Visions of Death: The Music Department Murders

A Depression-Era Mystery Novel with a Spark of the Supernatural.   

Love Jazz? 

The Swing Era? 

New York City in the 1930s? 

Reluctant jazz-singing detectives?   

A young woman who strives to reach her dreams during the Depression with a family that keeps secrets about her past, their past, and who they are.  

Summer of 1935 Ruby is the Weston Music School's rising star with her swinging jazz quartet. Next stop, the Roseland Ballroom Competition. After taking a break from helping the police find murder suspects with her extra sensory vision, the images of death have returned. Girls from school are disappearing. Ruby has to act fast and find their killer even when all the signs point to her.

Cover by me and Canva 

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Visions of Death: The Music Department Murders

The first three episodes are free to read! 

Visions of Death: The Music Department Murders  takes place during the summer of 1935, the build-up to WW II is heating up, swing music is blasting from the airwaves, and seventeen-year-old, Ruby St. Claire is a rising star of Weston's music department with her swinging quartet. 

Next stop, the Roseland Ballroom Competition. She's helped the police find murder suspects since she was thirteen with her extrasensory vision, but after taking a break to focus on her music, the images of death have returned. Girls from school are disappearing. Ruby has to act fast and find their killer even when all the signs point to her. 

Click the photo to take you to the story!
Cover created with Canva.

In the author's notes at the end, I've added a couple of historical events that were happening at the time and influenced the story.  There are historical parallels to the current build-up of the authoritarian political climate we find ourselves in now. Not only in the US, as I thought when I began this project, but all over the world. We much squash white supremacy!   

After watching the Authors Guild Foundation's webinar about serialized fiction, I was inspired to try it. Have a look.

If you like it, please give the episode a thumbs up!     THANK YOU! <3 

Sheltering in New York City During a Pandemic.

I hope you are well, wherever you are in this world-wide lockdown. I don't think a single continent has been spared the novel coronavirus, Covid-19.  (link to CDC World Map) 

I’m sheltering with my family in New York City. My home for the last 30 years. I love this place, its people, the diversity, especially now. Mayor De Blasio and Governor Cuomo have given me assurance that we’ll get through this. ALL OF US. The United States. The world. We’re in this together. We have to look out for each other by STAYING HOME.  

I’m witnessing New York City become silent, a pause for the cause. A respite as we care for our loved ones. Heal the sick.

I’ll continue writing, books and short stories, fantasy, and sci-fi, while hubby and I restructure our family business. We have a jazz club with an espresso machine from the 1960s that makes some of the best espressos around. Most of the coffee shops have shut down, ZINC café would be an outpost for our neighborhood for a coffee to go on walks through the Village. One person at a time, with a glass partition. A place where the elderly, or those in need, could pick up a few items such as toilet paper, canned foods, help, etc.

While the city becomes a little quieter, and we wait for Federal Aid, after multiple requests from our mayor and governor, to the treasonous monstrosity who co-opted the White House-- with the help of Putin, and Republican traitors (We’ll never forget who you are. That’s for another post.)  It good that evictions in New York are on hold; I’m sure few have any savings. This is America, we live from one paycheck to the next, many without health insurance. A perfect storm for the narcissistic POTUS in the White House, to delay his response to Covid-19, thus sacrificing many Americans, not only the immune-compromised, and the elderly, so that he wouldn’t look bad? And his buddies could profit off the vaccine. Stalling his response, while South Korea CONQUERED!  *Shaking fist.*

The USA learned of COVID 19, the same time as South Korea. But the inept POTUS called the virus a hoax. This caused a great deal of trouble for my family because my younger brother said it was a hoax, meanwhile he takes care of my diabetic mother who has kidney disease. I was furious! At this incompetent administration—but also my brother for believing their lies. I’ve beyond furious for the last 3 + years. I want Karma to be thorough.

