One of my favorite things about living in the Great Lakes region is that each month has a different feel. October is a most comfortable month, a beautiful month, thanks to the colorful theatrical display put on by the leaves. But, what makes the leaves change color?
According to SciJinks, a website developed by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, it comes down to sunlight. When sunlight is abundant, leaves make chlorophyll in abundance and it is chlorophyll that makes leaves green. When the days shorten and sunlight decreases, the other pigments are able to push the front. Yellows from xanthophylls, oranges from carotenoids, and reds from anthocyanins. Temperature and water play a role in when the leaves change and how long the colors stay, but then, those of us who see this annual display know that.
Did you get to see that beautiful moon on the 20th? While I was not able to pull this newsletter together on time, I did get outside that evening to gaze up at a moon that glowed like an LED light. My 5 month old puppies, Kane and Skye, wrestled on the moonlight dappled grass. A sight impossible to photograph. The photo below was captured in daylight (obviously) by my husband when our bundles of fur were a bit younger.
It doesn’t take imagination to understand how the Harvest Moon got its name. Here’s a link to our favorite source, The Farmer’s Almanac, if you want the official background. Taking a page from Kane and Skye, let’s be more playful. Looking around my world, if I were to name the moon today, I would call it….
The Spider Moon. Charlotte isn’t the only on spinning her web this September. There are spider webs in my shrubs, in the grass, in our woods, and between our house and our hockey goal. This last was spectacular and I tried to take a picture for you…but it didn’t work. A heavy rain last week undid the spider’s hard work and he has yet to rebuild.
The Concert F Moon. It is marching band season here in Indiana. The marching band Jack (of Mysteries to Die For fame) is in uses Concert F for tuning the band. I hadn’t known marching band was sport until moving to Indiana. The hours these kids, director and techs, and volunteers put in is a cause for applause.
The Pigskin Moon. Nothing screams it’s fall like football. Since the mid-1970s, footballs have been made from cow hide instead of pig but it’s nice that we keep the outdated tech reference. It’s sort like saying “change the dial” on anything today.
I want to know, if you named the moon based on your life, what would it be? Email me at tina at tgwolff.com.
Episode 3 in Season 3 of Mysteries to Die For is an adaptation of the Allan Pinkerton Story “The Detective and the Expressman.” This story may be the first financial mystery. Written about a Pinkerton case in 1858, the story is the investigation into the misappropriation of $50,000 from the Adams Express Company. One of the things I enjoy about reading these original mysteries is the casual, everyday look into normal life. Sometimes, though, it is challenging to understand because our life today can be so very different. In this case, let’s talk about money.
Throughout the story, there are several references to various characters having to “change money.” Today, we certainly have to change money when we travel to other countries. You can’t use a ten dollar bill in London. You can’t use a 10 euro note in the states. You have to exchange one currency to another – or use a credit card in which a bank will do it for you in the background for a nice (not nice) fee.
But this story takes place in the United States, such as it was in the 1850s (31 states plus four territories). The story begins in Montgomery, Alabama and includes activities in New Orleans, Atlanta, Philadelphia, and New York. So why were these characters “changing money”? Click HERE to read the full article
Sights and Sounds: South Haven, Michigan. A Great Spot on a Great Lake One of the fun things about being an author is exploring new places and then bringing those places to life on a page. People who live there or visited get a little thrill recognizing the places they came to cherish. People new to the places get to explore and make a new entry to their bucket list. In the 3rd book of the Diamond series, Diamond tracks a witness to the lake town of South Haven, Michigan. South Haven is located at the mouth of the Black River and Lake Michigan. Her +/- 4,400 residents love everything water, beach, and fishing. According to the LindyLou captain, South Haven has been a vacation spot for Midwesterners since the 1800s. Click HERE to read the full story.
Mysteries to Die For Season 3 has arrived! This season is titled Enter the Detective. Each of the 11 episodes features the first case of a detective who went on to an illustrious career. Some you know by a single word: Holmes, Poirot, Chan. Others may be new to you but were cutting edge and set the standard for our modern day detectives. Episodes 1 and 2 are live! Episode 3 drops on October 8. Jack and I recorded it this morning. Oh, boy, ragweed was messing with my throat.
New to podcasts? An easy way to start is through my website. Click PODCAST
A woman of high esteem is being blackmailed. She turns to the head of the Paris police for the return of her purloined letter. He turns to the first master detective – C. Auguste Dupin.
The young, beautiful Countess de Tremoral is found murdered on the banks of the Seine River. Her home has been ransacked but the only thing missing…is her husband.
Episode 3 Pinkerton’s The Expressman and The Detective
Dropping October 8
It was daring plot. Two thefts, months apart, leave the Adams Express Company missing $50,000. The company turns to the original private eye, Allan Pinkerton, for answers.
