Milford-Haven

Can a hummingbird dream? Artist Miranda Jones thinks so. Sensing the tiny injured bird that wings its way into her world still lives, she paints the creature's dream garden and seems to reach into his very heart. She reached into her own heart to create a new life for herself in Milford-Haven, the small town of undiscovered beauty on California's Central Coast, where one of her dear friends is environmentalist Samantha Hugo-a brilliant PhD 20 years her senior who gave up a son years earlier.

Performed by the author, this compelling, multi-layered audiobook introduces the delicious complexities of Milford-Haven. A murder, an environmental controversy, and a long-buried secret confessed only in a private journal set the stage as wildlife artist Miranda Jones finds her career taking root and a new love knocking at her door as she does her best to listen to what her heart knows.

Can whales watch the humans who watch them? Miranda Jones is convinced they can and do. She's looking forward to her day of whale-watching off California's Central Coast. In preparation for a painting commission, she'll be photographing the migrating gray whales.

This richly textured audiobook continues the interwoven complexities of the Milford-Haven saga, taking the listener on a compelling journey through southern California. While a murder investigation begins in the Central Coast, artist Miranda Jones' research journey takes her from the whales off the Los Angeles coast to the big cats of the Mojave Desert to the backstage drama of a Hollywood Bowl Doobie Brothers concert.

Astronomer and competent mountain climber Cornelius Smith depends upon his intelligence for both his career and his hobby. Never before has he faced a situation where logical steps couldn’t be followed to an inevitable conclusion. But just two days before Christmas, it’s going to take more than logic to get him off the sheer rock face where he can neither climb out, nor slide down.

Can an artist’s imagination alter reality during the magic of the holiday season? Can something in the heart manifest in the real world? Artist Miranda Jones might have agreed that dreams sometimes come true. But she’d never presume to believe something could leap from her canvas into the life of someone she hardly knows. Until now, that is. Over-scheduled during the busy holiday season, she none the less can’t help bu follow the imperative to paint an unlikely image on one of her small gift canvases.

Are sea otters as cute and clever as they seem? Miranda Jones is as captivated by their sweet faces as she is spellbound by their antics. She can hardly wait to interact with them on her kayaking expedition off California’s Central Coast. Yet nothing could be more surprising than the controversy they’ve caused in the sun-drenched Santa Barbara waters, nor more disturbing than the vehement hatred they seem to inspire among local fishermen.

Can the heart keep secrets, even from itself? Without revealing her plans, artist Miranda Jones fled her life of privilege to start over in Milford-Haven. Her heart knew what she wanted to do, and where she wanted to be. But now she must figure out why she had to keep it all to herself. While she focuses on her first major art show in her new town, is she paying enough attention to the agent who handles her money, or to the odd absences of the man who claims to care about her? Why won’t he reveal his real career?

Artist Miranda Jones, doing research for a commissioned painting, is delighted by their songs but increasingly intrigued to understand what they seem to be saying. She’s excited to learn more both when she hikes with an expert and when she kayaks on the Columbia River in Oregon. Yet imagine her surprise when she hears what she thinks is a bird call but turns out to be a woman screaming! Can Miranda help without putting herself in danger? Or have the avians fooled her....

Can a soul hover after passing on? Can a person be unaware of her own death? Journalist Christine Christian had always been a pragmatist. Not even her own persistent intuitions could compete with her commitment to logic and to empirical proof. In fact, that’s what had gotten her into to trouble in the first place.