My blog

The first time it happened, I honestly thought it was a Democratic National Committee or Obama email trying to be funny.  You know how Obama’s emails sometimes come from other people, like [...]

I have officially found my new favorite study. It says this:  more intelligent people stay up later than less intelligent people.  Finally, some researchers that make me feel good about a habit [...]

I’m so excited to be appearing on a panel this coming Saturday at the Writers Digest conference in New York City!  But besides being jazzed about participating, I’m also really [...]

There it was: faux leather so good it looked just like the real thing: varying shades of rich brown, buttery (if vaguely plastic-y) feel and nice bounce-back.  The best part was that the couch [...]

Hello loves.  To you who read with regularity, big smooch and thank you.  I have been totally neglecting you and for that I am sorry.  Here’s my feeble half-excuse/half-story: First, I went [...]

My gorgeous iris garden gave beautiful flowers this year.  However, the rhizomes I bought three years ago multiplied and grew, so I knew it was getting to be time to dig them up and divide them [...]

The other day, a report of a sexual assault in our town’s recreation center came through on our discussion list.  Despite its proximity to New York City, mine is a sleepy town of 8,000 [...]

I went to my mom’s house yesterday and found her cleaning out her garage.  Although I’ve had my house almost 15 years now, somehow she still had a few of my old boxes of stuff from [...]

The other day I went to register at one of those sites that requires that you choose security questions in case you forget your password.  I have always found these vexing, but as they wander [...]

What’s nerdy and bookish and Tweets all over?  Me!  Follow me on Twitter since I’m on there more than I am on here.  (Usually, kinda).  Click here.

Only eight days left until THE SECRET SIDE OF EMPTY is released in audio format.  If you prefer to listen to your books instead of lug around paper, then now’s your chance to hear this [...]

What do Harlan Coben, Jacquelyn Mitchard and me have in common?  We’ll all be speaking at the Writers Digest Conference in New York City in August (although I doubt they’ve reserved [...]

I am so humbled and grateful for the great support School Library Journal has shown THE SECRET SIDE OF EMPTY.  From including it in its “What’s Hot in YA” list to writing a [...]

… I will meet you there. I am loving me some Rumi right now.  Here’s the whole thing: Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing and rightdoing, there is a field. I will meet you there.When the [...]

I start my new job on July 28th.  I’m so excited on many levels (it’s Director-level, I am really loving the vibe of the place, they recruited me, the work sounds awesome), but most [...]

Color me happy!  I’ve finished writing book # 2.  Of course, when I say “finished writing it” I mean it is now a cohesive story and what an editor would probably consider a [...]

If you haven’t yet had a chance to buy your copy, you can check out whether THE SECRET SIDE OF EMPTY is a book for you by reading the first chapter.  This fun sneak peak from Google Books [...]

If I could curl up in this position, I would probably never leave the house. #ferretpictures  

For years I have been in love with garden follies.  What are garden follies, you ask?  They are magical structures often meant to look like old ruins but which are just decorative little bits of [...]

You may recall that last year I wrote a post about the sharp decline of the monarch butterfly and what home gardeners can do to help stop it.  (Click here to see that piece). What I did was find [...]

With child migrants in the news, I was happy to see this great list of books for kids and teens about migrants and immigration impact on author Meg Medina’s website.  I was even happier to [...]

Here is what is tickling my fancy this summer: The Leftovers – a new HBO series based on the Tom Perrotta novel.  I have a quirky connection to Tom Perrotta (see below for the story), so I [...]

Every place I’ve visited on my book tour has been special.  Atlas DIY was special in a unique way and I will always remember the evening I spent there. Atlas DIY is a wonderful non-profit [...]

I have kind of fallen asleep on the job of posting about all the great times I’ve had on my book tour.  Here is a great picture of me at Moravian Bookstore in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.  They [...]

My first novel came out in March.  With excellent trade reviews and a timely “hook” (immigration) it was easier for me to book appearances than it is for the average new author.  So [...]

So you want to build your author site.  Congratulations!  It’s a great treat to put your writing out in the world and have others respond.  But if you’re like a lot of writers, the thought of [...]