Our podcast is supported by my publisher, Down & Out Books. I am very proud to recommended these new releases to your reading pile, smart phone, or Kindle. It doesn’t matter how you read…just read!
In the psychological suspense thriller Stalker Stalked, Lexi Mazur learns the only way to beat her stalker is to use her own stalking prowess to turn the game back around. That’s her plan, but has she finally met her match?
Buy, download, and read Stalker Stalked by Lee Matthew Goldberg. From publisher All Due Respect.
Steve Harrison, thirty-five years old, handsome, has the world in his hands. He is admired by his co-workers, his friends, his wife, and his mistress. And then he gets a call. “Bill” informs him that his wife has been kidnapped and if Steve wants her back alive, he has to do exactly what he says. If Steve deviates from Bill’s plan, tries going to the police, or tries to involve others, his wife won’t be breathing when he brings her home.
Buy, download, and read Person Unknown by Michael Penncavage. From publisher Down & Out Books.
Episode 3 in Season 3 of Mysteries to Die For is an adaptation of the Allan Pinkerton Story “The Detective and the Expressman.” This story may be the first financial mystery – don’t quote me, my research hasn’t been exhaustive. Written about a Pinkerton case from 1858, the story is the investigation into the misappropriation of $50,000 from the Adams Express Company. One of the things I enjoy about reading these original mysteries is the casual, everyday look into normal life. Sometimes, though, it is challenging to understand because our life today can be so very different, as in this case. Let’s talk about money.
Throughout the story, there are several references to various characters having to “change money.” Today, we certainly have to change money when we travel to other countries. You can’t use a ten dollar bill in London. You can’t use a 20 euro note in the states. You have to exchange one currency to another – or use a credit card in which a bank will do it for you in the background for a nice (not nice) fee.
But this story takes place in the United States, such as it was in the 1850s (31 states plus four territories). The story begins in Montgomery, Alabama and includes activities in New Orleans, Atlanta, Philadelphia, and New York. So why were these characters “changing money”?
Follow me down the rabbit hole.
In 1863, two laws were passed that created a national baking system and a single currency. Seeing as we became a country in 1776…what were we using for money for the almost 100 years in between? The US Constitution granted the federal government the sole power to coin money and regulate its value. Coin money. Not paper money. Coin money was made out of metal and held tangible value. Paper money, by contrast, was shown through the American Revolution to lack that stability.
And so, the issuance of paper money was the business of state-chartered, private banks. These bank notes could be exchanged then for silver and gold. In 1820, there were 327 of these banks located in commercial centers. By 1858, the year of the story in discussion, there were 1,422 banks (1). Think about that. Over 1,400 different printed bills. The images at the top of this post are examples from this time period. The banks took their business seriously and in doing so produced some beautiful and elaborate notes.
However, it stands to reason if you were a merchant in Montgomery, Alabama, you may not want to accept payment in bills from a bank, for example, in New Jersey. Banks were (are) businesses and some were (are) better than others. Taking a bank’s note was akin to investing in them. If they failed, you were out the money. Customers, then, would have to exchange their own bank notes for notes accepted in that region. Prior to the creation of the national banking system and a common US paper currency, an entire industry was needed to not only support local businesses but to enable commerce to happen between distance places. This was the time period that gave birth to American banking household names from Wells Fargo and American Express.
Fun fact, until 1857, Spanish dollars and other foreign coins were accepted as part of the American money system!
Dyckman Street Lift Bridge Opens at the Top and Bottom on the Hour
Hot Days Make for Gorgeous Nights
Yelton Manor B&B is a Lake Michigan Gem
Scenes from South Haven, Michigan
One of the fun things about being an author is exploring new places and then bringing those places to life on a page. People who live there or visited get a little thrill recognizing the places they came to cherish. People new to the places get to explore and make a new entry to their bucket list. In the 3rd book of the Diamond series, Diamond tracks a witness to the lake town of South Haven, Michigan. South Haven is located at the mouth of the Black River and Lake Michigan. Her +/- 4,400 residents love everything water, beach, and fishing. According to the LindyLou captain, South Haven has been a vacation spot for Midwesterners since the 1800s. The LindyLou is a river launch, one of the boats operated by the Michigan Maritime museum, and replicates the type of boat that carried vacationers from the large ships of the Great Lakes up the Black River to one of the many resorts.
South Haven is a town people live in as well as visit. Walking the neighborhoods along the lake, the architecture ranged from Victorian homes dating to the late 1800s to small cabins to high end homes. An excellent example of the Victorian style is the Yelton Manor Bed and Breakfast. From the detailing around the doors and windows to the arrangement of the rooms, it was easy to appreciate the art and craftsmanship from the days gone by. Many of the residents take extreme pride in their landscaping. An August walk bloomed with vibrant flowers and feathery grasses. The lakefront from Dyckman Beach to North Beach is made for playing with soft and thick sand. The public beaches made access easy and welcoming to every age group. We tended to go to the lake in the evening, watching the display of colors over the open water, then ending with ice cream at North Beach.
