HDCWC
  • Welcome to HDCWC
  • Advertising Special
  • Anthologies and Books
  • 2025 Anthology
  • 2023 Anthology Award Winners
  • Authors
    • Mike Apodaca
    • CJ Berry
    • Linda Cooper
    • Tom Foley
    • John Paul Garner
    • Freddi Gold
    • M.M. Gornell
    • Angie Horn
    • Mary Ruth Hughes
    • Lorelei Kay
    • Marilyn King
    • Rusty LaGrange
    • Gary Layton
    • J Margotta-Ferrara
    • Richard McCallum
    • Laura Mills
    • Ann Miner
    • Barbara Parish
    • Michael Raff
    • Frances Smith Savage
    • Roberta L. Smith
    • Richard S. Thomas (Richard Spencer)
    • Denny Stanz
    • Mary Langer Thompson
  • Authors by Genre
  • Club Meetings - Past
    • 2025 Speakers
    • 2024 Speakers
    • 2023 Speakers
    • 2022 Speakers
    • 2021 Speakers
    • 2020 Speakers
    • 2019 Speakers
    • 2018 Speakers
    • 2017 Speakers
    • 2016 Speakers
    • 2015 Speakers
    • 2014 Speakers
    • 2013 Speakers
    • 2012 Speakers
    • 2011 Speakers
    • 2010 Speakers
    • 2009 Speakers
  • Club Meetings - Upcoming
  • Critique Groups
  • Getting Paid
  • HDCWC History Scrapbook
  • HDCWC History Scrapbook Part 2
  • HDCWC History Scrapbook Part 3
  • HDCWC History Scrapbook Part 4
  • History
  • Links for Club Members
  • Membership - How to Join
  • Membership Published Book Notification Form
  • Newsletter - The Inkslinger
  • Officers
  • On-Topic Speakers Website
  • On-Topic Past Special Meetings
  • Personal Writing Processes
  • Poemsmiths
  • Published? Now What?
  • Scholastic Training Zoom
  • Speakers
  • Special Events - Past
  • Special Project - Blakely Memoir
  • Special Zoom Meetings
  • Testimonials
Search Site

Roberta L. Smith

Picture
Roberta wrote the Mickey McCoy ghost story series because she's always enjoyed all things haunted, paranormal, ironic or macabre. So when she finally got serious and dedicated herself to writing, this interest showed up big time. A graduate of the University of Redlands, she's a lifelong southern Californian who grew up with TV shows like The Twilight Zone, One Step Beyond, and Alfred Hitchcock Presents. In between Corvette outings with her husband and trips to Valley View Casino, she writes ghost stories with a splash of romance.

BOOKS PUBLISHED


The Haunting of Peter Ashton

Finalist
​2023 American Fiction Awards - Horror: Paranormal/Supernatural genre
Picture
Peter’s rock-star sister destroyed his life and took her own with the strike of a match. Now she haunts him, and he may think he knows why, but he’d be wrong. The Haunting of Peter Ashton is a suspenseful psychological horror tale set in modern-day Los Angeles that is part chilling crime drama, part supernatural thriller. Based on Roberta's short story The Comeback found in Distorted 2. 

Picture

Simone's Ghosts

Grand Prize Award Winner of the 2017 Hollywood Book Festival.
​A teen girl with mediumship abilities must navigate high school, young love, and two ghosts who want to be her friend, all while solving a mystery that is the only way to return her life to normal -- well, normal for her.
Picture
Picture
Buy from Amazon

The dreamer of downing street

Picture
A paranormal mystery set in 1944 Denver.  This is the prequel to the Mickey McCoy series ("The Secret of Lucianne Dove," "Chapel Playhouse," and "The Accordo").   Buy from Amazon



THE SECRET OF LUCIANNE DOVE

Mickey McCoy connects with the spirit of a Virginia City prostitute hanged in 1881 for a murder she didn't commit.

This story was inspired by visits to Virginia City, Nevada. It is the first book in the Mickey McCoy Paranormal Mystery Series.

Watch the short video to learn more.


Buy from Amazon
Picture
Picture

CHAPEL PLAYHOUSE

Mickey's frightening premonitions draw him to a university where he must untangle the many secrets surrounding a haunted, abandoned theater if he is to save the life of a pretty, young coed.

The second book in the Mickey McCoy Paranormal Mystery Series.

Watch the short video to learn more. 


Buy from Amazon
Picture
Picture

THE ACCORDO

Mickey finds himself in a paranormal nightmare he isn't sure he'll survive. The spirit of Renaissance artist Lavinia Zanetti  has managed to attach her soul to her portrait in order to spend eternity with the man she loves. 

But something has gone wrong and now she's out for blood. Can Mickey stop her? Or will this case be his last?

The third book in the Mickey McCoy Paranormal Mystery Series.


Buy from Amazon

​
Picture
Watch the short video "Norman Loves Lavinia" for a scene taken from "The Accordo."
Watch the second video just above for Lavinia's take on her situation.

The Psychic Seeker

Picture
If you own a Kindle, you can order The Psychic Seeker for only $5.99. This ebook contains all three books in the Mickey McCoy Paranormal Mystery Series: "The Secret of Lucianne Dove," "Chapel Playhouse," and "The Accordo."

Buy from Amazon

bouquet of lies

A murder mystery, sexy contemporary romance set in Los Angeles. Young Lacey Bouquet must balance the loss of her father, the possibility of true love and danger that is threatening her life and the life of her sister.

Watch the short video to learn more. 


Buy from Amazon
Picture

A year in the life of a civil war soldier: 
the 1864 diary of frank steinbaugh


Picture
Frank Steinbaugh was a member of the 124th Illinois Volunteer Infantry, serving from September 1862 to August 1865.  He left behind an account of 1864 in the form of a diary. I am his great-great granddaughter and have put Frank's diary in context by comparing the entries to the "History of the 124th Illinois Infantry" published in 1880 by the regiment's chaplain, R. L. Howard.  The result is a fascinating look into Frank's character and experience.  The 124th ILlinois was an exemplary regiment that saw action at the Siege of Vicksburg and other important battles.  Frank's diary is presented along with what happened after he was gone.  This book is for historians interested in the Civil War soldier's day to day activities as well as those fascinated by the lineage of family.

Buy from Amazon
​


DISTORTED 
FIVE IMAGINATIVE TALES ON THE DARK SIDE

Picture
Five tales where life takes a turn for . . . well, you decide. 

Bed of Thorns - She's rich. She's bored. Time for some excitement. Little does she know where her latest relationship with someone a tad too young and handsome will lead.

In His Shoes - How do you get even when justice isn't served? And if you succeed, what then? In the end life seems to have a way of working these things out for all concerned.

R.I.P. Katherine Colton - A screen siren who committed suicide in 1970 is celebrated even today. But the question lingers. Did she kill herself? This movie star's greatest fan just has to know.

The Miracle - If you want something bad enough -- like being the person you've always admired -- can your wish come true? Maybe so. But not necessarily in the way you think.

Skyglow Undercover - He's sent undercover in what used to be one of New York City's grandest hotels. Problem is, he knows nothing more than that. He'll find out why, all in good time.

​Buy from Amazon


distorted 2

Picture

​Smith's latest collection of short stories on the dark side: 4 paranormal, 3 horror, and 1 crime driven.  Check out the video shorts to learn about the stories. Available on Amazon in paperback or Kindle format.


Websites:  www.Bertabooks.com 
​                   www.RobertaLSmith.com              

                 
Copyright 2025- High Desert Branch of the California Writers Club - All Rights Reserved