I'm working my way through the latest issue of Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine, and enjoying excellent stories. Here's a quick rundown of my recent reads.

In Best Performance by Tom Savage, an aging actor fears his young wife and an overly-friendly doctor are planning his murder. Help comes from an unexpected ally, but first, he must give the performance of his life.

Lord, Spare the Bottom Feeders by Robert Mangeot features Vernon, a Tennessee lawyer of low repute. When he's banished from the local watering hole favored by legal professionals, Vernon encounters a dicey proposition from a "beer belly on legs" in a classless bar. Vernon takes a case that tests even his low standards.

The cover story is Night Train for Berlin by William Burton McCormick. Moller is a German ex-pat who has been publishing anti-Hitler articles from the presumed safety of Soviet Russia. The story opens with Moller on his way to a prisoner exchange - he's to be traded for a captive of the Nazis. It's a tricky political situation played out on a moving train. Moller, a committed communist, finds his life tied to that of an exiled Russian aristocrat.

In The Botanist by Joan Druett, Wiki Coffin is asked to prevent the murder of a prosperous businessman turned amateur botanist. Wiki is the half-Maori son of a Yankee ship's captain, and fits in as a sailor in Java. He finds that keeping tabs on the energetic scientist is difficult, considering the man is convinced someone is out to kill him.

All fun reads! And I have half a dozen more stories to go. 

I went to the grocery store March 13. That day contained a double whammy. School districts had just announced they added a week to spring break to prevent the spread of the corona virus. And it was snowing. 

We are Colorado preppers-lite. You never know when a blizzard will hit. The Bomb Cyclone of 2019 closed the city down for a few days. Our shelves are always stocked with the basics. 

Including toilet paper.

Thus my family was quite amused, and maybe a little horrified, at the last minute hoarding. During my trip to the grocery store, many shoppers exchanged smiles, and joked about the panic buyers.

I was not entirely smug. In fact, the panic vibe in the grocery store began to affect me. As I rummaged through the canned beans, I had to fight the urge to load an entire case into my cart. 

Most of the items I came for were oddly well-stocked. No one needed emergency guacamole or oranges. Our older daughter was confused by the absence of onions. When your family is self-quarantined for a week, do you really want onion-breath?

I was nearly in tears when a young mother, who by virtue of age and inexperience could be forgiven her lack of preparedness, told of her search for diapers. Somewhere someone has a garage full of hoarded diapers their baby will outgrown long before they are used.

No, I was not smug. I was infected by the fear. A feeling of "I've got to get mine before it's all gone" crept up on me. I had to stop, breathe, and put items I didn't need back on the shelf.

If one good thing comes from the great COVID-19 panic buying, it will be that people plan ahead for as yet unpredicted emergencies. Whether you live in blizzard or hurricane country, tornado alley or flood-prone territory, be prepared.

Two weeks of non-perishable food and paper products, OTC medicines, a case of bottled water. Follow the government guidelines from FEMA. Here's the list. You don't have to be a doomsday prepper to keep your family comfortable during inevitable emergencies.

The first weekend the COVID-19 crisis began to affect my family, we decided to go for a hike. This met the social distancing recommendations, and also exposed us to fresh air. Not much sunshine, but it was warmer than you'd imagine from the snow-dusted landscape.

We were rewarded in the Garden of the Gods with a close-up view of big horn sheep. Three rams grazed near the trail. They were undisturbed by our admiration. As we stood there staring, other hikers, and cars on the road, paused to see why we were gazing at the cliff side.

Unlike some parks, the humans had sense enough to remain at a safe and respectful distance. Maybe those big curled horns commanded attention.

If your weather doesn't permit outdoor activity at the moment, you can take a virtual trip to the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo via their giraffe cam.

For an author, there's nothing quite as exciting as appearing on the bookstore shelves. I was thrilled to see Barnes & Noble has the current issue of Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine, with my short story Industrial Gold. 

Please note the hand sanitizer dangling from my purse. Sigh. These are troubled times...

If you're self quarantining due to COVID-19 corona virus, you can subscribe to AHMM on-line, either digital or print. ​https://www.alfredhitchcockmysterymagazine.com/
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The current issue of Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine is on sale until April 21. I am roughly half way through my March/April copy, and have enjoyed some great stories.

The Care of Widows and Orphans by Steve Torres follows Sheriff Gonzalo during a heat wave in Puerto Rico. The author begins near the end, then flashes back to a right-of-way dispute between rural neighbors. A widow and her young daughter seek the sheriff's aid when a landowner blocks their pathway to the village. The story takes interesting twists and turns that lead to a violent end.

​A letter from an ex-girlfriend in distress reaches a retired professor four months too late in Albert January and His First Love by Jim Fusilli. Albert sets about solving a missing persons case using his skills in biology and pharmacology. Along the way, he also revisits his 

Bride of Torches by Kenneth Wishnia draws on a story from the Bible, in Judges 4-5.

