Mariposa's Musings

“Let us read and let us dance-two amusements that will never do any harm to the world.” Voltaire As if I haven’t mentioned enough reasons why you should be dancing , here’s another one. A study by the Albert Einstein College of Medicine discovered that dancing reduced the risk of dementia more than any other physical activity, including cycling, golf, swimming and tennis. Apparently both the mental effort of learning new dance steps as well as the social interaction helped reduce the risk of dementia. Sudoku and crossword puzzles are also reputed to be beneficial toward keeping dementia at bay. However pen and paper puzzles lack the awesome music and the people watching opportunities of the dance floor. Besides you're more likely to meet that special someone on the dance floor than noodling over a crossword.

I’ve always liked dinner and a movie whether it’s on a date or the TV show .  You Tube’s, Cinema Sins , has added their take on the dinner/show by featuring professional chefs and their dishes inspired by a particular movie.  The chef talks about his favorite movie scene while the host and editing staff of Cinema Sins enjoy a delicious repast.  I’m always fascinated how one creative pursuit inspires another, so with that in mind, Read ‘Em & Eat posts will profile a delicious title flanked by a tasty accompaniment. Package Deal was inspired by Reno’s Salsa scene.  While being one of my favorite dances, it is also the key ingredient in one of my go-to recipes. Salsa Chicken (Can also use leftover Beef, Pork…Turkey you get the idea). Cut leftover cooked chicken into smaller pieces and place into medium sauce pan. Season with chili powder, salt and pepper. Cover chicken with salsa and cook on medium heat stirring and adding salsa as needed.  Wh...

Poor Holly Martins, not only did his parents saddle the pulp Western writer with an odd moniker, but when he travels to Vienna at the invitation of a school chum, he arrives just in time for his friend’s funeral. Harry Lime’s death leaves his lovely actress girlfriend, Anna Schmidt, to grieve and Holly with many questions. Though warned by British MP, Major Calloway, that Lime was a criminal, Holly is determined to uncover the truth and clear his friend’s name. Set post-WWII Allied-occupied Vienna, The Third Man has all classic elements of noir, a grieving beauty who knows more than she reveals, chase scenes down shadowy streets and a hero intent on discovering the truth.  A common pitfall of mysteries is too many plot twists and not enough character development.   Thanks to Graham Greene ’s script, the British film has both mystery and distinctive characters. “A person doesn’t change just because you find out more,” Anna Schmidt declares.   A statemen...

"We should consider every day lost in which we have not danced at least once." Friedrich Nietzsche If German philosophers aren't your thing, consider a University of London study which revealed that patients with anxiety disorders showed significant improvement when they participated in a modern dance class. A study in the New England Journal of Medicine  noted that dancing may boost memory and prevent dementia. The hippocampus (the part of the brain that controls memory) naturally shrinks as people grow older. Aerobic exercise (like dancing) can reverse volume loss in the hippocampus. Plus dancing is a great way to meet people. Dancing attracts people of all ages from college to retirement from all walks of life. On the dance floor I've met architects, engineers, professional musicians even a doctor who kept her profession on the down low since she wanted to dance not diagnose on Friday nights at Salsa. With one activity you can improve your memory, lose w...

Tell me about your latest book. Skeletons in the Attic is the first book in my Marketville Mystery series, which I envision as a trilogy. In the first book, Calamity (Callie) Barnstable inherits a house in the commuter town of Marketville from her father, who died in an “unfortunate occupational accident.” The catch? She didn’t know the house existed and there’s a condition: she must move into the house for the period of one year and find out who murdered her mother, a woman Callie believed had left, voluntarily, 30 years before, when Callie was just six years old. It’s what I would call a suspenseful amateur sleuth mystery. What’s next for you? I’m currently working on the sequel to Skeletons , as well as the sequel to The Hanged Man’s Noose , the first book in my Glass Dolphin mystery series. Who are your writing role models? Not sure I have a role model, exactly, but there are a lot of authors I read and admire. For example, Sue Grafton is a wonderful example of a p...

“I have endeavored in this Ghostly little book, to raise the Ghost of an Idea, which shall not put my readers out of humor with themselves, with each other, with the season or with me. May it haunt their house pleasantly, and no one wish to lay it.”  Charles Dickens -December 1843 People respond to suffering in different ways.  Moved by the plight of children working in the Cornish tin mines, Charles Dickens gave a series of speeches imploring audiences to fight ignorance with educational reform. He then considered writing an inexpensive political pamphlet, but opted instead for writing fiction finishing the novella in six weeks.  Published on December 19, 1843, the first run of 6,000 copies of A Christmas Carol sold out by Christmas Eve. It always amazes me what other creative endeavors are inspired by a single story.  Less than two months after publication, there were at least eight theatrical versions in production.  Scrooge’s tale of redemption h...

How did you become a writer? I’ve been a lifelong reader so, at the outset, I had that love of books and the written word that every writer must have. When I reached the point in my life when I decided I wanted to try writing a novel, I just started writing. Those first scenes weren’t even close to a novel, but you have to start somewhere. Over a number of years, I took workshops, online classes, attended conferences, and read at least a dozen books on novel structure, character development, worldbuilding, etc. When I read other authors’ books, I started paying more attention to how they were written. I kept writing. Eventually, many years later, I was able to write a manuscript that was good enough to attract the attention of several agents. Leaving the practice of law to write about it (albeit with an interesting twist) was risky, but it paid off. Who are some of your favorite romance characters? Celia Bowen and Marco Alistair ( Night Circus ) Claire and Jamie Fraser...