Writing

I am tired of seeing parents on TV crying about their gunned-down children. I am tired of hearing people say that we really should do something about guns in this country after every horrific [...]

Besides all the usual Memorial Day weekend activities (a parade, visiting my mom, hanging out with friends), I had an amazing weekend. The reason? I wrote 15,000 words on my work in progress. To [...]

After the craziness that was May I told myself that at least I’d have June and the rest of the summer to relax. Then I looked at my calendar and realized I have a bunch of events coming up. [...]

Throughout my life, I have been a certified book snob.  I think it began when I was 16 and I convinced the conservative English teacher in my little Catholic school to let me, a virginal junior, [...]

My visit to Wood-Ridge High School yesterday was so cool! We had a long chat about the book and life and writing… it was awesome. I met so many great teens I hope I’ll get to see [...]

When I get my hands on the crazy person who thought it would be cool to book me for 5 high-intensity book promotion events in 6 days, as well as throwing in a little session of scrubbing down my [...]

Audible has bought the audio rights to THE SECRET SIDE OF EMPTY.  The audio recording happened last week.  I was fortunate  to get to exchange emails with the talented Eileen Stevens, who did the [...]

I did not take naturally to motherhood. It’s not that I didn’t want it or didn’t adore my children. I did. The idea that I made people was instantly mind-blowing. The trouble [...]

There are just a few chances to catch me locally until I take a break from book promotion for (most) of the summer.  I hope to meet you at a reading or panel.  Here’s what’s coming up [...]

The audio version of THE SECRET SIDE OF EMPTY begins recording tomorrow!  I’ve had correspondence with the audio “talent” that will do the reading, and she is amazing.  More [...]

I went to Barnes and Noble yesterday for a quick boost. I always find that being among that many books increases my urgency to write. I needed new reading material (and… oops, did I get [...]

The recipe for writing success, I’m learning, is to first ask yourself what you mean by “success.” Here are some thoughts on that:  

There is a lot of talk about the need to represent more diversity in books.  Although it’s been a major focus for years, people of different ethnicities, sexual orientations and physical [...]

Booklist just posted their review of THE SECRET SIDE OF EMPTY and it’s good!  Written with insight and compassion by reviewer Jeanne Fredriksen, it gives a good overview of the [...]

Yesterday I spoke at a high school with a predominantly Latino student body.  It was the school where New Jersey’s Dream Act was signed by our governor, in an economically disadvantaged [...]

Where to start?  From the awesome leather chair that they set up for me on the stage of their amazing theater, to the great breakfast/reception they had ready for when I arrived to everything in [...]

When I was in high school in Union City, New Jersey, there was a rundown old place called Roosevelt Stadium.  I don’t know when it was used as a stadium, because back then it just looked [...]

This past Saturday I sat on a panel with some big names in publishing.  Besides being honored, I also enjoyed hearing the advice they had for the many writers (published and aspiring) in the [...]

This morning I did something that anyone who knows me knows I would not normally do voluntarily

There are lots of great “firsts” when you publish a novel. Tonight was another cool one: a reader created the first-ever video review of THE SECRET SIDE OF EMPTY. I love it. Check it [...]

I am by no means a Twitter maven. I’m still figuring out hash tags and @ mentions. However, even I could have warned the NYPD’s social media managers that they should probably not [...]

I often wonder if people who meant something to me ever remember me.  Few things bring me more joy than a phone call from an old friend recalling something I said or did a long time ago that [...]

Hello dears. What have I been up to, you ask?  (You don’t?  Telling you anyway). Website:  I have been remiss in my posting, but it’s all for a good cause.  Have you noticed the new [...]

Today is Teen Literature Day, which means it’s time to #rockthedrop What is #RocktheDrop?  It’s the day when you grab a young adult book you think someone might like to read, print a [...]

It’s nice when five minutes of talking results in a bunch of money being donated to a worthy cause.  It was my pleasure to go speak to the Unitarian Society of Ridgewood on April 6th and [...]

We’re giving away a one-of-a-kind, annotated version of THE SECRET SIDE OF EMPTY, full of margin scribbles by moi.  Notes on inspiration, behind-the-scenes info and just doodles in the [...]

People, there is SNOW ON MY DAFFODILS ON APRIL 15th.  Make that ten minutes into the 16th.  Do I live in Alaska?  The Arctic Circle?  NO.  Gardening hardiness zone 6B, meaning… Forget what [...]

Happy Tax Day for those of you in the U.S. Three things are inescapable in the life of a writer: death, taxes, and dissatisfaction with how much one has written.  Today, at the halfway mark of [...]

Anyone who knows me knows I am a dismal cook.  Start with a forgetfulness that requires timers to keep from burning things and a low tolerance for failure and drudgery and what you get is someone [...]

Castilleja School Library in northern California categorizes THE SECRET SIDE OF EMPTY as a book for fans of John Green.  (Author decides she can finally die happy).  Their blurb:  “If you [...]