My children’s stories tell both “true” and “could-be-true” historical and legendary tales. Contemporary stories usually spring from my personal life.

I use my oil paintings and photographic art to complement the stories so that young children can be exposed to different styles of illustration.

(Nothing against cartoons, computer generated or silly images!)

I write about lesser-known individuals who have been left out of most history lessons and in a way that can be interesting to the adult reader, too, without offering any obvious opinions to the child. In my contemporary stories I try to sneak in some science or math or even some psychological attributes all wrapped into short easy reads.

For age ranges 6 to 12, written in simple sentences, but with a young adult vocabulary, the stories can be read to most all children. My philosophy is to not “talk down” to children. A child asking a grownup, “What does that mean?” is not just a gap in comprehension; it is a transfer of curiosity from the book's page into the real world. The difficulty in assigning an age range to my books comes from this philosophy. I am not writing simpler books; I am writing accessible books with depth underneath. Allowing a child to encounter something slightly beyond their current experience invites children into the conversation.

I study medieval and early American figures - some known, most unknown. All have interesting stories or legends that have not been widely told, introducing children to the concept of times past, different societal conditions, places, cultures, and words.

Scientific factoids and more advanced information are often sneaked into the prose.

Without specifically writing anything beyond the simple story at hand, “seeds” are planted for future assimilation, avoiding lesson-learning tone.

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Molly’s Chickens of Sourland Mountain invites readers into the lively world of the free-range chickens at Rocky Farm on New Jersey’s Sourland Mountain. These birds are more than just animals on a farm; they are characters with distinct “chickenalities,” each with their own quirks and behaviors. Through the eyes of Molly and her flock, the story also touches on the deep natural history of the land itself. Young readers encounter hints of geology and paleontology, learning how the earth around them was shaped over time and how living things fit into that story.

Christian and Li Ban is a contemporary tale about a young man whose life is quietly altered by brief, mysterious encounters with a mermaid. Set in the present day, the story explores how moments of wonder can surface unexpectedly, and vanish just as quickly, leaving behind questions rather than answers. The story is inspired by a 6th-century Irish legend centered on Li Ban, a woman transformed into a sea creature after a great flood reshaped the land. According to early Irish tradition, Li Ban survived beneath the water for one year, becoming a being caught between worlds - human and otherworldly, memory and myth.

Bernard of Kuwait - True story and a gentle and brief exposure to other aspects of the world, describes the harrowing journey of a cat from the cruel and often deadly practices of another culture’s treatment of what we consider dear pets to his loving forever home in New Jersey.

Jenny’s Horse presents a problem for a young girl to solve if she is to have her horse, but Grandpa comes to the rescue with a little döstädning (the gentle art of Swedish death cleaning).

Real Friends and Their Children are little histories of the “real” stuffed friends of an arborist; a CPA; a school principal; an art gallery owner; and even loved ones who are no longer with us, to name a few, told in the voices of their extant childhood stuffed animals. There are fewer best friends in life than those we had as children. Not all of us experienced the special bond between ourselves and our best “stuffed” friend. But for those of us who did have such a talisman, it is likely that magical creature is still within reach.

The Tenth Day, Hekate and Demeter Search for Persephone shares the tale of Persephone, a very old story that explains the changing seasons of the earth. At its heart, it is also a story about love and longing, about a mother and daughter whose lives are tied to the cycles and rhythms of the natural world. When Persephone’s path leads her away from the light, the earth itself feels the loss. When she returns, life begins again. Based on the Homeric Hymn to Demeter (Anonymous).

Harold Bluetooth, the Builder King tells the history of Harald Gormsson who was born around the year 910 and ruled Denmark in the mid-10th century. His greatest ambition was to unite the separate kingdoms and regions of Denmark into a single realm. For this reason, he is remembered as the Builder King. Harald believed that unity required more than force; it required shared structures, boundaries, and symbols. Because Harald Bluetooth used building and communication to unite different groups, modern engineers chose his name for Bluetooth technology, a system that allows different devices to communicate wirelessly. Just as Harald connected kingdoms, Bluetooth connects phones, computers, and other devices so they can work together.