Everything about water fascinates me and that includes our human engineering of it. The Dyckman Street Bascule Gate opens twice an hour to allow taller boats to cross between the upstream of the Black River and the lake side. I could have watched the bridge go up and down for hours! The sidewalks on either side are narrow and are intended to be one way to manage foot traffic. That was not adhered to in our stay. The scene reminded us of the swing bridge over the River Ness in Fort Augustus, Scotland. It was odd how we could place buildings in South Haven in nearly the same positions as in Scotland. Of course, the buildings didn’t match. A restaurant in one place was a grocery store in the other. The parallels were unexpected.
A favorite thing of mine when traveling is when things don’t go quite right. That is where the stories are! Unfortunately, there was little that didn’t go well with our South Haven adventure. A small problem was my husband forgot the book he was reading at home. Easy to solve as Yelton Manor claims 33 years of books for the borrowing. Exploration of two building and about 12 rooms with books tucked everywhere revealed…NO FICTION! Not a mystery, thriller, or romance to be found. Now, if we wanted to learn magic or explore “pausitivity” we would have been good. Instead, we found a book store – Black River Books. As he finished the book, we left the book in the room, contributing the 1st fiction book to Yelton’s extensive collection.
So what will fit into Diamond’s 3rd book? Yelton Manor is the model for my fictional Spring Rose Manor. The suite we stayed in will be Diamond’s. The public marina behind the Michigan Maritime Museum is the launching point for a boat chase. And the bascule gate will be privotal (punny!), I’m just not sure how I’m going to use that yet. Check back in February 2023 when Pyscho Therapy releases.
Where I wish I was a fish because it’s too damn hot. A wolf (or at least this wolff) was not built for August.
This month we are finding reasons to celebrate August, laughing at ourselves, playing with fish, and looking forward to the next season of Mysteries to Die For
The August Moon is the Sturgeon Moon, named for the time when the delicious fish are bountiful. While fisherman may delight, for the rest of us, August can feel like a long, sweltering desert between the holiday oasis of Independence and Labor day. Our favorite source, The Farmer’s Almanac, relieves the tedium with holidays you can celebrate.
8th: Sneak some Zucchini on your Neighbor’s Porch Day. (A joy for some, a punishment for others)
10th: National S’mores Day (Marshmellow lovers unite!)
11th: Presidential Joke Day (I thought that was everyday…😊)
13th: Left-Handers Day (Only 12% of people are southpaws and, yes, I’m one. So was DaVinci))
14th: National Creamsicle Day (Unexpected. I like it.)
15th: Relaxation Day. (Dang, I could have used that one.)
18th: Bad Poetry Day (I resemble this holiday)
22nd: National Tooth Fairy Day (That’s today!!)
26th: Dog Appreciation Day (That is definitely everyday in our house)
27th: Just Because Day (Goovy)
28th: Race your Mouse Day (Who?….and Why???)
29th: More Herbs, Less Salt Day (Just a reminder that salt is a sodium is dietarily necessary. And yummy)
So pick one and celebrate like it’s going out of style
Mystery lovers! The 2nd in my Diamond series, Suicide Squeeze, is available.
Diamond wanted ten minutes of peace and quiet. She got an incessant doorbell pressed by a gorgeous blonde holding a note compelling Diamond’s help. The blonde had a story, the “no one believes my perfect husband’s been kidnapped” kind. Eyeroll. Diamond slid the safety on the gun and climbed out of the bathtub. Dying would have to wait. Put Suicide Squeeze on the top of your reading stack. From your favorite book seller.
This month I’ve been working on a scene in Diamond’s third mystery (working title Psycho Therapy) where a victim was killed while he was playing an online video game. I’m not a gamer. If I were, I doubt I’d have seven books and a podcast out. So, when I needed insight on the life of gamers – specifically on how much someone you were playing with online would hear. I turned to Subject Matter Experts: my family. Jack, my piano player and podcast producer, turned me on to videos where behind the scenes people stole the show. Yes, it was mostly mothers. It seems we, as a group, all tend to yell to our children without having any idea what they are really doing. The link below is to the first video Jack showed me and it is my favorite. Be a little patient through the set up…it’s worth it. ETA 5 Minutes to Bedtime Boys
Fun with Fish
Let’s celebrate the sturgeon moon with a fishy game. Use the clues to solve for the word. In each answer is the word fish…or rather the letters F, I, S, and H. (Scroll to the bottom for answers)
Someone who works 11p to 7a works the night _________
Oysters, crabs and mussels are type of _____________
My teenage son still has trouble _____________ the toilet
Someone who thinks only of themselves is ___________
The piece of metal between the chimney and roofing is the ____
Pocket Curiosity: East LaPort Footbridge, Plymouth Indiana
Mark your calendars for Friday, September 10. Season 3 begins with an adaptation of Edgar Allan Poe’s The Purloined Letter. This season is titled Enter the Detective. Each of the 11 episodes features the first case of a detective who went on to an illustrious career. Some you know by a single word: Holmes, Poirot, Chan. Others may be new to you but were cutting edge and set the standard for our modern day detectives.
