Annette Dupre is a 36 year-old divorce attorney whose law practice is floundering until she inadvertently introduces a voodoo doll to a client. When the word of the doll spreads, new clients line up in droves seeking a doll of their own. Despite the fact that she has never believed in the magic of voodoo, Annette makes custom voodoo dolls and passes them out with each new client packet. All magic aside, she is going through a divorce herself and she understands the feel-good therapeutic effect of sticking a pin into a tiny doll that resembles her ex-husband. It is like therapy without an hour on the couch. Clients clamor for custom fire fighter, businessmen, and doctor dolls.

Annette’s former intern, Aleah, who is the daughter of a local politician, has disappeared. Due to incriminating text messages, Annette becomes a suspect and so does the handyman who is repairing her old Victorian house as well as her heart. Voodoo becomes the most important element in solving the mystery and rebuilding Annette’s self confidence.

Voodoo Dolls for Justice contains an eccentric cast of supporting characters including a sexy FBI man, a voodoo queen suffering from dementia, a parrot who curses in German and sings the theme from Bad Boys, a large breasted assistant with crazy fashion ideas, an attorney cousin who raps, and a grouchy neighbor who makes bets on Annette’s survival.

Voodoo Dolls for Justice is a completed 90,000-word cozy mystery that is ready for submission to agents and publishers.

Sample

UALR's Quills and Pixels released their latest publiction last fall.  I am pleased that my essay, Walking Home, was the opening essay in the collection.  This journey essay is filled with personal memories.

Sample

I have several fiction manuscripts keeping me up at night.  The one screaming the loudest is a thriller.

 Blu was born into a Kentucky family
that was intentionally bred for reality TV. His mother trains the children to flaunt their genetic defect. But seventeen year-old Blu is the only living child without the defect and someone is trying to kill him. The evidence points to someone in his own family. Blu learns about prejudice, family, and the nature of insanity as he struggles to stay alive.

I will pitch this project at ThrillerFest in New York later this summer. When the proposal is complete, my focus will shift to the next in a long list of novels waiting to be written. 

Blu Sample Coming soon!

I have been making small things for as long as I can remember. Crafting things out of bits of string, wire, sticks, or clay. But after a divorce that left me emotionally and financially bruised and insecure, I needed to build something big. Really big.

My kids and I made an unconventional decision in order to rebuild our family. We needed a place to call home, a place where we would all feel safe.  So we built one.

We relied on YouTube videos and hardware store advice to frame windows, run pipes, and pour concrete. It didn't take long for us to realize we were in over our heads. We were an unusual but determined construction crew.

With our own hands we built the foundation between storms of ice and sleet.  Despite a tornado that blew by across the street, we raised the walls and the roof.  When it was 110 degrees, we stapled fiberglass insulation and climbed scaffolding until the heat overwhelmed us. Building our home was the most difficult thing we had ever done.  But it was also the most empowering event of our lives

—I've completed a full proposal along with two sample chapters for this adult nonfiction.

More about - Rise

Sample