Welcome to colorful October in Ohio. As I write the temperature outside is 87 degrees. Tomorrow’s forecast is for 63 degrees. I remember the first year I had my booth at the Lakeside-Marblehead Lighthouse Festival. It was 2022 and we’d had unusually warm weather that year as well. Normally the historic Lakeside Hotel, built in 1875, closes after the Labor Day weekend. But with the continued temperatures in the 80s they decided to keep the hotel open for the event which was held on October 8^th. Being the lover of history that I am, booking a room for the night wasn’t up for negation. The fact that the hotel didn’t have heat didn’t deter me in the least. With the kind of weather we’d been having, who needed heat! Friday afternoon I arrived to find the hotel lobby area filled with beautiful Victorian furniture. It was everything I imagined. J Michael, who I’d had several conversations with on the phone, was there to greet me. He’d given me the Bridal Suite! The corner room on the third floor overlooking the lake. He explained that the warm Southern winds were due to shift and come out of the North and he would have extra blankets in the room when I returned later that evening.

The room was true Victorian (except for the small bathroom) and I felt as though I had stumbled into a historical romance novel. After unpacking I drove the few blocks to the Wesley Lodge to set up my booth. Once finished I drove back to the hotel and found a parking space on the street. I’d noticed that a few of the shops were still open and a walk was in order. The temperature was dropping and I slipped on a hoodie. After exploring the business district and a couple streets filled with the charming historic cottages, I found the pizza shop was still open. I took my time over an excellent slice and a Coke while people-watching. It was dark when I left and the now colder wind had picked up. The hotel was only a couple blocks away and I was happy to enter the wide wraparound porch filled with comfortable wicker furniture. At the front desk I was offered another room on the opposite side of the hotel if my room was too cold. I assured her I would be fine.

Without a TV in the room and a book to read (why was I traveling without a book?) I climbed in bed with all the hotel literature and a printout of its history that J Michael had given me. I learned that when the hotel was built in 1875, it had no running water or electricity and a two-story outhouse (I would love to see a picture of that) located in what is now the courtyard. Over the years electric lights and public baths and restrooms were added along with a fireplace in the lobby. It’s only been in the last forty years or so that the facility was upgraded with new wiring and plumbing, the installation of a sprinkler system, an elevator, and air conditioning in the dining room and lobby. I did notice a window unit in my room. Heat still isn’t a priority although you must remember that the hotel is normally only open from Memorial Day to Labor Day.

No hotel of that vintage would be complete without its resident ghosts. A woman named Susan and her young daughter have been seen for many years in a room on the second floor as well as walking the second-floor hallway. Legend has it that Susan wanders the halls because her daughter died while they were staying at the hotel. I walked the second floor halls, but no Susan. Next visit I’ll ask to stay in Susan’s room.

Waves continued to be pushed ashore by the strong northerly winds that rattled the tall 147-year-old windows. My summer-weight pajamas weren’t holding in precious body heat, so I got out of bed and changed into jeans, a sweatshirt and socks. Those added blankets were thin like the ones used in hospitals. The two that had been provided didn’t come close to being warm, so I got out of bed once more and folded them in half to give twice the weight. Once I stopped shivering, the crashing waves and howling wind lulled me to sleep.

The next morning a full hot breakfast would have been delightful if the beautiful dining room had been warmer. My hoodie was helpful. Would I go back? Absolutely! In the summertime!

The Hotel Lakeside is located within the Lakeside Chautauqua complex in Marblehead, Ohio.

CONTEST: There was a glitch with posting my monthly contest. For October, my winner can choose one autographed copy of the book of their choice from my Tanner series or WINDSWEPT. Use the CONTACT button on this website and fill in your information and mention that it is for the free October CONTEST book in the Comment section.

The cover for A Deadly Dream is now ready. The design team knocked this one out of the park. My only instructions was that I wanted the cover to depict the nightmare. They even got the sword as the tail of the tornado right. I expect it will take another few weeks before the editing is completed, but I am still looking at a November 15th launch date.

Happening sooner, a week from today, is the Lakeside Marblehead Lighthouse Festival. The 30th Annual event will take place on Saturday, October 10th from 9:00 AM to 4:00 PM. There will be over 100 arts and crafts vendors, a farmers’ market, pumpkin decorating contest, hayrides and live music. My booth will be in same location in the Wesley Lodge located on the grounds of Lakeside Chautauqua. I will have copies of my books for purchase. I’m looking forward to chatting with everyone who stops by.  I had a great time last year!