New to podcasts? An easy way to start is through my website. Click PODCAST
Mysteries and thrillers from mainstream publishers leave you feeling like you kissed your best friend?
The August full moon is known as the Sturgeon Moon in some parts. Here is a puzzle that is all about fun with fish. Use the clues to solve for the word. In each answer is the word fish…or rather the letters F, I, S, and H.
Someone who works 11p to 7a works the night _________
Oysters, crabs and mussels are type of _____________
My teenage son still has trouble _____________ the toilet
Someone who thinks only of themself is _____________
The piece of metal between the chimney and roofing is the ____
Answers posted soon or email me at tina at tgwolff dot com
Hidden amid the lush green on the banks of the Yellow River in Plymouth, Indiana is a footbridge. This bridge was constructed in 1898 by the Rochester Bridge Company, according to it’s Wikipedia page, and was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1981. What qualifies this bridge was a pocket curiosity? It is a truss bridge that moves with you. I’ll confess I’m not sure if it is supposed to do that, but in the spirit of what bends doesn’t break, the bridge translates the energy of your steps into a bounce and a sway. Get twenty people walking across it at once and you have an unpassible sobriety test. This bridge recently won a grant competition and will be getting a facelift.
Sorry I missed you in May and June. Life was a little bit crazy here. Hope it was calmer for you. A simple newsletter this month. Next month, I’m going to change the format a little, hoping to get more done earlier in the month.
July’s full moon is the Buck Moon. According to our favorite source, The Farmer’s Almanac, this is the time when new antlers begin to grow. Being a city kid, I’ll take their word on it. Other names for this moon are Full Thunder (yep, that’s appropriate) and Hay (again, no opinion). If I were to name it, it would be the NO, SUMMER CAN’T BE HALF OVER moon. Whatever you all it, the moon hits it’s peak at 10:37 pm eastern on Friday, July 23.
BREAKING NEWS!
The first of my Lost in Tennessee series has come to KISS! KISS is a new and exciting way to experience Romance stories of all genres. Enjoy serialized quality content from NYT and USA Today bestselling authors, available right from your phone. KISS has hundreds of titles and authors to choose from, including new and exclusive content from some of your favorite voices! Best of all, you can choose just how much to read with our pay-as-you-go format!
To Celebrate, I have 20 Coins to give away to only 4 readers. They belong to the first 4 people who email me at tina at tgwolff dot com.
Down the Rabbit Hole: Dr. Watson, I Presume
Ancient hospital for treatment soldiers on battlefield – 18th or 19th century. Forceps, syringe, scissors, scalpel and other medical instruments on the table. Medicine in a field military hospital.
This month’s trip down the rabbit hole lands…in the front door of 221B Baker Street. I have been working on adaptations for the 3rd season of Mysteries to Die For. This season is all about the first cases of some of the most celebrated detectives. Of course, Sherlock Holmes is featured in a version of A Study in Scarlet. Now, I have been a Holmes fan for years. I tried reading Holmes but unfortunately started with The Hounds of the Baskerville, which is written in my least favorite way (letters from Watson to Holmes) and I barely finished. Consequently, my fandom existed on the screen. I raise my hand as a fan of all the movie variations and most of the television.
One character I never have quite “gotten” was Dr. John Watson. I see why Holmes wants Watson around. He needs an audience, an entourage. What’s the point of being great if there isn’t anyone to celebrate it with?
But why does Watson stick with Holmes? In most adaptations, Watson is portrayed as a bright, competent man who is routinely tricked, out smarted, and used by Holmes. So why doesn’t he tell Holmes to shove off?
A Study in Scarlet, like all Holmes mysteries, is told by Watson. But in this first story, the entire first part is Watson’s backstory. I’m sure there are Watson fans out there who know what I’m going to tell you, just move along to the puzzle. For the rest of you, did you know…
After med school in London, John joined the army and was assigned to Fifth Northumberland Fusiliers. This infantry regiment has roots back to 1674! Check out the Unit History Here
John was later transferred to the Berkshire Regiment (another real regiment) and was at the Battle of Maiwand. According to Wikipedia, the Berkire Regiment took heavy loses on July 27, 1880 with 286 dead and 32 wounded. Learn more from Wikipedia Here:
Dr. John Watson was among the wounded. The bullet entered his shoulder and nicked an artery. A brave orderly put him on a pack horse and got him back behind British lines.
