Ava Mallory

Image Credit:  Simplicity Home Catalog - Fall, 1968 I've researched places. I've researched names and crime scene details. They've fascinated me in every way, but I think I've hit the mother load when it comes to all things 1968! Look at the party gowns above! Are they not to die for? I can say that, you know. I write about murder on a daily basis. To. Die. For. But wait! There's more! Image Credit:  https://www.goldenglobes.com/tv-show/julia-tv This image from the Julia series appeals to me because I used to be a nurse. When I was growing up, nurses still wore their whites with the Kay's cap. They were everything to me! Everything! And who didn't love Julia? She had heart . She was tough as nails and got the job done! If you're not familiar with Julia, you can get more information here:  Julia on imdb Image Credit:  McCall's - May, 1968 These dresses! I can't love these more!  Check out this ad for Men...

Along Came a Needle is on sale! Buy or Borrow Here Some authors - not me - are really good about alerting readers to sales. The hard sell is like a mental block for me. I get so mixed up in what other authors are doing. I one-click my day away because they're all so talented. I'm blinded by my need for more books. I'm pretty sure there is a DSM diagnosis for it. ( DSM = Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders) That's not a joke. I have a degree in psychology. I worked as a psychiatric care nurse for many years. I know there's a name for it. I just can't pinpoint it yet ... but give me time. As with any other thing I forget in a given day, it will come to me. Most likely in the middle of the night, when everyone else has already forgotten about the conversation. So, all of this is to say, Along Came a Needle is on sale for only 99 cents. You're probably wondering how I can justify that awkward segue. ( I'm the queen o...

Twenty-seven years ago, I gave birth to a human being. That's what I tell my son all the time. I went in blindly at all of twenty-two-years-old. I naively believed that natural childbirth meant you have the baby the natural way - meaning like a human being. Duh! Don't tell me. I know how ridiculously ridiculous that was. I should've asked someone. Well, when the time came at precisely ten p.m., right after a movie starring Pam Dawber started on t.v., my water broke. I didn't know that at the time. I mean, I felt something - obviously - but I didn't know that's what it was. I thought my bladder had given out. Again, I wasn't the brightest bulb in the box. I quickly jumped into gear to clean up the mess and change clothes. After that, I marched my ignorant behind to the kitchen to grab the food I'd been craving for hours - peanut butter, chocolate chips, and tea. For the record, anyone who knows me knows tea has never been my beverage of choice. ...

Okay, folks, I've said it before, but I must say it again. I am a list maker. The problem is I have so many lists and always struggle with which list to tackle first. Yes, I probably should make one master to-do list, but the thought of dozens of tasks on what (or several) sheets of paper gives me hives. Seriously! As I sit here on a Sunday evening, feet up, laptop in front of my face, Bears game going strong (Da Bears!), I find myself once again checking my lists and created a list for the new week. I can't help myself. To-do lists make me happy. If you've ever parented teenagers or tried to herd cats, you'd understand. I need a roadmap to get through the day, not because I have no idea what to do. There's always something to do. My need to list things is for the joy it brings me to check things off that list. Pick up Male Child #1 from school. Check. Drop off suit at dry cleaners. Check. Write all the words. Check. You don't want to know...

Me with my head in a book. My name is Ava and I'm an e-book (And print book!) hoarder. There, I've said it. They say the first step is admitting you have a problem. I'm admitting it.\ I have thousands - THOUSANDS - of books. Between two Kindles and mountains of books in every nook and cranny in my house, I could fill a library, like an actual New York City Library size library. I'm that person. You know the one who never saw a book she absolutely, positively didn't have to own. Books make me happy. I don't discriminate. I love them all. Mysteries. Of course! Romance. Yes! Thrillers. Give me more! Nonfiction. Please! Fantasy. Why not! Horror. Want! Memoirs. I'm your girl! I have to own all of them. It's a blessing and I haven't quite figured out if it might possibly be a curse yet. But, like my very close personal friend (I wish.), Oprah Winfrey would say, what I know for sure is books bring me comfort. I must be surrounded by th...