My Angel Friend

I recently visited the Mission San Luis Rey in Oceanside. It has been a few years since my last visit and it didn’t disappoint. This Mission is a beautiful and serene place with its historical church, museum and cemetery. Prior to leaving, I visited the gift shop. And there I spied my angel friend. As lovely as the angel is, it was... read more

2023 and Early 2024 Book Club Recommendations

My wonderful book club came up with almost thirty awesome books for our group to vote on. Listed below are the fourteen titles we narrowed it down to. I am especially looking forward to revisiting an old favorite: A Prayer for Owen Meany. If you’d like to see the complete list or just the descriptions of the books below, please let... read more

One of Those Days

It was a day that brought the words of Roseanne Roseannadanna to mind, “It just goes to show you, it’s always something.” The day started great. The rain had stopped, and my bowling team was going to practice that afternoon. About an hour before our meeting time, I heard the neighbor kids jumping on their trampoline…not in school. Oh... read more

Reflections on 2022

After a long writing journey, my novel was published in early 2022. It has been an exciting year for Lost in The Ark. Some of the highlights include:  Being interviewed by the San Diego Union Tribune Reading the reviews on Goodreads and Amazon* Participating in my first book fair Being a finalist in a couple of book... read more

My Favorite Witches

It would not be Halloween without posting the Witches Drinking Tea photo on my blog. These lovely ladies have been a favorite on Val’s Road since 2011. I think they are aging well. I first spotted this photo in a cafe in Paris and loved it. After doing a little research, I found that the photographer is unknown. The location of this old... read more