I love New York, everyone pitches in to help one another. It’s not just NY, I know people usually want to do the right thing, look out for each other, step in. De Blasio said the same, New Yorker’s for the most part, have been compliant, orderly, wanting to help. We a democratic society. What affects one affects the other. 

May your pause, go quickly, it’ll be tough in our small NYC apartments, no doubt. I have two young adults, a husband, a cat and a dog in 800 sq. feet. I very grateful for my patio, walks in the sun, biking along the Hudson River Park—keeping 6-feet away from EVERYONE.  

Remember, It’s important for your health to get exercise and fresh air. And NYC’s trees are blooming! 

Climate Strike. We're All in This Together!

"LISTEN TO THE SCIENTISTS!"  ~ Greta Thunberg.


I've been an environmental activist since the days I hoarded glass bottles under the sink in my Williamsburg apartment in 1989-90s, to the chagrin of my roommate who constantly teased me about my "collection" of bottles.

But I couldn't throw them in the garbage! and no one was even talking about recycling in New York City in those days. Well, I was talking ...but there were few answers. So I basically hoarded a huge collection of glass bottles under my sink. Not sure what became of those bottles, it's likely my roommate issued an ultimatum to get rid of them. And then came the plastic bags ... the bane of humanity and the rest of our plastics hanging in our trees in the City. (I also have a certificate as a "green medicine" herbalist. During the Bush years, there was a concern the war-loving administration would take our supplements and access to medicinal plants and herbs. )

This is actually a post, for the Climate Strike! I'd say in SOLIDARITY but we're all in this TOGETHER. We have one BEAUTIFUL paradise of a planet. We're the stewards and we've done terribly.

Sharing a few photos from the 2014 "People's Climate March".  My #ClimatePact   "I swear in all my power to help this planet and its creatures thrive and return this planet to the PARADISE it is!  #ClimatePact   I will STOP abuses when I see them. I will STEP IN. Help find solutions.

 For my #ClimateStrike #ClimatePact I will:

*Ride my bike every day -- even through the snow. (so much fun!)

*Compost!

*Wear repurposed clothing! (eBay!)

* Mend and repair the things I have. (also kind of fun.)

* Plant trees.

* Return to being a vegan.   ~ While I had two vegan births, I'm now a vegetarian but also lactose intolerant. So, I must heed the warnings of my gut.  ;) My body is much smarter than I am.

(I'll return to add more to this list.)

What are a few things you've done that helped our planet, please share so we can do more! 

Here are a few photos from 2014. New York City's People's Climate March, to rev you up for the rally at Foley Square tomorrow 12PM. No matter where you are if you can't attend a rally or march in your town -- start cleaning up! Walk around with signs. Post the photos on Social Media. Share anything you've done that helps clean up our environment and tag #ClimateStrike.

Don't forget the little guys that make a HUGE impact on our planet. 

photo by me! 

Families Belong Together! But NOT Incarcerated Together.

Once again, we marched. 

Thousands upon thousands marched over the Brooklyn Bridge in NYC! 

We march in over 800 cities worldwide for Families Belong Together because of the ZERO Tolerance policy the Trump Administration has implemented that separates children from their parents for misdemeanors, or for seeking asylum. I don’t watch the network news stations and prefer to read my journalism from various unbiased sources – and videos take too long to distribute information.

You can you see things in black and white when you read. There’s so much BS from this administration, and when I learned that corporate media wasn’t confronting Trump or the GOP, I was astounded. The gaslighting happening right now from this treasonous POTUS is gut-wrenching and so effing frustrating and it’s So BLATANT. How can the major news outlets NOT CONFRONT TRUMP? It’s their job.

We must also protect our journalists, and free speech, and the 1^st amendment – all under attack. Trump is playing Putin. Everything he does is from the Putin playbook. Follow Sarah Kendzior author of The View From Flyover Country. She saw all of this coming!

I’ve written letters to the editor, to my representatives, I’ve called, marched, sat-in.

