Blues?

In Tangier Gardens, CJ thought he had the blues until he discovered Heinies, an independent–Tangier mid-twentieth century leftover, a dark basement dive, a friends-only speak-easy serving Austrian draft beer and whiskey, sporting an image of St. Augustine of Hippo behind the bar. While enjoying a shot and a beer, he heard Heinies favorite artist, Janis Joplin singing “Ball and Chain”. The blues. The real blues.

Read a free Amazon sample of my novel–lots of plants, gardens and landscape adventures–via a safe, clean, secure and direct link @ https://amzn.to/3HLrtyv.

Hope… I see only hope

Does anyone hope for the worse?

Sometimes the landscape poses too many difficult questions. That’s what happens in my novel Tangier Gardens. But CJ finds answers. Read a free Amazon sample of my novel–lots of plants, gardens and landscape adventures–via a safe, clean, secure and direct link @ https://amzn.to/3HLrtyv.

Inspiration

I like to look at plants. Plants inspire me. I get ideas. Today I saw an idea trying to emerge. That was all.

How does an idea emerge? How does it inspire?

Questions like these, inspired by my observations of plants, drove me to write Tangier Gardens. Read a free Amazon sample of my novel–lots of plants, gardens and landscape adventures–via a safe, clean, secure and direct link @ https://amzn.to/3HLrtyv. Find fresh inspiration. Buy Tangier Gardens today.

Are we safe yet?

Pulsatilla montana–Pasque flower

This week on the first day of Spring I found these. Could there not be a more peaceful yet refreshing image of the coming of Spring?

But it is still March and with snow in the forecast, the March lion may yet be released.

Uncertainty in the landscape? For sure. 

That’s what CJ found in Tangier Gardens. Read a free Amazon sample of my novel via a safe, clean, secure and direct link @ https://amzn.to/3HLrtyv

The First Grapes

Grape hyacinth: Muscari armeniacum

In the temperate climates of the northern hemisphere, grapes come early—but not that early. They are a sure sign that the lion of March is gone and spring is definitely here. These grapes come March and April.

But in the northern hemisphere, if you are not in a temperate climate, your seasonal clock may be in for a shock as was CJ in the Mediterranean climate of northern Morocco. He tries to come to grips with these shocks in my novel Tangier Gardens. Read a free Amazon sample via a safe, clean, secure and direct link @ https://amzn.to/3HLrtyv

Undeniable Change

Weather changes.

Climate changes.

Season changes.

Undeniable.

Winter changes to spring. And spring is here. Undeniable.

But does human culture change? And if so, how and why? CJ was forced to ask these questions in my novel Tangier Gardens, buy it now @ https://amzn.to/3HLrtyv

Sneaking Up

What’s that sneaking up on you?

When spring sneaks up—that’s good, it’s beautiful!

Sneaking up on CJ? He thought he knew what to expect—he had been in Morocco once before. But not in Tangier. Find out what snuck up on CJ in Tangier Gardens. Read a free Amazon sample of my novel via a safe, clean, secure and direct link @ https://amzn.to/3HLrtyv

On the way out?

Or, on the way in?

Winter. Spring.

CJ was trying to graduate but in Tangier Gardens, he didn’t know if he was on the way out or on the way in. Read a free Amazon sample of my novel via a safe, clean, secure and direct link @ https://amzn.to/3HLrtyv

Mysterious Witch…

Mysterious? What are you talking about?

Background:

I enjoy exploring the details of landscape and gardens. 

Hamamelis mollis = witch hazel is now in bloom everywhere in the colder areas of the northern hemisphere.

Yesterday I was walking outdoors and discovered this Hamamelis mollis hybrid in glorious winter flower. I checked for a scent and enjoyed a light but gently intoxicating fragrance. Hamamelis? Common name = witch hazel.

Why witch and why hazel? Answers online and in books inconclusive and vague. Not a hazel and nothing to do with witches. 

And the fragrance, nobody in the home-grown-health, medical or perfume communities could define or replicate that witch hazel scent. Check it yourself.

So where do I turn? 

I, a novelist, have created a protagonist in my image—obsessed with landscape, gardens and plants. In my novel, Tangier Gardens, the protagonist, CJ, explores in Morocco the landscape of northwest Africa as well as the gardens and plants of Tangier. 

You can sample his story for free @ https://amzn.to/3HLrtyv