as the “City of Bridges.”

Cosmo and Silvia visit their younger brother Vince in Berkeley, where he attends college. Named after the 18th Century bishop and philosopher, George Berkeley, this university town has long been a major center of social change and civic unrest.

Silvia and Cosmo visit one of Silvia’s friends in the lovely coastal town of Santa Cruz. Situated about 90 miles south of San Francisco, Santa Cruz is home to both a major university and a boardwalk filled with restaurants, shops and an

Silvia’s car breaks down, forcing the traveling siblings to find an auto body shop. Luckily, this happens as they are near the city of Bakersfield, a freeway-filled place with no shortage of automobile services. About a hundred miles north