The manuscript for my latest mystery/suspense, A Deadly Dream, has been sent off to my editor. And my ideas for the cover have also been sent to the design team. I’m looking at a November 15th date for the book to go live. I’ll be sending more info as the weeks pass.

A Deadly Dream

Olivia Bentley-Tanner just wants a normal life. Sixteen years ago, she was thrust into the life her mother escaped from. Olivia’s ancestors built beautiful sailing ships, she builds warships for our government. Sixteen years ago, she lived a quiet life in Marblehead, Ohio. Now she lives with fulltime bodyguards. At forty-nine Olivia just wants to live her life away from international spies and death threats. She wants to enjoy a normal life with her husband and twin fifteen-year-old sons––but the nightmares won’t let her.

It’s not as if nightmares are new to Olivia. The first one was when she was fifteen years old, just days before her parents and twin brothers were killed in an automobile accident. Then sixteen years ago they started up again after she inherited her grandmother’s estate and Olivia began hunting for the the person who’d killed her grandmother only to have her live in danger as well. But those nightmares were always the same, and her great-grandmother Alexandra was always there to save her from death.

This nightmare was different. A tornado with a sword for a tail threatens to topple Perry’s Monument on Put-in-Bay. It slashes at Lake Erie turning the water red while a World War II battleship explodes at the tower’s base. Olivia races across the water to save Perry, but the tornado wobbles hitting the huge lantern. It falls from its base crushing Olivia.

In her quest for normal, Olivia’s life is threatened when she votes against the merger with an AI giant triggering an investigation into corporate espionage. Will she be able to unravel the meaning behind the nightmares to discover the terrorist plots to cripple America?

I know, it’s about time I listen to my inner voice and rethink the newsletter I abandoned years ago. I love reading what my favorite authors have to say each month––so why not me? I have so much fun creating the world my characters live in, and how my mind suddenly races off in a new direction that I sometimes forget to walk out to the mailbox or water the flowers or do the laundry. Hemingway (Hemi) and Peluche (Teddy), my two tiny Yorkies make sure I remember what time it is if it has anything to do with their schedule, like feeding them.

I’ve aways viewed my world in What Ifs. What If the Morton Salt mine under Lake Erie was taken over by terrorists? What If the bad guys were trying to break into the Federal Reserve Bank by way of the tunnels under Cleveland? The What Ifs are everywhere. I hope you will join me on my journey into turning those obscure notions into mystery/suspense novels.

I’ll also have advanced notice on events, book recommendations, contests and giveaways.

Sign up here to receive your copy each month. I look forward to hearing from you!

Pamela

What a fabulous day! The weather was perfect, the bands playing on the stage only a few feet away and I had the perfect corner of the mansion to display my books. Artists of every kind were present along with an amazing selection of local wine makers. Outside my window I could see the stage and several vendors, including a booth with birdhouses. One can never have too many and I’m always on the lookout for the homemade ones. I snapped up one before the event even began!!!

I was totally blown away by how many book lovers stopped by to chat and purchase copies. Living only a few miles from the event, I was able to connect with many of those who are also local and share stories. This was my first time participating in this event and I certainly will be coming again next year.

Thank you to everyone who purchased my books.

HAPPY READING!!

PS:  One hour after setting the birdhouse a new resident moved in!

Spring weather in Northeastern Ohio is pretty consistent––until this year. Snowdrops begin to peek through the snow in February followed by Daffodils in March and then in April the magnificent Magnolia tree blooms. We begin uncovering patio furniture the first of May and by the middle of the month we put out the beautiful hanging baskets we received on Mother’s Day.

But Mother Nature threw us a curve ball beginning in January when she dumped 19” of snow on us followed by weeks of record-breaking cold followed by record-breaking warm spells. Ice buildups began and water poured into the dining room. Inside, buckets were strategically placed through February and outside, the Daffodils began to sprout. March brought days in the 70s. People were out in shorts and flip-flops and the Magnolia’s buds were ready to open. Then in April we went back into a deep-freeze which killed the buds. People who were tricked into planting early, suddenly were covering everything at night. The one thing that did grow and grow well was the grass. My first mowing of the season came three weeks early! Last week while on the John Deere, I spotted a Magnolia blossom that had managed to survive!

Mother Nature is still teasing us with Spring. We’re not predicted to get out of the 50s for another week. The good news is I haven’t been tempted away from my writing time. The June 30^th deadline for getting this manuscript ready for editing is still possible.

