A holiday weekend in the summer here in the White Mountains means tons of flatlanders coming up to visit, crowded restaurants, and crazy drivers. That’s to be expected. We are a tourist destination, and those tourist dollars are vital to our economy. But it doesn’t mean we have to take part in any of it. […]
In a blog post a couple of days ago, I said that it seemed like our monsoon season is beginning here in the White Mountains of Arizona. But the monsoon says, “not so soon.” We got some rain over the weekend, and that was about it. Yesterday we were supposed to have up to an […]
Terry has always loved lilacs and wanted to get some planted in the backyard, so when we were at Christopher’s Garden Nursery in Lakeside the other day, we bought three bushes. Since we are supposed to get some rain this weekend, I wanted to get them planted so we could take advantage of the added […]
It is definitely warming up here in the White Mountains. It was in the 70s yesterday, and starting today it’s going to be in the 80s for several days. It’s definitely time to be thinking about getting the yard in shape and the garden and greenhouse ready to go. I was running an errand yesterday […]
I always tell new authors that writing a book is the easy part. It’s after you finish the last chapter that the real work starts, and that’s what we’ve been doing the last few days since I finished Debt Collector, the fourteenth book in my John Lee Quarrels mystery series about a small town Florida […]
It’s allergy season here in the White Mountains of Arizona and everywhere you go, you see people sneezing, blowing their noses, and rubbing their red, itchy eyes. Both Terry and son-in-law Kenny have been suffering with it miserably. Yesterday afternoon, Kenny went to the doctor for an allergy shot and he said by the time […]
They call the White Mountains of east-central Arizona a sportsman’s paradise. The dense Ponderosa pine forests are home to a variety of wildlife, from bear and mountain lions, to elk, deer, antelope, and many varieties of small game. The numerous lakes and rivers are full of trout, bass, and other species of fish. Besides hunters […]
We got close to two inches of snow yesterday, which wasn’t a lot in the overall scheme of things. But if you were Alli and it was the first time you got to play in the snow, it was pretty awesome. She slid across the back deck on her butt a couple of times, which […]
It looks like winter has come to the White Mountains of Arizona. A cold front sweeping through the region is bringing snow and rain with it, and we’re told that we can expect up to 4 inches of the white stuff here at our house in Show Low. Ten miles up the road in Pinetop-Lakeside, […]
In spite of the fact that we had rain instead of snow, we had a wonderful Christmas Day with our daughter Tiffany, her husband Kenny, and their family. It’s the first time we have been here to celebrate the holiday with them since we went on the road as fulltime RVers in 1999. There’s no […]
Big Lake Mystery Series Wherever you are and whatever you’re doing, I hope you are safe, healthy, and with people you love. That’s about the best Christmas gift anybody could ever get. I gave myself a Christmas present yesterday. I finished Big Lake Parolee, the 27th book in my Big Lake mystery series about a […]
A number of people have sent messages asking if we are safe from the flooding here in Arizona. Yes, we are, and thank you for your concern. The worst of the flooding occurred in the Phoenix area and also in the small town of Globe, which is about 90 minutes south of us, where they […]
Should newspapers have trigger warnings? Are we that fragile as a society that we have to be warned that something unpleasant may exist? I can watch hours of violence on prime-time television, but when the nightly news comes on, I have to be warned that the report of an auto accident might be disturbing? Another […]
When I was in college a journalism professor addressed the topic of media bias. He said that biased media is any media that disagrees with your point of view. Everyone had their own selective perspective, and if you disagree with them, you are obviously biased. A career in the small town newspaper business showed me […]
Before I get into today’s blog from my days publishing small town newspapers, I wanted to let you all know that I uploaded the print edition of Big Lake Sinner to Amazon late last night. It should be live and available for purchase sometime today. A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away […]
Another blog post from my days publishng small town newspapers. Television has taught us that journalists and the police are always at odds with each other, sworn enemies who will never come to any kind of middle ground. The reporters are pushy and don’t care about anything but getting the story, and if they can […]
When my friend Linda Sand sent me this I had to laugh. You have to wonder how something like this slips past the proofreaders. Don’t ask me, but it happens all the time in the publishing business, whether you’re putting out newspapers, books, or magazines. I’ve had my share of gaffes, that’s for sure. In […]
For as long as I can remember the media has been accused of being dishonest, corrupt, and no more than a purveyor of lies. Especially when they report a story that offends a reader’s political or religious leanings. But the reality is that most small town newspapers have always strived to serve their communities by […]
Here is another blog post about my days publishing small town newspapers. Anybody who has ever owned their own business knows that you have to wear many hats. On any given day, you might be making a sales presentation to a new client, working the cash register, making deliveries, or taking out the trash. Or […]
Here is anothre blog from my days publishing small town newspapers. Publishing small-town newspapers on the Pacific Northwest coast and in Arizona was a lot of fun, and I like to think that sometimes my publications made a difference in the communities they served. I gained a reputation for stepping on toes, and that was […]