Mystery of the Missing Candlestick won Mayhaven's Award for Children's Fiction while it was in manuscript form. After it was published, it has won additional awards. Mystery of the Missing Candlestick, has won the Best Young Adult Fiction award from the Florida Publishers Association, and First Place for Juvenile Fiction in the 2005 National Federation of Press Women At-Large Communications Contest. The book also won Honorable Mention in the NFPW National Communications Contest. She had previously won the Journeys For The Junior Historian Book Award from the Florida Historical Society with Mystery of the Missing Candlestick.

Were the awards a surprise?

The awards were wonderful surprises.

How did you happen to send the manuscript to Mayhaven?

I attended the Amelia Island Book Island Festival and heard mystery author Susan McBride mention Mayhaven’s awards. Susan won Mayhaven’s First Place Award for Adult Fiction for And then She was Gone, her first Maggie Ryan mystery. I went home and submitted my manuscript.

Is this your first publication?

Mystery of the Missing Candlestick is my first book to be published. I have worked as a reporter and writer and have had had many articles published in newspapers and magazines.

One of my pre-teen granddaughters "loves" this book and so do her friends. Why do you think this book has such appeal to that age?

Pre-teens and teens really like mysteries. They like to read about independent, courageous teen detectives who solve mysteries on their own. Mystery of the Missing Candlestick also contains a lot of action and suspense. That appeals to both girls and boys. The girls especially like the romance between Miranda, my detective, and her boyfriend, Randy.

You have been talking to lots of school children? What age do they represent?

Most of the students are between 9 and 13.

What comments do they offer?

If they have read the book, they tell me how much they liked it and ask what’s going to happen in the next book. They tell me that Mystery of the Missing Candlestick was “a real page turner” and that they liked the suspense and the St. Augustine setting.

When I visit classes where the students haven’t read the book yet, I usually read a chapter. They don’t want me to stop.

What questions do they ask?

They ask very specific questions, such as why did I pick a particular name or color for something or why did I set the story in St. Augustine, FL. They always want to know whether Miranda and Randy will keep dating or break up.

It is a contemporary story, relying on character, suspense, and history. How did you select the elements to carry the story forward?

I developed my main characters first and then focused on story and plot. The St. Augustine setting was integral to the story. I wanted every chapter to be suspenseful. Gradually, it all came together.

The setting is Florida. Did you grow up there?

I grew up in Chicago, but I live in Florida.

As a child, did you write?

I always loved to write and to read.

What did you read, then?

Some of my favorite books were mysteries, including The Boxcar Children, the Happy Hollisters and Nancy Drew mysteries.

And now?

Mysteries are my favorite fun reading, but I also read other fiction and biographies.

Do you belong to any writers’ organizations?

Book Writers and Illustrators, Mystery Writers of America, Sisters in Crime and the Florida Writers Assn.

Do you think they've helped?

Yes. These groups open doors to meeting other writers and to learning more about writing and the publishing industry.

What would you suggest to an unpublished writer?

I would suggest joining professional organizations and attending classes, conferences and workshops where you can meet other writers. Most of all, keep writing and keep trying to get published. Definitely enter contests!