UPDATE!! Cabin Creek Mystery #10

Hello Friends and Readers!  I'm excited to tell you about a recent update for the Cabin Creek #10: The Shadow at Shark Cove.

Cousins Jeff (13), David (11), and Claire (10) fly to Gray's Beach, California to spend the summer with their cousin Bronte Bella (13). 

Home of the GPO, Giant Pacific Octopus, they hope to see one up close. Their curiosity is sparked further when they learn about ancient cave drawings in one of the shoreline cliffs: a sea monster with eight arms sinking a canoe. Did this really happen or is it just a legend? 

When a shadowy creature bumps their little boat then swims into a forest of kelp, they have another mystery to solve!  For a link to Amazon click here.

** Bronte's Book Club introduces Bronte when she moved from New Mexico to this small town by the sea.

Old friends in the library

6th graders, field trip

In 1960, in California, a few of us neighborhood kids started the Manhattan Beach 4th Street Book and Snack Club That wasn't its official name, but that's how we thought of it. We were nine years old. With younger siblings tagging along, we rode our bikes to the pier then up the hill to the library where whispering--quiet whispering--was strictly enforced. There we roamed the stacks until we each found a book to check out, its plastic cover then crackling against our handlebars as we rode home, fast, because of the treats that awaited us. It was the best part of the club, eating our snacks while looking out at the ocean. Though we never actually discussed the stories we read, we sure had fun. 

old friends

The other day my niece Hailey sent a photo from a nearby library where she found a modest section of my books. "We're on a field trip to the Palos Verdes Public Library," she texted. "And here you are." My heart soared to see original editions from the Dear America and Royal Diaries series, somewhat ragged, but still in circulation. I have reprinted several different titles through Amazon, and thought it would be fun to post a link here.

The Great Railroad Race was one of my favorite to research and write: 

click here

As the daughter of a newspaper reporter, 14-year-old Libby West keeps a diary account of the exciting events surrounding her during the building of the railroad in the West in 1868. 

I'm still thrilled to read letters from teachers and students studying American history. And our public library is still one of my happy places.

Playing pretend with a three-year-old

Jack, ferryboat captain

    The most fun playing with a three-year-old is their imagination. I recently hung out with our grandson Jack after he broke his leg on a trampoline. Despite his red cast he scooted around the house, rolled, and spun, laughing and narrating his games. The toy I brought him was a familiar kitchen item: an empty paper towel tube. He immediately knew its purpose and over several days put it into action: a sword, a telescope, a stick for his bongo drum. Among Legos it became a house chimney, an airport control tower, then a tunnel for tiny race cars. When he called himself a ferryboat captain I asked if he could see a lighthouse. 

    "Umm ... yes. There!" he said, aiming his spyglass at the dog. 

    I look forward to when Jack and I can read a Cabin Creek Mystery together. He's a little young now but I'm sure he'll be able to imagine a giant Pacific Octopus, a shark, and the tall haunted lighthouse.

click here

When a real cat inspires a Cabin Creek Mystery

Leon, guarding the fish tank

Our neighbor's cat, Leon, often visits when he sees my husband and me in the garden or on our deck reading. Sometimes he brings us a wiggly mouse or a sad little bird, but mostly he likes lounging near us. When he jumps on the table we grab our coffees just before he knocks them over, then with a dramatic flop he settles in with purring.  Click here for a link to the book on Amazon. I hope you enjoy meeting Leon in THE SHADOW AT SHARK COVE where the cousins try to solve the mystery of the disappearing octopus.

Our good neighbor, Leon

3rd graders love Cabin Creek Mysteries

A wonderful surprise just made my day. My post office box was stuffed with letters from 3rd graders in North Carolina. In various degrees of beautiful penmanship with charming drawings, they explained that their teacher reads two chapters a day to them. They were thrilled with the stories, but "very, very sad" that #8 was about to end. "Please write more," they said. In a separate note their teacher added,
       I wanted you to see how your Cabin Creek Mysteries have motivated my 3rd-grade students to love mysteries. Recently one of my students came to me all excited that he had found book 9 in your CCM. Naturally I had to add it to my collection. We are currently writing mysteries in class and many students have incorporated your books into their story. Thanks for helping my students love "read alouds".
     My pleasure! And thank you to teachers and parents who pass on a love of story to children. I'm privileged to be part of this adventure, and 'very, very happy' to tell them #10 is on the way: "The Curse of Shark Cove," set in a California town by the sea.

NEW Cabin Creek Mystery

Hello everyone! I'm happy to announce a new Cabin Creek Mystery: Danger on Lost Island.

       The cousins are excited for their first campout on Lost Island with their friends Vimila and Anupam [from #8: The Case of the Spying Drone].  When they hear distressing cries of an animal and from their Lookout Tower see what appears to be a baby bear on the shore of Grizzly Paw Wilderness, limping and shivering, they want to save it. They fear its ferocious mother however, especially after discovering that a bear has ravaged their fort and food. Plans for rescue are thwarted by a storm, making it dangerous to row across the inlet.  Worse though, their boat has come untied and is drifting out onto the lake: They're stranded! Growing hungrier by the hour the five kids must decide how to safely leave the island before their parents begin to worry.

      And stay tuned for Cabin Creek #10! I'm working on The Curse of Shark Cove and can't wait to share it with you. Here's a quick peek: Jeff, David, and Claire travel to California to visit their cousin Bronte Bella, who lives in Gray's Beach [from my middle-grade novel Bronte's Book Club]. The four cousins have a surprising adventure in this small town by the sea, where strange and unexplained things are happening.

new release: The Great Railroad Race

RL 4th-6th grade

Hello Readers!
     I'm happy to announce new editions of The Great Railroad Race: The Diary of Libby West, Utah Territory 1868.
     Originally published in Scholastic's Dear America series, it's now available in paperback and on Kindle:
     As the daughter of a newspaper reporter, fourteen-year-old Libby keeps a diary account of the exciting events surrounding her during the building of the railroad in the West in 1868.
     I had a blast researching this momentous time in American history and exploring Promontory Summit Utah with our teenage sons. With the Wasatch Mountains in the background, it was a thrill to witness a reenactment: the chugging-chugging of Locomotive No. 119, its smokestack billowing steam and its shrill whistle as it met nose-to-nose with Jupiter. Years earlier I had lived in Salt Lake City blocks from Brigham Young's house and other spots featured in this story. Being able to see and touch historic sites has always enriched my imagination, and made writing so much fun.
    And for fans of Jimmy Spoon and the Pony Express, I wove in scenes with Jimmy, Nahanee and their "little surprise." I hope you enjoy these new editions!