What I'm reading

Devil's Knot: The True Story of the West Memphis Three
​​​The West Memphis Three. Accused, convicted…and set free. Do you know their story?

In 2011, one of the greatest miscarriages of justice in American legal history was set right when Damien Echols, Jason Baldwin, and Jessie Misskelley were released after eighteen years in prison. Award-winning journalist Mara Leveritt’s The Devil’s Knot remains the most comprehensive, insightful reporting ever done on the investigation, trials, and convictions of three teenage boys who became known as the West Memphis Three.
For weeks in 1993, after the murders of three eight-year-old boys, police in West Memphis, Arkansas seemed stymied. Then suddenly, detectives charged three teenagers—alleged members of a satanic cult—with the killings. Despite the witch-hunt atmosphere of the trials, and a case which included stunning investigative blunders, a confession riddled with errors, and an absence of physical evidence linking any of the accused to the crime, the teenagers were convicted. Jurors sentenced Jason Baldwin and Jessie Misskelley to life in prison and Damien Echols, the accused ringleader, to death. The guilty verdicts were popular in their home state—even upheld on appeal—and all three remained in prison until their unprecedented release in August 2011.

With close-up views of its key participants, this award-winning account unravels the many tangled knots of this endlessly shocking case, one which will shape the American legal landscape for years to come.

Previous reads

Current Campaigns

Dragon's of Icespire Peak

​Weekly, with the family, I get to play a half elf bard named Savia who along with her goblin friend Pip (my daughter) and our newest companions, a druid named Adriel (my son), a paladin assamar named Niramour (my oldest daughter), and a dragonborne rouge named Domino who are all trying to help Sildar win or avoid a war against an army of orcs. We need desperately to be the first to get into the keep to avoid the dragon that’s been plaguing the area.
Maybe once this is all over, Pip and I will be able to return to our traveling carnival, Birch and Oakly’s Show of Wonders. We shall see, I suppose... Also, chairpants? A good gift idea for that special goblin friend?

If Writers Were a D&D Class

BARD
SUBCLASS WORDSMITH
HP 10                       AC 12

STR 8      DEX 12
CON 14   INT 16
WIS 14    CHA 1

WIELDING
  • PEN AND PAPER
  • UNUSED NOTEBOOKS
SKILLS
  • STORYTELLING +6
  • DECEPTION +5
  • INSIGHT +4
  • WORLDBUILDING +4
IMMUNITIES
  • WRITER’S BLOCK
  • ONE STAR REVIEWS
EQUIPMENT​
  • ARCANE FOCUS—MUG OF COFFEE/TEA
  • LIGHT ARMOR—WARM BLANKET

Video Games

The Witcher

Over the past year, I've started playing PC games again (well something other than Minecraft). I've bought several on Steam so my addiction from one to the next will vary. At the moment I'm on the Witcher. I bought all three in a black friday sale and I recently finished the last. I always seem to side with the Dwarves and elves, I have a hard time pressing the pesants to pay more, and I can't seem to win a game of Gwent to save my life (dice poker on the other hand). Now onto the DLCs...

Sea of Thieves

I"ve mentioned I love tall ships so of course I'm playing SOT and yes, I do know I'm behind the times. I've had it for a couple of years but it wasn't until Jeremy (my hubs) started playing too that I've really gotten into it. Sadly (as this typcally ends in my being sunk or nearly being sunk) I am a speak first, shoot second kind of pirate. I'd much rather run into some friendlies who want to shoot off some fireworks or just let people go on about thier voyage than start up any beef. Either way weather it's forming an alliance or sinking other pirates, it's been a really fun game. 

​Here are some photos of my ship, my pirate avatar, and some buddies I play with. 

Other Things....

When I'm not reading or writing, playing video games or putting together puzzles, I love going to the beach, touring tall ships, and riding motercycles. Though I'm not crafty I've taken to collecting craft supplies and on occasion I attmept to use them. I like to re-cover and bind books, especially journals and every now and again I use Canva and make stickers for Redbubble. I have quite an eclectic store with my designs ranging from TV shows to games to D&D to reading or writing. It seems I don't have a niche, never have never will I guess.