Dark Places

This is a review of the movie, not the book. Alas, I have yet to read the book. Written by Gillian Flynn, the author of Gone Girl, I need to check it out, but haven’t. But the movie, peeps! [...]

My rock

Writing about my Feng Shui journey yesterday made me think of my spiritual practices today. As explained yesterday, it is a bit of a mishmosh of all the things I have found comfort in – [...]

Darkness

Recently I learned that someone I care about is having trouble with their teenage child. It’s trouble of the major variety, requiring professional intervention. My heart aches for them. [...]

Drowning

I’m drowning. The water comes up fast, and I know I can’t hold on. Drowning. Then… I can only describe him as an apparition – an angel – a man I’d never seen before and would never see again [...]

1.5 Generation

Yesterday, I heard Chris Cuomo on CNN refer to himself as “second generation American.” Son of the former (now late) governor of New York, Mario Cuomo, and grandson to Italian [...]

Questions from readers

I love getting emails from readers! I try to be good about replying to all of them, although sometimes it takes me a while. This email, from a student who wants to be a writer and is doing a [...]

Long-awaited

Thanks so much to School Library Journal for highlighting THE SECRET SIDE OF EMPTY in their “Libro por libro” section. The article is called “Long-Awaited: YA and memoirs for [...]

Dear City of Lights

So many pixels will be aimed in your direction now, dear Paris. Mine will hardly count. I have kept you in my back pocket, waiting to visit you at the right time. So I don’t even have a [...]

Alone

A few days ago, I read on my town’s email list that an elderly resident had died. Few people had memories to share of him. Some mention was made about his work with the American Legion. [...]

Glammed

At the start of November, I came into a little extra cash. Wanting to offer myself a fun splurge that “keeps on giving,” I contemplated many of the “pick of the [...]

Losing the war

I am losing my war on Christmas. The other day, I walked into my local drugstore, fully three weeks before Thanksgiving. Someone had vomited red stockings and cheap plastic NOEL signs all down [...]

Playing politics

The other night, CNN aired a special about the contested 2000 election between Gore and Bush. My son, who was a zygote in my belly a few weeks old when said election took place and now stands six [...]

‘Tis the season!

Today I got a request for review copies of my book for a big state award. (I’m not sure of the protocol of announcing these things, so for now I shall be very vague). It means nothing [...]