About me

“There is a reason why all things are as they are.” – Bram Stoker

 

What do you get when you cross a librarian with a man who loved ships, books, maps, and words like “sesquipedalian”?

If you guessed “woman, white, old enough to have gone to a   Beatles concert,” you’re probably just looking at the photo.

If you guessed “a book-loving writer who loves to travel and used to go to sea with the British Merchant Navy,” then you have an amazing gift, my friend, and could make good money on a quiz show.

A few things you might not have guessed:

In the 1970s, I lived in England for long enough to acquire an accent. It’s a blend of West Country, Scouse, and Cockney, with a few posh vowels thrown in at random. I’m rubbish at accents. I can’t even do a Californian accent properly, and I was born here.

I’ve also lived in Japan. I can still say “Where are the toilets?” and “I don’t understand.”

I write mystery novels and travel memoirs.

I once spent six hours fending off amorous Italians in Milano Centrale station, but that could have happened to anyone. It’s probably happening to someone else right now.

Yes, it’s true about the British Merchant Navy. I’ll be writing about that soon.

I hope you’ll enjoy what you read here and want to come back. Meanwhile, I’ll be reading and/or working on another book. The librarian and her sesquipedalian husband would approve.