As I mentioned in my last blog, I was asked to do a reading during the BOOKS IN THE WOODS event on March 28^th. I’d never done a formal reading before, like other authors who read poetry or excerpts from memoirs. But I was committed to the project and would follow through. So, I GOOGLED Author Readings and watched YouTube videos. I spent two days re-reading It Started With Besse and marking the various sections that I thought would most depict the story and fall into the forty-five-minute time slot. An hour before I was to leave for the event, I did my last read-through. I had a copy of the book with the pages flagged that I would read from and three pages of script attached to a clipboard.

Upon arriving at Wildwood, I noticed the posters announcing the four authors who would be doing lectures. My time was 3:15, the event ended at 4:00 –– I was the last to speak. Feeling relief over the fact that I didn’t have to go in “cold” and there might not be many folks around at the end, I enjoyed the afternoon at my table signing books and chatting with customers.

3:15 finally came around and I entered the lovely room with windows on three sides overlooking the woods and gazebo beyond. There were only three people in the room, and I wondered if I could keep their interest for forty-five minutes. I climbed on the stood (I’m only 5’1”) and while Linda, the woman in charge of the event, was announcing me as a local author more folks started entering. A few seconds of panic raced through me while I reminded myself that I don’t do well reading out loud. Then my mind caught a few words, “Pamela is here today to discuss her books and her writing process.” Well now, that changed everything!!! Give me an audience and a microphone and I can talk to a banquet room full of people!

The historic mansion and its location in Lake County, Ohio was the perfect segue into It Started With Besse and how I found mystery, intrigue and suspense in locations that my audience could identify with. The forty-five minutes flew by followed by a heartfelt round of applause. The only problem arose when everyone in the room stopped by my table to chat and purchase books and by then the event was officially over. In the end everyone walked away happy and next year I’ll request a speaking spot in the middle of the afternoon!!!

This coming Saturday, March 28^th, I will be participating in Mentor, Ohio’s BOOKS IN THE WOODS. This event, held in the historic Wildwood Cultural Center, features over 25 authors, storytellers, and illustrators from Northeast Ohio. I will be selling autographed copies of The Tanner series, plus my latest book, WINDSWEPT. This year, I’ve been asked to do a reading followed by a Q&A session.

The book I will feature is: It Started With Besse. I’m excited to show the audience how I took familiar, local locations and turned them into a high energy, action-packed story full of intrigue, gunfire, explosions and of course the questions of who are the bad guys and what are they after.

For those of you who are local, I hope to see you there.

I knew eight years ago when I adopted Teddy from a rescue that he had luxating patellas. This is a relatively common condition in dogs, where the kneecap slips out of its normal position. Most dogs learn how to pop it back in and for Teddy, it was never an issue––until now. On December 29^th he had surgery to remove the ball at the top of his left femur which would relieve the pain caused by the top of his leg rubbing against his hip. All was going well and he was using that leg most of the time. Weather permitting––Mother Nature wasn’t turning off the snow machine––we were doing laps around the driveway two to three times a day so he would get in the habit of using both legs. Then on his sixty-day vet visit to the hospital it was found that his left knee was out of its socket and couldn’t be moved into place. Well, that put a new spin on our situation. He would need professional therapy.

Last week he began, twice-a-week sessions at the Cleveland Veterinary Rehabilitation center. It’s a beautiful facility with the latest equipment and procedures. His rehab consists of thirty-minutes in the gym followed by a session on the water treadmill––timing is determined by Teddy. You must understand that he is a three-pound Yorkshire Terrier––not a Water Spaniel. The only time his body gets wet is at the groomer’s! He won’t even walk on wet grass except for short potty breaks. He’s loving the gym routine––a chance to show off how cute he is––the continuation of the water therapy is questionable.

Life now is all about Teddy!!

I was surprised at the feedback I received for the SPECIAL CONTEST I ran in November and December. More than one of my readers want to see more of Emily Elfin, Marblehead’s quirky real estate agent. Emily and her psychic abilities played a big role in Olivia Bentley’s life in the first and second books but seemed to fade away in the rest. I loved creating the excentric character in my first book, In The Shadow Of The Lighthouse, and kept her in a more minor role in the second book in the series, A Beacon In The Dark.  So, I’m excited to announce that you will find Emily Elfin turning Olivia’s life around, once again, in Chapter 1 of the fifth book in the Tanner series.

Now, I just need to come up with a TITLE!!!