Seven Years Since the Oil Spilled

BP’s Deepwater Horizon oil rig exploded seven years ago on April 20, 2010. I recently did a book signing for Trails in the Sand, my novel that uses the oil spill as the backdrop to the drama unfolding in one family. “The race to save wildlife from tar balls approaching Florida’s beaches runs parallel to a reporter’s

TRAILS IN THE SAND CONTINUES

  I wrote Trails in the Sand in 2013, two years after BP’s Deepwater Horizon oil spill and the Upper Big Branch Massey coal mine explosion in West Virginia. The two events occurred within two weeks of one another and killed a total of forty men. Both tragedies could have been prevented if safety standards had

Happy #Earth Day – Pay Dirt – #Composting

Happy Earth Day 2015! Celebrating Earth Day is a little bit like giving canned goods to the homeless at the holidays as if that’s the only time the food is needed. Same with Earth Day. We get all warm and fuzzy inside thinking about doing things to help the environment, but then May comes along, and

Snuggle Up with Some #Free #Florida #Fiction

As the holidays loomed, I pulled together my three Florida novels into one box set. Now that we’re cozy in front of fires and hibernating a bit here in the north, here’s a chance to go to Florida for free. For the next three days (February 4, 5, 6), my Florida Fiction Series box set

Deja Vu – Rig on Fire

By Patricia Zick @PCZick As I sipped the aromatic brew, I glanced at the morning’s headlines before the television and George Stephanopoulos diverted my attention. It was only a blip on the charts of the day’s news stories. I would have missed mention of it if I’d gone to the bathroom when George said an

Paying the Price for Oil Spills and Coal Mine Explosions

By Patricia Zick @PCZick We’re approaching the third anniversary of two major disasters in U.S. history – both claiming undistinguished titles. First, on April 5, 2010, at a coal mine in West Virginia, twenty-nine miners lost their lives when an explosion ripped through the Upper Big Branch mine. The tragedy was the worst coal mine