While recovering from the wound, Watson came down with Typhoid fever. It put him to bed for weeks. Learn more from the Mayo Clinic HERE
As soon as he could travel, the Army gave him a discharge and returned him to England with a pension of 11 shillings and sixpence a day.
Dr. John Watson lived in a hotel. He was pain riddled, slept little and irregularly, and spent all his money with nothing to show but a dog. He was near to broke when he decided he had to move to something more affordable than the hotel. That is when a friend of a friend introduced him to Holmes.
Watson describes himself as lazy, keeping odd hours, and unable to tolerate arguments, because of his nerves.
When he moves into 221B Baker Street, Watson doesn’t know what Holmes does for a living and he doesn’t care. It is only after a few months that he begins to get curious and tries to puzzle out for himself what the tall, lanky man does to earn his money.
I loved how Sir Arthur Conan Doyle missed reality in with his fiction. Totally fascinating and it all makes sense! Still recovering from being deathly ill, Watson’s brain becomes intrigued with Holmes and drags his body along. Whenever Watson was in pain or dragging from a lack of sleep, Holmes was the reason he left the house.
I found Watson to be a far, far more interesting character than he is portrayed as on the screen. I also found Holmes to be more human and less arrogant than most portrayals, especially when interacting with Watson.
Get Your Sherlock On
Mrs. O’Leary is found dead at her kitchen table. The poison was found in her glass of ice water. Complete the phrase ladder beginning with ICE WATER to reveal the poison and who Detective Ng should arrest. (Scroll to the bottom for answers)
Mysteries to Die For combines storytelling and original music to put you in the heart of murder, mystery, and mayhem. This season features adaptations of some of the first stories to be considered mysteries. The season is complete! All 11 episodes can be found everywhere you get your podcasts.
New to podcasts? An easy way to start is through my website. Click PODCAST
Down & Out Books is the publisher of my mystery series and supports Mysteries to Die For. Check out these new releases on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, indiebound and ask for them at your favorite book store.
The Penns River Police Department has a new chief, deputy chief, and several new officers. Crime pays no attention.
A woman dies in a hit-and-run the night before the new chief takes over. The case demands more manpower than Penns River has, and the investigation loses steam as day-to-day events require immediate attention: domestic disputes, petty theft, not so petty theft, armed robbery, a visit from the Dixie mafia, and things police take care of because no one else will.
Sullivan doesn’t want the first homicide on his watch to be an open file and tasks Teresa Shimp to spend as much time as she can on it. It’s Teresa’s first gig as primary homicide investigator. She sticks with it, going back over things to re-assemble her thoughts until she has a eureka moment.
Lead detective Ben “Doc” Dougherty has all this and some personal matters to contend with: his parents’ failing health, a dramatic change in the domestic situation of two young men he is close to, and finding an old friend has colored outside the lines.
Penns River’s cast changes, as do the roles they play. The job is still the job.
sk for Leaving the Scene from your favorite bookseller. Amazon Link is HERE
Life is a constant party for restaurant manager, Finn Roose. When he seduces an underage woman on one of his booze cruises and loses her—literally, it sets off a massive search involving the police, her parents, and a private investigator. Finn is an expert manipulator but his endless lies only tighten the screws on himself and his unsuspecting best friend. Finn scrambles to make things right which may be too much to ask from a guy who can’t resist a hot babe and a stiff drink.
Ask for Cleaning Up Finn from your favorite bookseller. Amazon Link is HERE
Frank Zafiro writes gritty crime fiction from both sides of the badge. His River City series is a police procedural that follows an ensemble cast of police officers, while his SpoCompton series focuses on a variety of criminals or people just down on their luck. He’s written over thirty novels, some on one side of the badge and some on the other. You can pick and choose which you prefer at his website: frankzafiro.com.
Until August when we are swimming with the sturgeon once again. Stay cool.
Mrs. O’Leary is found dead at her kitchen table. The poison was found in her glass of ice water. Complete the phrase ladder beginning with ICE WATER to reveal the poison and who Detective Ng should arrest.
Wow, April has flown by. I hope it has been kind to you. A late snow made for some spectacular scenery here. This is a simple edition. We explore this month’s supermoon, dive down the rabbit hole of palmistry, and look at some new releases worthy of your attention.
April full moon peaks Monday, April 26 at 11:33pm EDT. According to our favorite source on full moons, The Farmer’s Almanac, this nickname came simple from the abundance of pink flowers that aggressively bloom this time of year. Other names include Breaking Ice Moon, Moon When the Streams Are Again Navigable, and the Frog Moon. We certainly are hearing a lot of frogs around my house.