I won’t stop raising my voice, and we need MORE people to do this. Especially those with privilege! If we don’t protect the most vulnerable in this nation – who will? Those who have taken the helm of the U.S. government are hell-bent on destroying the gains we’ve marched for, stealing as much as they can. The Trump family is rife with con artists and absolute criminals. New Yorkers knew this. No one listened. I marched and spoke out during the Bush years. I will not rest. I’m not young, but I sure am fired up and energetic.

Thank you, Maxine Waters, (i love you!) for saying what more of our Reps need to say and they need to stand up and call out the treason, and the absurdity that a president under criminal investigation – could select our next Supreme Court Justice. Absolutely NOT! Especially since Justice Kennedy’s son, Justin may have supplied Trump the $1 Billion loan at Deutsche Bank, when no one else would. How many of Justice Kenny’s decisions over the last two years, including Gorsuch’s stolen seat, are illegitimate?

That’s what I want the news reporters to ask. The corruption is OFF THE CHARTS.

Here’s an overview from one of my favorite news columnists, also an attorney and professor, Seth Abramson. He’s helped save my sanity through all of this. (Follow him if you’re on Twitter @SethAbramson)

Seth’s breakdown:

“I have this terrible fear Mueller will wrap up his investigation and we'll discover that all Trump did is * launder hundreds of millions of dollars * accept hundreds of millions in bribes * conspire to blackmail the FBI into reopening Clinton's case * aid and abet Russian crimes. * committed 25+ acts of felony Obstruction * tampered with 10+ federal witnesses * conspired to offer pardons for silence * sold U.S. foreign policy for private gain * lied 3,000+ times to voters.

* knowingly hired Russian agents * instructed aides to illegally negotiate US policy * forced his son to issue a false statement about a felony * spent the campaign negotiating secret business deals with Russia. * knowingly hired Russian agents * instructed aides to illegally negotiate US policy * forced his son to issue a false statement about a felony * spent the campaign negotiating secret business deals with Russia. * lied repeatedly about releasing his tax returns * admitted to being a serial sexual assailant * never recused himself from his businesses as he promised us pre-election. * nearly tweeting us into nuclear war, claiming he averted it/deserved a Nobel Prize, only to have North Korea punk him like a schmuck * nearly crashing Earth's economy daily with policies he brain-farted on Twitter. * picking judges from someone else's list * knowing less about every issue than anyone in the room * changing his position on every issue * betraying his constituencies with policies he hid while campaigning. So you conservatives can only imagine the embarrassment and sense of being a silly snowflake we progressives feel daily at knowing that we know only 10% of what Robert Mueller does and yet having absolutely no basis to doubt this man's actions, judgment, or policies.”

No doubt there’ll be additions to this list before the day is through.

Stand UP. Call out Bigots. This POTUS is a racist and a horrendous person. Wouldn’t even drop the American Flag at half-mast to honor the journalists killed by his constant hate on the free press “the media” -- what a blanket statement, as in all media? Sounds like Putin, no? Vilify the media, have people mistrust their government – making them ripe for the pickings and for propaganda!     

*Update: POTUS lowers the flag after pressure to do so.  (as I wrote this post!)

Call out the lies!  Call out the hate. LOVE WILL WIN.  

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We Marched!

For Our Lives. 

For the Children! 

We Marched for Our Friends

Off We Go! 

Me and My Sign! 

Hard to Believe, But it's True!

The Tens of Thousands Walk Down CPW! 

We Ran Into Friends. 

And Across the Wold Millions Marched for Change, to Save Lives, Create Common Sense Gun Regulation -- Regulate them like everything else in this country.  #NeverAgain  

My uterus is more regulated by people in Congress than GUNS! One of my favorite protest signs!

                                                            Veterans For Peace Flags. 

#GunReformNow 
#AssaultWeaponsBan 
#MarchForOurLives 
#NeverAgain 

My Response to “Diversity is not our Strength” tweet by Steve King (R-Iowa)

“It’s a small world after all … “ the song went as my boat ride passed children of all ethnicities, holding hands across the world at Walt Disney. It was Diversity. Inclusivity. Love. 

