While driving North in the middle lane on Jamboree, a six-lane road in Orange County, California, I noticed a blue Honda in the slow lane with smoke clouds billowing from the driver’s window. Thinking that was a lot of smoke for a cigarette, I passed the car and glanced inside. I noticed the mid-twenties driver…
Last spring I entered the Readers’ Favorite 2018 International Book Awards contest along with two-to-three thousand other authors. Much to my pleasant surprise, Busted received the Bronze award (third place) in the Fiction – Suspense genre. I discovered the first-and-second place winners in the fiction – suspense genre are international best selling authors, then me. Yay! There’s…
I’m honored to be speaking at the Newport Beach Public Library on October 11th, 2018 from 7 until 8 p.m. For the first 45 minutes, I’ll be sharing my research as well as the stories behind the stories, then 15 minutes for questions and answers. This is different information than I shared at Busted’s book launching party. I…
My Lebanese husband and I recently visited Lebanon to attend a family wedding. My husband emigrated to the U.S. through an international exchange program with Coopers and Lybrand in 1974 and became a U.S. citizen in 1985. One brother followed; three sisters remained in Lebanon, and the fourth sister moved to Paris with her husband…
A year ago I read an article in Coast Magazine about a company that trains dogs about rattlesnakes. Concerned about encountering the poisonous reptiles on our walks and hikes, I investigated the service. Rusty, the trainer, explained over the phone that it’s a twenty-minute process. The animal is trained to see, hear, and smell the…
My debut novel was launched on May 17th, 2017, and I’ve wanted to share the results for the last two months. I waited to see the sales numbers, which the publisher posted a few days ago. (It takes eight weeks to receive the tallies from the retailers.) In previous blogs, I’d mentioned publishing statistics. In…
Why was July 1, 2018 significant? Last Sunday was the deadline for marijuana companies to submit samples for testing to determine if their products meet California’s quality standards. Lab Testing Cannabis When Californians approved marijuana legalization in 2016, the state began issuing licenses for growing, testing, and selling pot starting on January 1, 2018. Many…
Last week, a good friend commented that kids are ordering drugs online from China. Really? Intrigued, I searched the Internet and found a website published by the DEA called Get Smart About Drugs. The headline read: Where are kids getting drugs? In the past, the answer would have been from classmates at school, friends at…
The following blog was written by my writing professor, and I’m sharing her post with her permission. What she experienced could happen to anyone. Identity Theft by Louella Nelson Identity Theft—My Story & Ways to Protect You On June 12 about two-something in the afternoon, my wallet was stolen at Trader Joe’s. Leaving my purse open…
On June 8, 2018, President Trump indicated support for a bipartisan bill that would end the federal ban on pot. The legislation, co-authored by Senator Cory Gardner, and Senator Elizabeth Warren, would lift the federal prohibition, defer to states’ laws on marijuana legalization, and permit marijuana businesses to use the federal banking system. …