This month’s moon is going to be especially big and bright. A “supermoon”, the moon will be literally closer to the earth than most full moons. According to NASA, Supermoon was termed by astrologer Richard Nolle in 1979 and refers to new or full moons in the part of their orbit that puts them closest to Earth. There will be two this year: April and May. Take the time to step outside and turned your eyes skyward. What do you see in the moon?
Down the Rabbit Hole: Palmistry
Palmistry. Open hand lines and symbols mystical reading
This month’s trip down the rabbit hole lands…in the palm of your hand. Lately, most of my recreational reading has been mysteries written in the 1800s and early 1900s as research for our podcast Mysteries to Die For. I just finished Raspberry Jam by Carolyn Wells. An excellent mystery with some very entertaining characters. Aunt Abbey is the mothering aunt who is fascinated with the occult including seances and palmistry…which started my trip down the rabbit hole.
Palmistry foretells the future based on the lines and bumps in your hands. Also called chiromancy, it was practiced in ancient India, Nepal, China, Persia, Roma, Babylonia—pretty much any place that was any place. Mainstream society’s relationship with the practice has ebbed and flowed over time. Alexander the Great used it as a tool to evaluate character of his officers. During the renaissance, palmistry was one of the seven “forbidden arts” for divination. The U.S. National Library of Medicine has two volumes on the subject. The first is a 1533 volume written by Bartolommeo della Rocca titled Barptolomaei Coclitis Bononiensis, naturalis philosophiae ac medicinae doctoris Physiognomiae & chiromantiae compendium. Wow. The second title is a miniature book by Andre Corve published in 1578 in Lyons, France titled Excellente chiromancie monstrant par les lignes de la main les meurs & complexions des gens selon les figures qui y sont depeintes. The book couldn’t have been that small with a title that big!
The website China Highlights gives the uninformed beginner (i.e. me) at tutorial in the art. Your palm contains lines that connect to life as we know it. Marriage, love, career, health, wisdom are there for the reading. But which hand to read and how to interpret is where the magic it. Check out China Highlight’s Palm Line Calculator. For myself, I think I need a professional. My marriage line seems non-existent (don’t tell my husband) and my life line is disturbingly short. For the record, I plan to live to 95 and achieve the coveted status of ‘eccentric old woman’.
Mysteries to Die For combines storytelling and original music to put you in the heart of murder, mystery, and mayhem. This season features adaptations of some of the first stories to be considered mysteries. Episodes drop every other Friday.
New to podcasts? An easy way to start is through my website. Click PODCAST
S2 E7 In Plain Sight drops Friday, April 30
A young seamstress disappears in the middle of the night. For a woman of no great importance, someone is going to extremes to hide her. The job of finding her falls to the esteemed Mr. Gryce and his young associate Thomas Quinn
An adaptation of A Strange Disappearance by Anna Katherine Greene
S2 E8 Poetic Dissonance drops Friday, May 14
The most famous goldsmith in Paris is dead. His apprentice is under arrest. He is guilty, but not of murder. It is up to Mademoiselle de Scuderi to save him from the guillotine
An adaptation of Mademoiselle de Scuderi by E.T.A. Hoffman
Down & Out Books is the publisher of my mystery series and supports Mysteries to Die For. Check out these new releases on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, indiebound and ask for them at your favorite book store.
Dick Moonlight is dead for real this time. Thanks to a trio of masked thugs in a dark downtown Albany alley, he’s purchased a one-way ticket to the Pearly Gates—that is, until he feels his floating spirit painfully pulled back into his bruised but breathing body. And that’s when the real trouble starts.
A private detective with a short-term memory problem due to a wayward self-inflicted slug, Moonlight knows he’s still in danger. Now he just needs to know why. And he’s got plenty of enemies to keep him guessing—the Albany police, the local mob, even the latest love of his life, Lola, can’t be trusted. Only his Vietnam-vet best friend, Georgie, is on the level. But it seems the goons who tried to take him out have bigger fish to fry—chiefly Moonlight’s latest client, Peter Czech, a handicapped nuclear engineer with a mysterious Russian heritage. Czech had something—a box—the gang believes is now in Moonlight’s possession, and they’re willing to get it any deadly way they can. Problem is, Moonlight doesn’t recall Czech giving him any box—of course, that doesn’t mean he doesn’t have it. He just better figure out where it is before he winds up dead for the last time.
It’s August 1986. The Cold War rages and Yuppies make all the money. Fresh off a three-year stretch at Starke for keeping Pearce family secrets, Scotland has a new place to call home on Fort Myers Beach. All should be perfect except Scotland’s wife is going to die unless he comes up with $100,000.
