It was decided by the family, that we would publish Agathas journals, in the order she had written them. It includes some of the stories from the other books already published. This one is about all the adventures and discoveries Agatha and Frank had discovered on the island. The Rosland Island was once a mountain range connected to a main land, and as time passed the mountain range sank into the ocean. Only the Rosland Island was left, where once a land mass use to be. The island has two mountains on it, one at each end. There are many stories to tell about Agatha and Franks adventures, and about who use to live on the land mass, beside the Merbeings. This is important to know, because of everything they found.

Agatha and Frank met in the Army; they fell in love, got married and had three children. Aggie got out of the Army and became a history teacher. Frank stayed in the Army and retired after twenty-two years. One of their dreams was to travel around the USA in a RV. They wanted to stop and see everything they had driven by so many times before. They went out on a road trip with their children and grandchildren for a month. That is all it took to convince them that it was time to start Living the Dream. They left Houston, TX and headed to Eureka, CA to see Franks Folks. The plan was to go from Eureka up the Oregon coast. Then go where ever the wind blew them. This book not only has adventure, but real stories of the history they found on the road.

They planned on getting Penelope (their RV) cleaned up and a few repairs done while they were at home. They wanted her ready so when they get their next urge to head out on a new adventure. She would be ready to go. The next adventure, they planned to go on would be the central states. In the beginning they were having a great time visiting with their family and friends. But after a few months, the visiting slowed down, and it became the same old thing again. The weather was rainy and windy, there was flooding all around the area. The storms that came in from the gulf, made it impossible to go out sailing. They looked at their pictures from the year before, when they were in Arizona and Nevada. They enjoyed visiting the museums and hiking in the desert. It was mostly sunny during the day, but cold at night in most of the places they went. They were really starting to miss the warm weather. Houston weather just wasnt what it used to be, with all the rain and wind they have been having. It was time to chase the sun and explore the good old USA and Exploring American, all the little and big secrets it has.

Agatha and Frank had been on a road for the last year and a half going across the Central and lower parts of the USA. But now it was time to go find a new place to leave. Houston, TX had been their home since they had returned from the island. But it just wasn't home anymore! They loved their kids, but after the last storm, and their house getting flooded, twice! It was time to find a place where the weather wasn't so extreme. They both agreed Oregon would be the right place. A friend of Aggie's (Larie) needed to sell their house, so they offered it to them for a great price. Larie had lived there for over 20 years, they wanted someone that would love it as much as they did. During their travels they had visited and explored many places. As far as Agatha (Aggie) and Frank are concerned, traveling in their RV to see this wonderful country of ours, was the only way to go! It was fantastic waking up in the same bed every morning, and then walking out of their RV to a new place, view, and new things to explore. Never knowing what they will discover in the new area. There were always so many things to see and do during their travels. But it was time to have a place to call home. With their "New Adventures" just over the horizon.

Well, today is the big day. The whole week has been full of checking and double-checking, looking at maps and brochures of all the places we are going to stop. Its going to take longer than a month. Well just have to go with the flow! We will start in Houston, Texas. Our first leg of our adventure is Houston, Texas, to the Redwood Forest National Park in California. On the way back from the Redwood Forest, we will stop in Salina, California; then well head to Bakersfield, California; then over to Las Vegas; Tucson; Deming; New Mexico; Fort Bliss, Texas; San Antonio; and home to Houston, Texas. Come join us on our travels across the USA!

On an isolated private island, ten invited guests are murdered one by one - until there are none...

For every author whose manuscript gets published, there are tens of thousands who are rejected. At literary agencies and publishing houses, screeners go through piles of submissions, searching for original voices, attention-grabbing characters, and writing styles that rise above the rest. The piles are large; time is short. The writer who has labored a year or more on a story may have only a page, a paragraph, or a sentence read before the screener moves on to the next submission. It is this heartbreaking reality that the author (who is also an editor and writing teacher) addresses in this helpful book. Pitched midway between the writing advice books that concentrate on format and grammar and those that outline the large-bone mystery basics such as plot, character, dialogue, and creating suspense, Don't Murder Your Mystery identifies twenty-four aspects of the mystery novel, some dealing with the nitty-gritty of submissions but most discussing topics to help inexperienced writers improve the quality of their written work. Roerden's pitch is to help new writers identify and correct pedestrian mistakes and avoid amateurish writing, so they won't be quickly dismissed by screeners. What she has created is an essential handbook for writers longing to improve their knowledge of craft and technique.