Steven Helmer Publications

I had to go to the grocery store this morning for cat food. As I was leaving, I happened to notice the lottery vending machine they had by the service counter and saw it had a $5 credit showing. Apparently someone put in money and either didn't spend it all or forgot to buy tickets with it. Since nobody was around, I took this as a positive sign and opted to buy five separate $1 scratch offs in the hopes of winning some free money. I lost on every single freaking one of them. Sometimes, I think God likes to tease me.

Synopsis:  After years of caring for her now-deceased invalid mother, Eleanor Vance is all too happy to accept an invite by Dr. John Montague to investigate paranormal rumors at the secluded Hill House mansion. She quickly forms a friendship with Montague and the two other guests, an artist by the name of Theodora and the home's heir apparent, Luke Sanderson. However, as the house guests begin to experience supernatural phenomena, Eleanor's mental stability comes under question. Review:  I was in the mood to take a short break from murder mysteries and, after remembering I had seen this book at our local library, decided to check it out. Even though it was relatively short, it took me a bit longer to read than I was expecting it to and, I finally finished it early this morning. Ultimately, after a few hours of reflection, I have to say this book wound up being a pleasant surprise. I'm going to be honest, through the first hundred pages or so of this less-than-200-pag...

Our 2 1/2-year-old rescue cat, Mouse, passed away unexpectedly Saturday evening. We aren't sure what happened. He had been acting a bit "off" for a few weeks. He stopped using his litter box and seemed to spend a lot of his time hiding from us. But, when we took him to the vet three weeks ago, he was perfectly healthy (other than having a few fleas) and, when he came out of hiding at night, he didn't act sick. He wasn't losing weight, would still eat his food and drink water and would let us pet him and play with him. Friday evening, he was growling a bit and seemed somewhat lethargic. But, Saturday morning, he seemed perfectly fine again. Then, suddenly, Saturday evening, I heard him making a strange noise from under our recliner and, by the time my wife and I were able to get him out from under it, he was gone. We were all devastated by this loss, especially my youngest daughter, who would carry him around the house like a rag doll and would have him ha...

It's starting to get cooler out and we are starting to see some more birds at our feeder as a result. Here are some photos I've taken, along with a photo of Echo as he sat at the window watching them this morning.

Synopsis : Even though the rest of Lochdubh thinks the elderly Mrs. Margaret Gentle is a kind and generous woman, Constable Hamish Macbeth believes differently. And, when Mrs. Gentle tells stories about his laziness to his superiors, resulting in his beloved police station possibly being closed, it only strengthens his negative opinion of her. When Mrs. Gentle's Turkish maid, Ayesha, comes to him because she has been fired and faces deportation, Macbeth, wanting to help her and believing it will save his police station, offers to enter a sham marriage with her. But, when both Ayesha and Mrs. Gentle are both found murdered, the would-be groom instead finds himself hunting down yet another killer. Review: One of the things that really stands out for me when it comes to the Hamish Macbeth mystery series is, so far at least, there have been quite a few books that I've enjoyed so much, I had a hard time putting them down. This book fell into that category. The thing I foun...

This may or may not end up being our oldest daughter's last one. She's going to try to become a junior coach next year and would likely focus on that if she does. But, I also wouldn't rule a return to the ice, at least for the home competition again. This weekend was the annual competition at our local rink, with her skating in showcase (artistic) and interpretive (a fun one where the skater improvises a program to a random song) events. And, she did a great job. Unfortunately, the turnout for this competition wasn't that great this year and, as a result, she wound up not having anyone to compete against at her level. So, in that regard, we really don't know how she would have matched up against another skater. However, she's been doing this for a few years now and I think this is the best I've ever seen her perform. In fact, one of the coaches/judges told me later that it was one of the best showcase programs she had ever seen performed and she thorou...

Synopsis:  Constable Hamish Macbeth doesn't really like Mavis Gillepsie. But, when he wins her maid services in a church raffle, he reluctantly lets her clean his house. When he discovers Gillepsie, a notorious snoop, has swiped a personal letter he had left on his table, he decides to confront her. Unfortunately, someone has already gotten to her first and now he is stuck investigating the murder of a woman who was likely blackmailing her clients. Review: I had started reading a completely different book but, after about five chapters, realized I just couldn't stay interested. So, since I had to stop at the library anyway, I decided to pick up another Hamish Macbeth mystery. I finished it last night and, overall, I have to say I enjoyed it. I was a little concerned when Macbeth uncovered Mrs. Gillepsie's secret relatively early. This is because, normally, if the motive is obvious, the killer is too. However, that turned out not to be the case this time around and ...