STARBUCKS OF THE SOUL by Melodie Johnson Howe Driving to our daughter’s home for Christmas dinner I found the malls beside the freeway with their homogenized architecture (if it can even be called architecture), comforting. I liked seeing Starbucks, Home Depot and Best Buy. Even the prefab townhouses and condos that line the hills in […]

HAPPY HOLIDAYS by Melodie Johnson Howe Bones and I are just now going out in search of a Christmas tree and to buy gifts for the family in the pouring rain. (What? It never rains in California.) Obviously I’m a little behind schedule. So here is an essay I wrote for the book, Thrillers: 100 […]

THE CHRISTMAS PARTY by Melodie Johnson Howe I glanced quickly into the rearview mirror, the paparazzi were speeding close behind us. Except there was only one of them now. Bones pops his head into my office. “Are you ready? Christmas party?” He points to his watch. He doesn’t wear a watch. He’s pointing to where […]

MAD WOMAN WORKING by Melodie Johnson Howe I have decided to follow in the footsteps of Steve, Rob, and John, and show my office. Unlike their very neat offices, I thought I would let you see the real me at work. Messy desk, messy hair, no makeup. Over the years I have had many in-home […]

DYING IN HOLLYWOOD by Melodie Johnson Howe In Hollywood many famous murders go unsolved. In the land of make believe they can’t quite seem come to terms with the right ending so they end up with no ending or a very unsatisfactory one. I don’t hold out much hope for finding the killer or killers […]

COSTCO, COFFINS, & BOGIE by Melodie Johnson Howe Our standard poodle peed on our new goose down duvet. Stripping the bed (and the dog) I decided we needed a back-up duvet, so with my writer friend Kathleen Sharp I ventured into Costco. Grabbing a shopping cart about the size of a Smart car, I immediately […]

FALLING IN LOVE AND A FEW OTHER THINGS by Melodie Johnson Howe Nothing compares to the rush of falling in love. I mean that rapturous, passionate, nothing-exists-outside-this-love-you-feel kind of love. It is all consuming, filtering out all the flaws, and the niggling doubts that maybe something isn’t quite right. It makes the lover impervious to […]