Veronica Cline Barton's Blog: Mistletoe and Mayhem: Yuletide at Castlewood Manor listed as, "One of the best suspense books of all time." - BookAuthority, page 10

Veronica's #WritersDiary: The Lanthorne Ordinary Witches Return: A Chat with Author Cynthia Raleigh!

“To me, a witch is a woman that is capable of letting her intuition take hold of her actions, that communes with her environment, that isn’t afraid of facing challenges.” – Paulo Coelho

The countdown to #Halloween is on, and a perfect time to continue with this #SpookyMonth of fine reads! This week we're chatting with multi-genre #writer Cynthia Raleigh, author of mystery, true crime and paranormal suspense tales (with a witchy flair)! Book 2 of her Lanthorne Ordinary Witches series, Sister of ...

Veronica's #WritersDiary: The Last Days (of Martians) Continues; a Chat with #Author Colin Powell!

Well, hello #October! This month I'm thrilled to feature #authors who have books releasing soon. First up is #writer Colin Powell. He is a multi-genre author who definitely knows how to tell a story! I've read several of his books, including his The Last Days series set in Victorian England; it's a clever follow-on to H.G. Wells' War of the Worlds. His latest tale, The Last Days of the Wake Men's release is imminent. Are you ready to see what happens next with those death-ray Martians? Let's cha...

Veronica's #WritersDiary: #Leaves Swirl, #Oktoberfest Brews, #Book Reveals; Well Hello, #Autumn!

“Fall has always been my favorite season. The time when everything bursts with its last beauty, as if nature had been saving up all year for the grand finale.”

― Lauren DeStefano

I cannot tell you how happy this SoCal gal is! The final days of September have arrived with a flourish of autumnal delight---we had our first 'real' thunderstorm ( I know, it's a California thing--but when you haven't seen a raindrop in months it's really quite something--I'm kind of giddy!) and the temps have cooled ...

Veronica's #WritersDiary; The Muse has Spoken, It's Back to the #Writing Zone!

“Use that fluff of yours you call a brain.”

― Agatha Christie

Well, it looks like NaNoWriMo season is coming early for moi this year. Gemma has a story she wants to tell and has let me know she wants the writing to commence! One mustn't upset the muse, so I'm starting the seventh book in the My American Almost Royal Cousin Series. This time, we're back at Cherrywood Hall where the Maidenford village fete will be held (although we may have to include a London trip to Hillcrest--I want to see wha...

Veronica's #WritersDiary; Oh, Those Southern Nights; a Chat with #Author Cathleen Maza!

"Savannah is a lovely, gentle, sad old city. You can walk through the shadowy, cobbled streets of the town on a tranquil Sunday morning and feel the atmosphere heavy with the burden of lost greatness and relaxed by quiet decay..." Mills Lane

This week I'm honored to have as my guest, #author Cathleen Maza. She's a multi-genre writer who certainly knows her way around a scary tale! Her #NewRelease, Savannah at Midnight, is an atmospheric collection of stories that whisks you away to the darker s...

Veronica's #WritersDiary; #Theatre Under the Stars!

This past week we were so excited to attend the Solvang Festival Theatre once again! We've been attending the performances under the stars since 1999, and truly missed taking our theatrical sojourn last year. For those of you not familiar with this Danish village gem off the 101 FWY, Solvang (Danish for 'sunny field') was established in 1911 by a group of Danes who wanted to leave the midwestern winters behind. Today, it's an eclectic little town filled with shops, eateries and loads of wine tas...

Veronica's #WritersDiary; It's a TANGLED WEBS Countdown to #LaborDay!

Well hello, September! The pumpkin spice lattes have been unleashed and I'm so ready for autumn to arrive. It's an especially festive time for me, because on Monday, September 6th, Bibiana Krall and I will be releasing our scary tale collection, Tangled Webs! When we started this second book of The Haunted Series at the beginning of the year, we had no idea what we would be facing in 2021 (Um, as of this writing, nothing much has changed on that front, LOL).

Despite the uncertainties in the wo...

Veronica's #WritersDiary: Amateur Sleuthing in a Modern, #CozyMystery World

This week I was supposed to be enjoying the comradery and literary banter with mystery #authors and #readers alike at the Bouchercon Mystery Conference in fabulous New Orleans. Alas, Covid-19 Delta had other plans, the conference was canceled out of an abundance of caution...the good times, unfortunately, were not destined to roll...#Sigh

I was honored to have been picked to be on a panel at the conference to opine on the topic of Amateur Sleuths: Armchair Quarterbacks. I was so looking forward...

Veronica's #WritersDiary; 2021 Laguna Pageant of the Masters

“Art washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life.”

― Pablo Picasso

This past week we were thrilled to attend the Pageant of the Masters performance, sponsored by the Laguna Festival of the Arts. This annual show celebrates artists and their artistry in a a one-of-a-kind way, bringing historic paintings and sculptures to life with choreographed, live displays, highlighted by an orchestral accompaniment.

This year the theme of the pageant was Made in America:

"In the 2021 Pageant of the ...

Veronica's #WritersDiary; Artistic #Inspiration

“Everything you can imagine is real.”

― Pablo Picasso

For me, it's all about the art the next few weeks! What better way to begin the post today than with the debut of a painting done for me by my fabulous, talented neighbor, Becky Carlson. She has been a huge supporter of my writing journey and has read all the books in My American Almost-Royal Cousin Series. (Loud Writer #SQUEE!) I was absolutely delighted this weekend when she gifted me with a painting she had done depicting Cherrywood Hall,...