It's a Small World Walt Disney 

My mother, an immigrant from Greece, had become single by the time we moved to Florida. I was 8-years-old, my brother three years younger, and she had little help from anyone aside from friends. She taught belly dancing, and her friends from Syria, Turkey, or Lebanon turned our place into the United Nations. Memories of whirling dervishes, their laughter, and joy shared among these women, echoes in my heart and memory. They found each other in an otherwise isolated existence living in Central Florida and formed bonds to last years.

This was the early 80’s, my mother was tall and beautiful in a striking way. Exotic. She stuck out of every crowd. Her broken English I never noticed until someone pointed it out, or if I were away a while I’d hear it.

At 13-years-old, we moved to Key West after my mother married her friend, Kamal, from India, and we lived there for a time. Turned out Kamal was gay. (Long story there) I have fond memories of his sister’s Tandoori Chicken, unable to sleep, but the stomachache was well worth the indulgence.

While we lived in Key West, my mother met a Cuban man, and with the help of his son, translated the passions running between them. We moved to Miami and she learned to cook arroz con pollo and café con leche. I had a new family, five brothers and a stepsister, all born in Puerto Rico. I loved learning about their cool jobs, and wild adventures. I was 15 when my stepsister told us she was gay. My oldest stepbrother was also gay, the one who explained dreams and astronomy, and understood the abstract ideas I enjoyed talking about. The youngest of my stepbrothers lived with us. Close in age, we bonded over teasing and taunting, while forced to share a home for a year, before I left for college.

This is my America. Diversity is my America. In the melting pot of New York City, I’ve found a home., and now married with children to a Jewish man.  

 Dear Steve King (R-Iowa)

 I have no trouble calling out racists or bigots. 

We have but faith: we cannot know;
For knowledge is of things we see
And yet we trust it comes from thee,
A beam in darkness: let it grow.

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Diversity strengthens ME! I have faith in the good people of the earth moving toward unity. #OneLove   

A Day at the Park. Brooklyn Botanical Garden.

It was a delightful surprise yesterday morning when hubby told me about the Brooklyn Botanical Garden plant sale.

I'd taken a personal day, and this was the perfect respite from weeks of cloud cover and drizzle in the city. Also, politics and the state of our democracy were pulling me down. After several nights of not sleeping well, I needed to clear my head and touch base with the earth, with the fragrance of flowers, the sunlight, and breathe in the moment. Enjoy the photos!

I

Nature heals.  Science cures!  Life is to be lived and loved.

Heavenly Peonies! 

The peonies sent my head spinning. Is it possible to become drunk from sitting among them? 

Orchids from the Tropic Zone. 

Plant Sale!  My greedy heart, I wanted all the flowers, bu my shade patio garden can only handle shade lovers. It was a great place to find a few less common shade plants. SCORE! 

Show Us Your Taxes POTUS! The March in New York City.

Bryant Park on April 15, 2017
Tax Day. 

The light shining on us!

To Whom are you beholden to, Trump?  RUSSIA???

The only president EVER who wouldn't show the public his taxes. Is 45 being blackmailed by Russia?  

We the People Stand up and demand to see what criminal mischief this non-majority so-called president is hiding that the GOP wants to keep hidden too.  Obviously, or the Republicans in the House would demand the same. WHAT HAPPENED TO OUR DEMOCRACY? 

Overcast and dreary

The Flip Side

Some people think protestors are unemployed or have all the time in the world.  

Here's a quote  I LOVE from my son's school. "If you want something done ask a busy person."    

Don't tell me anything about Soros or how he pays protestors--you'll sound like my dad, who has dementia and has found solace in conspiracy theories. I prefer the truth. 

I live for Truth.  I will FIGHT for the truth. And for others to live FREE.  It's my duty. 

My grandfather fought in WW2, my father in Vietnam. Protesting is patriotic. It's my duty. 

My mother is an immigrant. 

And immigrants have made America Great. We need to keep it up!