My blog

Lately I’ve gotten into the habit of joking that I have a charmed life.  It can certainly seem that way, with my healthy family, good, steady income, comfortable house and the achievement [...]

Today is my eldest child’s fifteenth birthday. The birthdays of my offspring make me think about a lot of things, ranging from what the appropriate present might be to planning the [...]

Have you ever wished that there was a resource to help readers find children’s and teen stories that are about more than blond princesses and white action heroes?  So have the folks over at [...]

I love snow.  I love it slightly less since I became a home owner 15 years ago, since it involves some logistical hassle. But it still captivates the dreamer in me. I grew up in New Jersey, so I [...]

Last night I had dinner in Manhattan with friends from my old job.  It was a great time, but, more than that, it was a great moment to reflect on how much life can change in a few short months. [...]

Howdy, sugar plums. Here’s one of my wishes: I hope 2015 is the year I finally go to Cuba. Here’s why: I am not Cuban or even descended from Cubans. But I did grow up in Hudson [...]

I’ve been neglecting you, lovies. My apologies! I’ve been soooo busy. But it’s all been fun busy, I promise. First, I’ve scheduled a bunch of events this spring, so go [...]

I have a serious love affair with leather-bound journals.  I love paper in general and can geek out for an hour even in the stationary aisle of a CVS.  It’s a lifelong thing.  Take me to [...]

I rarely get to see anything anew anymore.  I remember the feeling from childhood, the absolute wonder of seeing something for the first time.  I have memories of staring at ant hills for what [...]

We’ve all heard the statistic that women earn 70 cents for every dollar that men earn.  Many arguments are made to try and explain it away, saying that women opt out of the work-force [...]

My first completed manuscript was a memoir I have since (temporarily, I hope) shelved.  It didn’t sell for a variety of reasons, chief among them that it was pretty poorly written. If the [...]

I am awash in words. Words I write. Words I read. I’m on a writing retreat with nothing to do but think about language, lush, rich, flinty, cruel, imprecise and taunting. It’s [...]

Just when you think the world can’t surprise you, it does.  Today it surprised me in a way so simple and so moving it brought tears to my eyes. Over the weekend I was running some errands [...]

2015 has proven interesting so far. I rang it in with my favorite people.  They went ahead and facilitated the biggest drunken stupor I’ve been in since Clinton was in office.  I rarely [...]