My dear friend Julie informed me the current AHMM is available in Barnes & Noble. She purchased the magazine because I have a story in this issue.

Industrial Gold sees frustrated actor Marlin Hammerbach return to a dreaded factory job. Marlin ​is hired to work undercover to discover the source of mysterious apparitions on the night shift. Instead, he stumbles onto a plot with more serious consequences. 

Like my other short story series with a factory setting, Industrial Gold draws on my experiences working in a manufacturing facility. Marlin made his first appearance in AHMM December 2015.

If your calendar year got off to a rough start, I invite you to begin again. The Lunar, or Chinese, New Year began Friday evening. The celebration continues for an entire week.

https://chinesenewyear2020.org/facts/

Unfortunately, this year, the corona virus has caused the cancellation of the large gatherings in China usually associated with the holiday. https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/new-year-celebrations-muted-china-coronavirus-spreads-4-continents-n1122736 On the other hand, the holiday has been extended in some areas due to factory closings.

I hope my Chinese coworkers stay safe and healthy during this trying time. On the lighter side: https://www.vice.com/en_asia/article/m7qb7a/coronavirus-chinese-netizens-share-entertainment-stuck-home-bored

As part of my intentional new year, I plan to be more mindful in my reading. I have fallen into the habit of reading what hits the top of my TBR (To Be Read) pile. These aren't necessarily books I've deliberately chosen. Maybe I pull something off a shelf at home because I forgot to go to the library or load a new book to the Kindle.

Here's what I'm finishing from 2019:
Dead Men's Morris by Gladys Mitchell - a classic in the style of Agatha Christie, but edgier

Top of the 2020 TBR pile:
Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens - a gift from my father, but I am interested in reading the book
This Tender Land - William Kent Krueger - I loved his novel Ordinary Grace
Chronicles of Crime by R. T. Lawton - short story collection
I would like to read at least one American history book, keep up with my subscription to Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine, and read more classic mysteries.

How do you decide what to read? What's on your TBR list for 2020?

The New Year is a convenient illusion millions choose to adopt. There are other traditions for measuring the earth's passage around the sun. For example, Chinese New Year (January 25) and Rosh Hashana (September 18).

​There are benefits to observing hitting the cosmic reset button. New Year Resolutions encourage people to cast off bad habits, and to adopt a healthier more prosperous lifestyle.

Sometimes life gets off track due to outside circumstances, not our own laziness.

A word keeps popping into my mind. Intentional. I don't want to look back on another year where I have been dragged from activity to appointment to obligation as an unwilling participant. I want to live mindfully and deliberately. What do you do when life refuses to cooperate with your careful plans, and comes at you like a freight train in a narrow tunnel?

As if in response to my intention, this is how our New Year began:
Neither I nor my husband was interested in staying up until midnight. We watched a Russian science fiction movie, then retired early. We wanted to start the year fresh and rested. In that light state of having just fallen asleep, both of us awakened abruptly to loud noise. Banging and yelling.

A glowing orb floated by our window. We peeked out the curtain, but it was gone. We ran out on the deck in our pajamas. I wondered whether I was seeing a UFO - proof of alien visitation. But no.

Our neighbor and his teen daughter were hastily hooking up a watering hose. The noises were the sounds of city-wide celebration, and of our neighbors trying to prevent a fire. The orb was a paper lantern with a votive candle. It had escaped. The lantern had drifted past our window, then into another neighbor's tree. 

It was now midnight, so we watched the fireworks on top of Pikes Peak. The votive slowly extinguished. No fire started. That's good, because there was no way water from that hose could reach that glowing orb. 

Our New Year did not begin the way we planned. Here we are, a week into the year, and I am still struggling to make life go the direction I want. The day job and family keep interfering. Yet I need both in my life.

There are things I can control: my exercise program, my free time activities, and my writing. I'm marking a calendar when I accomplish my personal goals. Even if it's only 15 minutes a day, I am finding time to do the things I need to do for me. The calendar helps reinforce my progress.

I wish you a New Year in which you fulfill your intentionally crafted plans for a healthier future.

How will my short story characters survive a night trapped in a factory without coffee? Certainly, there may be marauding coworkers and the threat of freezing when the power goes out. But we all know the real issue is the lack of electricity for brewing coffee.

I found an article: Ten Ways to Brew Coffee Without Electricity. Most presume having some way to boil water, although one method does involve soaking grounds in cold water for several hours. Still, I came up with the solution for my characters. 

And for myself. The photo shows fall snow. We haven't received this much precipitation in several weeks. However, we expect this and more in the coming months. In snow country, you have to be prepared.

I wish all the best to my readers for the new year. 2019 was a rough one for many of us. Some folks bid good riddance to the old year. Mine had the usual mix of highs and lows, but I didn't seem to handle the stress as gracefully as I'd like. I'll talk next week about my hope for 2020.