My Current Interest

     For as long as I can remember, there has been talk in my family about how great it would be to go on a cruise.  We have seen many exciting cruises offered.  Some with themes, some without.  But as of yet, I have never been on one.  Maybe someday I finally will.  Just hopefully a calmer one than Jessica Fletcher went on. The High Seas /Artwork by Kate Dorsey      Jessica Fletcher has been given the task of performing lectures and writing a play, all to be presented during a crossing of the ocean liner the Queen Elizabeth 2 (QE2).   She went on this exact same liner years ago with her husband, Frank, and is excited to be on the ship again.   There is some sadness she is not with her husband, but it is an adventure Jessica is looking forward to.      She cannot, however, say the same about writing a play.   Her success is with writing novels, not plays.   Despite what some may believe, writing them is not the same.   Still, Jessica is willing to give writing the play a try.   Sh

Images provided by Kensington Books.      Sometimes with a series there is a book that puts me on edge.   I have a hard time reading it.   Sometimes I don’t finish it at all.   If I don’t finish it, I tend not to continue on with the series.      That is something that almost happened with The Poppy McAllister Mysteries .   I loved the first book, Class Reunions are Murder , but the second book I had a really hard time with.   There were so many annoying characters!   Something told me to keep going, though.   I found the annoying characters evened out, and I was able to finish Midnight Snacks are Murder .      Then came Restaurant Weeks are Murder .   I enjoyed this book, so I read the fourth, Theater Nights are Murder .   With this fourth book, I fell in love with the series all over again.   Now I am greatly looking forward to the fifth installment to see what happens next.                 Poppy McAllister is a widow.   She returned to her New Jersey hometown to care for her A

Behind the Door /Artwork by Kate Dorsey      There have been a lot of Harry Potter marathons on TV these past several months.  Sometimes I watch.  Sometimes I don’t.  Sometimes I’ll watch one particular film, while other times I’ll watch another.  It really depends on how I feel at the moment.  In any case, I end up watching a lot of Harry Potter .      Harry Potter (Daniel Radcliffe) is a boy who discovers he is a wizard on his 11 th birthday.   He lives with awful relatives, and finds it a great relief to go off to the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.   It is here Harry meets his two best friends, Hermione Granger (Emma Watson) and Ron Weasley ( Rupert Grint ).   Together, through seven years of school and eight films, these three friends work together to survive school and take down the infamous villain, Lord Voldemort ( Ralph Fiennes ).      These three have to survive school in more than the traditional sense.   Yes, they have schoolwork and bullies to worry about (th

     Olivia really, truly has got to go.  She is incredibly obnoxious.  To make matters worse, Mel and Angie act really immature when they deal with her.  Even when Olivia is hardly in the book her actions grate on my nerves.  She is definitely a character that has to go.                    Business has been slow at Fairy Tale Cupcakes.   When an opportunity comes along to sell their cupcakes at a rodeo,  bakery owners Mel Cooper and Angie DeLaura think it’s a great idea.   At first, they think they will be able to bring only one other person with them, but everyone involved in the bakery insists on coming along.   That makes five people, in a new cupcake van, on a road trip out of town. Road Trip Treats /Artwork by Kate Dorsey      Upon arrival, selling cupcakes at the rodeo seems like it will be a great adventure as well as good for business.   Then, Slim Hazard, the man who runs the rodeo, is shot during a parade.   He ends up okay, but the rodeo star, Ty Stokes, does not.   Afte