He enlists a trusted friend to help him rob a Tampa casino to pay for her unconventional treatment. While freely risking life in prison if he’s caught, he never thought his trusted accomplice could go rogue and turn against him. On top of that, his long-lost nieces come to him in need of help only he can provide, while a mysterious female former Marine has her own surprise plan for him.
Scotland hurtles through his new-found freedom right back into a storm of violence and pain with strong women and treacherous men gusting in all directions. Without him, the women would be doomed; without them, he would be. Yet, success and failure are put to the biggest challenge by an unsettled score from the past that threatens to bury them all in the surf.
Coming May 10 from Down & Out Books. Pre-Order Now. Amazon Link is here
See you in May to tiptoe through the petals under the Flower Moon
Spring has sprung! Okay, maybe it’s more like Spring is starting to spring. I’ve been doing a lot of thinking this month, but none of it’s about the stuff I’m supposed to think about. Now I’m pulling you into the fantastical madness of time travel, under the worm(hole) moon. Put on your imagination hats and hold on tight! TG
The worm moon is full at 2:50 P.M. EDT on Sunday, March 28, 2021. As you know, my dear readers, the full moons have many names, owning to many Native Nations. I wasn’t going to go with the worm moon, even though our favorite resource, the Farmer’s Almanac does, simply because worms are icky. They are. Yes, yes, they are the super stars of gardens and the earth, but they are still icky. You have to admit, Eagle Moon, Wind Strong Moon, Crow Comes Back Moon, and Sore Eyes Moon are much more appealing.
But I’m sticking with Worm Moon because of a conversation I had with my friend James that I can not get out of my head. It was about time travel and, well, wormholes.
Down the Rabbit WormHole: Time Travel, not just for physicists
Illustration of meshy wormhole model
As I said, earlier this month, a conversation over the best glass of fresh squeezed orange juice I have ever had (Nellies Restaurant) had me thinking about time travel day after day after day. If you really want to get into the nuts and bolts of time travel, you literally have to be a physicist.
The physicist everyone has heard of, Albert Einstein, was one of the many who have contemplated the concept of an unconventional vehicle to crossing time and space. In 1935, Einstein and Nathan Rosen used the theory of general relativity to build on an idea originally conceived in 1916 by Ludwig Flamm. The idea was a shortcut could connect two different points in space-time. The shortcut is called a wormhole. The image shows space-time bending over itself and a wormhole forming between the two planes. What goes in one end at a point and time, comes out at a different one. Here is some reading on wormholes for satisfying that curiosity I know you have.
Now, let’s leave the physics to the PhDs and talk about the kind of time-travel where all you need is an imagination. There are so, so, so many stories about time travel because it is just fascinating. Rules of time travel are bound only by imaginations and provide a near endless topic of conversation of the “cans & can’ts”, “what ifs”, and “but thens”.
In my mind, if you were to consider “real” time travel, I think the time traveler could only go forward. Picture two space-time lines, one moving three times as fast as the other. A person stepping from the slow line to the fast line, staying for 12 months, and then stepping back would appear to have been done for 4 months. Conversely, a person stepping from the fast line to the slow line, staying for 12 months, and then stepping back would have missed 36 months. Every step is lateral and moves forward from there. The rate at which time moves may vary from planet to planet, galaxy to galaxy, etc., but it always moves forward. Why? Because of nature tends to disorder. This rule, called entropy, says that without a sustained input of energy, things rot, decay, fall apart, stop. So once something dies, changes, ends-that’s it. Game over. Reversing time may be imaginable but buildings standing themselves back up and bodies un-decomposing are not.
The image at the top shows space-time folding over on itself, as though it were a fabric where every stitch, once made, stays forever.
I don’t buy that.
I picture it more as comets that exists in space-time for an instant and moves on to the next, new instant. You can’t go backwards because backwards doesn’t exist anymore. You can’t go forwards because it doesn’t exist yet. You can go between to lines, stepping from one reality to another reality
I can suspend my own rules long enough to enjoy a good story, so let’s talk about the good and the bad of time traveling movies. As my younger son and I are re-watching the Marvel Universe, End Game is on the top of my mind. I enjoyed the way the team went back to get the infinity stones and yes, in fact, changed time. I’m dying to know where Loki will pop back up. I’m a superfan of the troublemaker. I had issues with the “unsnap” logic, but was cool with the time travel.
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban used the Time-Turner to get Hermione to class on time. The use of time travel there was fine. When they used it at the end (spoiler) with the patronus, there I had more issues. Harry claims to have gotten the confidence to do the advanced spell because he had, in fact, done it before, think it was his father. He did not, in fact, do it before because he wasn’t there before. It would have been a case of spontaneous patronus combustion the first time. Nope. A swing and a miss.
