Easton Series Character - Michael "Uncle Mike" Sanders

Michael and Marian Sanders are the owners of the Sanders Ranch which is 1-1/2 acres of pastureland located on S. West Avenue in Easton, California. The ranch is a goat farm with a few other animals thrown in. There are the herd of goats, naturally, the Sanders’ lone cow, Moo, a couple of sheep, rabbits, chickens, ducks, and in the spring, a new batch of turkeys will be added to the menagerie.

Michael Sanders is father to Shelley Sanders and foster father to the various boys and girls staying at the Sanders Ranch. He loves Aunt Marian and indulges her.

Michael or Uncle Mike as he was known to the kids on the ranch liked his quiet time. He would get impatient with all the noise that accompanied kids playing and having fun. He wanted dinner on time and he wanted to relax in the evening watching TV or reading. The Angels knew to keep their rowdiness down when Uncle Mike was home.

Uncle Mike had started out working for a local hardware store in the garden department after high school. He took classes in the evening to be trained as a real estate agent and at the same time started ranching in the San Joaquin Valley. Since the Sanders Ranch was such a small ranch, Uncle Mike supplemented his income by selling real estate. The real estate market in Fresno was booming and kept Uncle Mike was busy promoting houses and himself. After several years, he was finally doing well. He was so busy with real estate he had left taking care of the ranch to his family.

Uncle Mike’s sense of right and wrong guides the Easton Angels in their many mishaps and adventures.

Easton Series Character - Marian Sanders aka "Aunt Marian"

Marian Sanders is Shelley’s mother. She’s of average height. She wore her hair short, just a curly cap around her head. When she was a child, she had been a toe head, very, very blond, almost white. But like a lot of children who start out blond, her hair had darkened until it was a rich dark shiny brown. Aunt Marian has an easy smile. It came quick and often. She was pretty with large, blue eyes, a small delicate nose with a high forehead and rounded chin all set in an oval face. Aunt Marian had a silent beauty that most people overlooked, at least until she smiled, then there was no doubt, Aunt Marian wasn’t just pretty, she was beautiful.

Aunt Marian had a soft spot in her heart for troubled kids. She calls the boys and girls in her charge Angels and when the Angels bring friends home, she likewise refers to them as Angels. It didn’t matter to her who they were, Aunt Marian considered all the kids her Angels; they were one big, happy family. She insisted everyone call her Aunt Marian.

The Sanders Ranch is the home of Marian and Michael Sanders, Aunt Marian and Uncle Mike to the boys and girls living on the ranch. The Sanders Ranch is 1-1/2 acres of pastureland located on S. West Avenue in Easton, California. The ranch is a goat farm with a few other animals thrown in. There are the herd of goats, naturally, the Sanders’ lone cow, Moo, a couple of sheep, rabbits, chickens, ducks, and in the spring, a new batch of turkeys will be added to the menagerie.

Aunt Marian is an avid photographer; she constantly has her camera in hand. Aunt Marian's philosophy on photography was, “photograph everything you can. You never know when an instant in time will be the one instant to span a lifetime. All photos are memorable, but that one photo is so elusive. So just keep taking pictures. You never know.”

 

Easton Sleuth Review

 My friend Larry recently read Easton Sleuth. He said, "... I started reading it a few weeks ago but ended up setting it aside because I was busy in the evenings. I picked it back up to read on a flight last week and was able to finish it in no time. I really like the story. The mystery kept me hooked. ..."

Thanks Larry! Anyone else have a comment on Easton Sleuth? I'd love to hear from you.

                                                                                    Donna Dolf

Easton Series Character - Lauren Russell

Lauren Russell was 14. She was tall and thin with green eyes and waist length blond hair she wore in a braid down her back. She was the “new kid on the block.” Lauren and her widowed father, Alan Russell, lived in the Caretaker’s Cottage deep in the almond orchard across the street from the Sanders Ranch. After Lauren’s mother unexpectedly died from appendicitis, Lauren was uprooted and moved to her father’s hometown of Easton, California.

A lonely Lauren first spies on the Angels from behind the mailbox tree and when Aunt Marian invites her over for milk and cookies, she reaches out to the Angels and the Sanders family in her grief. 

Lauren befriends Jonathan Hardy and the Angels. With their collective help they investigate a possible kidnapping in Easton. Lauren’s quick thinking helps defuse some of the Angels’ (mostly Jason’s) sometimes outrageous plans and ideas.

Whether it was searching for the mysterious green car, decorating for Halloween, studying with the Angels, or watching helplessly when the boys are accused of destruction at school, Lauren becomes a fast friend of the Easton Angels.

Easton Series Character - Sonja Bettencourt

             Sonja Bettencourt came to the Sanders Ranch at Halloween. She was the tallest of the three with a cap of short red hair and a peaches and cream completion. As with most red heads she had a crop of freckles across the bridge of her nose. At 13, Sonja was bossy and had a temper to match her red hair.

Sonja had come to stay with Michael and Marian Sanders in August before school started. Her mother had remarried recently and Sonja was having trouble adjusting to her new step-father. She had been so unhappy she had run away. When her mother found her, Sonja cried because she didn’t feel like she belonged at home any more. Sonja’s step-father, Jack Franken, was a real estate agent and counted Michael Sanders as a close friend. It was Uncle Mike who had suggested Sonja come stay at the ranch for a while. So here she was staying with the Sanders and she loved it. Sonja was proving to have a quirky sense of humor. She was keeping the Sanders household on its toes.

Easton Series has a new look!

I took a break after publishing Easton Sleuth. I've spent the last couple of months updating the Easton Series. Each volume has a new cover and the contents updated to correct a few typos. All five books are also available in hardcover.

Itching to do more, the first four stories are now available in one volume, entitled the Easton Series Collection and is available as an ebook.

Check it out.

Easton Sleuth is now available!

Shelley Blanca works part-time at the Easton Book Store in downtown Easton. Shelley only works a couple of hours a week at the book store. She earns just enough to fuel her love of books, with the employee discount of course. The book store also gives her instant access to research for her nascent novel, starring the irrepressible Beautiful Deborah. Besides, she meets the most interesting people in the book store and let’s face it, housework is boring. Shelley spends the rest of her time taking care of the animals, housework (still boring), supervising and shepherding the Angels and writing her novel, until Buzz Singleton is murdered.

Available in ebook and paperback on Amazon. (https://amzn.to/3cRRE9W)