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Twelve-year-old Rooney Tripp was perfectly happy to sit at the lunch table, alone—it’s what he’s used to. But when Aunt Patty invites him on a summer excursion to Savannah, Georgia, alongside sarcastic but street-smart fourteen-year-old Kacey, Rooney begins to live outside of his comfort zone.
After the adults begin acting suspicious, Rooney and...
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Welcome to my website!
Ever since reading my first Hardy Boys Mystery, I was hooked—books, movies, television shows—you name it, I loved mysteries. And soon after, I developed a growing desire to write one myself.
As an adult, my day job was in theatre. Though acting was my main focus, I’ve done just about every job you can do in the theatre. But early on, I discovered my true passion was for creating shows. As the Artistic Director of the Young Actors Theatre in Reston, VA, for many years, I taught, directed and wrote plays for young actors 7 to 16. And yes, some of the shows were even mysteries. In those years, I also co-wrote and produced several plays with co-founder Shaun Miskell for C.T. Rex Theatre for the Family, and created a series of vaudeville-style shows where I performed alongside some of my more experienced students.
But I still had that longing to write a mystery novel.
Finally, after semi-retiring in 2019, (and after a couple of stutter starts) I decided that writing a mystery novel was what I was going to do. I would write a mystery novel for kids, because kids are my favorite audience. After taking a few courses to learn to adjust to novel writing (plays are much shorter and you don’t have to describe all that stuff that the audience is going to see on stage), I began in earnest.
It was a long road, but my first book, The Eye of Molongo, the first in The Family Tripp Mystery Series, was a 2023 Claymore Award finalist, will be released in October 2026 by Leaning Pole Press. My second, Trouble Is a Shore Thing won the Claymore Award in 2024, is due to come out in 2027.
I hope you enjoy my stories and discover the same kind of mystery, excitement, and fun that I did way back when.
Happy reading!
I am also a member of several organizations, including:
Mystery Writers of America
Sisters in Crime
https://www.sistersincrime.org/
Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators
The Virginia Writers Club
https://virginiawritersclub.org/
And a proud citizen of the Chickasaw Nation
Welcome to my website!
Ever since reading my first Hardy Boys Mystery, I was hooked—books, movies, television shows—you name it, I loved mysteries. And soon after, I developed a growing desire to write one myself.
As an adult, my day job was in theatre. Though acting was my main focus, I’ve done just about every job you can do in the theatre. But early on, I discovered my true passion was for creating shows. As the Artistic Director of the...
The 2026 Chickasaw Annual Meeting and Festival starts Friday, Sept. 25, and features a variety of activities and demonstrations at the Chickasaw Nation Historic Capitol Building grounds in Tishomingo, Oklahoma, and culminates Saturday, Oct. 3, with Governor Chris Anoatubby's State of the Nation Address.
I will be signing books on Oct. 2-3.
For more information visit https://annualmeeting.chickasaw.net/
This year Bouchercon has added a day devoted to kids! Young readers and fans will be able to register for Kids’ Bouchercon in August.
Join us at 3:00 at the Leila Gordon Theatre at the Reston Community Center in Reston, VA to celebrate the release of The Eye of Molongo, Book 1 in the Family Tripp Mysteries!
Tickets are free, but required. More ticket information will follow when they become available.
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