Back to the Future is now a classic and it’s hard to argue with time travel in a DeLorean. I like how this one didn’t attempt to not change the future, avoiding all the trickery of not being seen, etc. Marty meddling makes the future McFly’s life much better. (Yeah, happy ending.) It could have easily have gone the other way. I had no problem with the sequencing and logic of this one.
Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure. Comedies seem to do the best of time travel. Maybe its because the story lines are fairly simple, which makes it less likely to violate the rules they create. Undoubtedly, the lives of Napoleon and Socrates would have forever been changed by their expedition to the future, but that’s not part of the story, so we can suspend disbelief and just have a good laugh.
The original Terminator is one that will keep you thinking for days. The terminator is sent back to kill the mother of the man who is a political enemy in the future. Simple enough. The man sent back to protect the woman from the terminator…is the one who fathers the boy. Issues! How did the boy exist the first time if the man-father wasn’t even a glimmer in his own daddy’s eye? If the terminators are so smart, why didn’t they figure out that the way to stop the boy from being born was TO STAY HOME? Obviously, I have issues with this one.
And, finally, Superman (the one with Christopher Reeves). Lois Lane dies and, in his grief, Superman flies around the earth, counter to our normal spin, to reverse the spin of the world, and thereby time. Events thereby undo themselves and, voila, Lois lives. WHAT!?!?! How about how everything comes to a cataclysmic end when the world stops f-ings spinning!!!!
Now it’s your turn. Tell me how time travel works in your universe and what you loved and hated about time travel movies. tina@tgwolff.com.
Wormhole, the word game
Use a wormhole (short cut) to drop letters into a word from Autumn to make a new a word from Spring. Keep the first and last letter, change the rest. For example: The best part of fall TO A first flower of spring. Answer ColorS to CrocuS
Answers are at the end
Cotton that keeps you comfy TO a pollinator’s weapon: ________ TO ___________
Jack-o-lanterns TO what seeds grow into: _______ TO _________
Overnight ice crystals TO where seeds are found: ______ TO __________
Mysteries to Die For combines storytelling and original music to put you in the heart of murder, mystery, and mayhem. This season features adaptations of some of the first stories to be considered mysteries. Episodes drop every other Friday.
New to podcasts? An easy way to start is through my website. Click PODCAST
S2 E5a Sergeant Cuff and the Moonstone Conspiracy Drops April 2
It was a thing of legends. Taken, then hidden. Given, then stolen. Suspicion reigns above and below the stairs. Sgt. Cuff steps into the chaos, charged with recovering the famed Moonstone Diamond.
An adaptation of The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins. Part 1.
S2 E5b Franklin Blake Returns Drops Friday April 16
Franklin Blake left England because the woman he loved blamed him for the loss of the fabled Moonstone Diamond. He returned to finish the job Sgt. Cuff started and, more importantly, win back the girl.
An adaptation of The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins. Part 2.
Down & Out Books is the publisher of my mystery series and supports Mysteries to Die For. Check out these new releases on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, indiebound and ask for them at your favorite book store.
In the city of Carcasa, gunshots devastate the night as a patrol officer makes a traffic stop. The occupants—three dealers caught in the act of muling—set into motion a course of actions that can only end badly. Now, one is dead, another fleeing on foot and the third tearing through neighborhoods in a bumper car-style chase. Furious, grief-stricken officers on their heels with their brother fighting for his life on the side of a road.
The shooter escapes, and the PD begins their hunt to find the shooter before he lucks out, fades into memory. With what information they have, they dig; the dirt that is the shooter’s life getting thrown over their shoulders by the shovel-full. Family, friends, employment, any avenue of refuge for him begins to burn. Things get complicated along the way. The kind of complicated that goes into a body bag. The art of flushing out the enemy is a sacred practice, best done with smoldering rage.
But, after a man has nowhere to hide, having him out in the open might be worse.
Dominick Prince has been a magnet for trouble his entire life. A series of poor life choices and their violent consequences have crushed his spirit. Desperate to outrun this burgeoning rage before it fully consumes him, Dominick accepts an offer he doesn’t trust from an old high school classmate. Dutchy Kent says he wants to make one last-ditch effort to prove his acting chops by mounting the New York City debut of a play based on one of Dominick’s stories, but the true story involves the real estate empire of a notorious Queens drug dealer and $1.2 million in cash. Dutchy would love to find that cash, but he needs someone else to do the dirty work, someone who attracts trouble and is easily manipulated.
Unfortunately for Dutchy, the Dominick he knew in school is gone. The Dominick who shows up at his office is bitter, twitchy, and repulsed by the trash heaps and junk yards of Long Island City that don’t fit into his vision of a New York debut. None of that matters to Dutchy though who continues with his scheme, unaware that every insult, every passive aggressive comment, and every physical intimidation pushes Dominick one step further toward his rapidly approaching breaking point.
TG Wolff 