I suppose every writer likes to talk about how he or she wrote the "first one."

Shaded Light wasn't my first published book, but it was my first mystery. And it took a lot of sweat, and a lot of time.

I believe I've loved mysteries for as long as I can remember. When I was young, one of my very favorite games was, "How many marbles are in my hand?" On Sunday afternoons when my parents and I visited with my Grandmother and my Aunt Margaret and Uncle Albert. Uncle Albert and I played Chinese Checkers. After he got tired of letting me win, he would take a bunch of marbles, arrange some of them in his hands, and shake his hands. I would have to guess how many marbles he had. Of course he would try to trick me by keeping all the marbles from hitting the others or going fast so a few sounded like more. I loved trying to guess the right number. Read more »