Blog

My apologies for the long hiatus from the blog! Life and illness and a day job and all sorts of things derailed me. But today warrants a post about gratitude. As I celebrate my birthday, I’m reminded of what an extraordinary year I’ve had since last October 21. The two biggest milestones were signing with my agent, JL Stermer, and the sale of my YA contemporary, FACING FIRE, to Albert Whitman and Company. But I’m especially grateful for everyone who has supported me since I first started writing fiction six years ago: my amazing critique partners and beta readers; Jenni... Read More0

In the past five years, I’ve written four books. I’ve had some low periods (really low periods) when I thought this day would never come. But as this dream unfolds, I am grateful for the many family members and friends who always maintained that it wasn’t “if,” it was “when.” So, here it is… One very persistent story idea that refused to leave me in peace. One agent and her assistant who took a chance on a dark, yet hopeful, story. One enthusiastic editor who convinced her editorial board that the book needed to be published.1

I’m a foodie – I love to cook, bake and eat; I collect cookbooks and leaf through them for fun; I visit epicurious.com more often than most websites. As a reader and a writer, I find it fascinating when food is central to the plot. Is food plentiful or not, and why? Do meals reflect the state or region? Do the foods featured give us an idea of the character’s upbringing? Are meals used as a device to bring characters together? I just finished reading “The Dinner” by Herman Koch. The entire book takes place at a restaurant over the... Read More0

I recently signed with literary agent JL Stermer of the N.S. Bienstock agency. (Cue the confetti and cheers and champagne!)  Writers understand exactly what this milestone means — that it often takes years of writing, and sometimes writing more than one book, to land an agent. They also understand being represented by an agent is just the beginning. It’s a little harder to explain to non-writers. In sharing my news, I’ve stirred up a mess of confusion that I feel obligated to clear up. Signing with an agent does not mean I have a book deal. In today’s publishing world,... Read More0

A work colleague of mine from years ago used to write a wish (dream, goal, intention) on a piece of paper and tuck it away in the back of a drawer. It was a mindful and purposeful way of telling the Universe what she wanted. It’s not a new concept. Visualization, meditation, lists, journal entries, vision boards, intention boards all help us clarify what we want from life (in a career, in a partner, in friends).  My sister faithfully creates vision boards each new moon. Now before you react to the woo-woo-ness of that, let’s look at what such boards... Read More0

“Truth is stranger than fiction, but it is because fiction is obliged to stick to possibilities; truth isn’t.” – Mark Twain My husband and I saw the movie “Gravity” recently because it received such great reviews (top critics rated it 100 percent fresh on RottenTomatoes.com).  My husband is an aerospace engineer with a background in orbital mechanics (how things move in space).  After the movie, I asked him if there were any blatant errors in science and he said, “Pretty much everything.” Still, that didn’t completely ruin his movie-going experience because it was an interesting story.   We tend to give... Read More0