Seventeen-year-old Audrey McMillan joins her professor father during his summer sabbatical at the University of Bologna.  She is approached by Carlotta, a strange old woman who sets her on a dangerous adventure through Northern Italy to find the clues to the location of a priceless necklace hidden by her Nazi father during the war. Carlotta, obsessed by guilt for being the illegitimate daughter of a Nazi SS officer, wants to find the necklace so it can be returned to the daughter of the original owners.  Audrey is tormented by the idea that she could have prevented the suicide of a high school friend had she not denied his request to meet with her; thus she is sympathetic to Carlotta’s plight and decides to help her, even when it becomes clear that the Mafia is on her trail.

This contemporary travel story, which includes the tragic history of Carlotta and her parents, is lightened with romantic comedy when Audrey meets two very different university students. Its poignant theme concerns the destructive power of guilt and healing power of human forgiveness.

Middle Grade stories: 

How Michael Saved the Bosites and Everybody Else, is a Middle Grade humorous sci-fi story. The Bosites, except for their once a month BBQ at Glen Daire, Ireland, live in another dimension. Their existence on Earth is tied to life in nature. As global warming increases, more species are dying and more Bosites are leaving the Earth.  The Bosites are incapable of doing anything devious, deception, and /or dishonest; therefore they need a human to help them deal with Kalvar, a human who has taken over another Bosite faction. Kalvar’s method of stopping global warming is the destruction of human civilization. It is up to 12-year-old Michael McCracken to use the intelligence he thought he never had to stop Kalvar from carrying out his diabolical plan.

Aldar and the Golem of Prague our elf disguises himself as a short human, (He has to cover his pointed ears), and travels to Central Europe in search of a lost troll who is believed to be the legendary Golem of Prague.  His travels teach him about other countries and cultures. Being a mischievous elf, he gets into some unusual situations along the way.  He makes mistakes, but learns from them. Young readers are shown the importance of treating all people with kindness and dignity in this light-hearted, sometimes serious, story with some unusual plot twists.  Please check out its special web page at www.aldarandthegolem.com

Aldar and the Leprechauns, Aldar helps a family of Leprechauns overcome prejudice when the Irish settlers wish to settle in Iceland.  Many of the elves in Aldar’s town believe false rumors about Leprechauns. Matters are made worse when Aldar’s sister and a young Leprechaun man start dating. When a little Iceland girl mysteriously disappears, the town’s elves mistakenly think the Leprechauns are to blame.

 Aldar Visits America,   Aldar, a Iceland elf, hides in the backpack of an American 5th grader touring Iceland. When Aldar learns that Edwin is being bullied at school, he disguises as a school boy and helps his new friend.

The Flyleaf Chronicles —A collection of short stories and poems for children by writers, including myself. The proceeds from the sale go to support Diabetes research.  The book was published by Alta Publishing in the UK and is available from Amazon.