Ismail al-Jazari, the Father of Robotics introduces children to the Islamic Golden Age, during which science, mathematics, mechanical technologies, economic development, and cultural works flourished.

Sir Hugo Gifford, Wizard of Goblin Hall is based on the historical figure, Hugo Gifford, a medieval Scottish nobleman associated with a mysterious underground chamber beneath Yester Castle known as Goblin Hall, which was believed to have appeared through magic and can still be seen today. He is remembered as a wizard who used unusual knowledge to protect Scotland during a time of conflict. This children’s book was inspired by Sir Walter Scott’s 1808 epic poem Marmion, which preserves older traditions about Sir Hugo and Goblin Hall in Canto III, “The Host’s Tale.”

The Colstoun Pear shows how ancient lore and superstitions can last through the centuries. A modern day posh event venue in Scotland displays pear decor in most every room - homage to this 700 year old family tale.

Sir James Tyrrell and the Horndon Worm implies that far-fetched legends of creatures like dragons might sometimes stem from a simple case of an escaped exotic animal, a Komodo Lizard for instance, brought from Sumatra by explorers, or other factual happenings of the times.

The Legend of Prince Henry Sinclair suggests a pre-Columbian exploration to North America, squelched by the politics of the day and the rivalries between the Venetians (Zeno brothers) and the Genoese (Columbus).

Zheng He, Chinese Muslim Explorer was a 14th century Chinese explorer of huge accomplishments. He commanded a fleet of 3,000 ships, each of which dwarfed any ship used by European explorers. The change of emperors during his time ended such explorations and completely altered the course of China’s relationship with the rest of the world.

Elizabeth Key of Jamestown was written in honor of the New York Times’ 1619 Project. On the 400th anniversary of the beginning of American slavery, the Project aims to “reframe the country’s history by placing the consequences of slavery and the contributions of black Americans at the very center of our national narrative.” Elizabeth’s mother most likely arrived in America in 1619 along with her owner, Thomas Key. The evolution from indentured black and white servants to black slavery can be observed in Elizabeth’s story.

Isle of Devils is based on the historical wreck of the Jamestown-bound “Sea Venture” at Bermuda, which was known as the “Isle of Devils.” Samuel Jordan fearlessly searches for the reason for the demonic sounds, and debunks the stories told by Spanish sailors because they didn’t understand who or what was making the noises. (Shakespeare's The Tempest was heavily inspired by the 1609 shipwreck of the Sea Venture on the islands of Bermuda. While the play's setting is traditionally placed in the Mediterranean, its opening storm and the survival of the castaways closely mirror the real-life accounts of this Jamestown-bound fleet.)

Onesimus’s Vaccination is the true story of an African slave in Boston who had the experience of being vaccinating against smallpox, which was told to his enslaver and a physician. The 1716 virus was sweeping through the town, but it was a hard sell to have anyone accept the new knowledge. The harder the men tried to convince people to accept the vaccination, the more the people condemned them. An anonymous bomb (Granado) was even thrown through the window of one of the proponents with a note, “COTTON MATHER, You Dog, Dam you; I’ll inoculate you with this, with a Pox to you.”

The Strongs, Master Masons documents the famous English family of masons, members of one of the oldest and most respected professions in human history. Stone masonry has shaped civilizations for thousands of years, and builders were essential to everything from homes and bridges to castles, cathedrals, and entire cities. Tradition traces the origins of masonry back to the ancient world, often to the legendary builders of the Temple of King Solomon. While such stories blended history with myth, they reflected a deep respect for the craft and its long lineage.

My debut adult novel, Sourland Farm, is a literary analogue of Emily Brontë’s Wuthering Heights, which is considered one of the greatest gothic novels in the English canon. Sourland Farm moves the time period 200 years later—and the setting 5,000 miles away, taking place between 1969 through 2002 on the mysterious Sourland Mountain of New Jersey.