Inspiration
Lessons From My Daughter
My daughter is smarter than I am. She’s three. I realized that I was outmanned and outgunned during a recent nap-battle. She wanted to wear a large, pink translucent bucket on her head while she napped. I objected, then compromised by leaving it on a near-by shelf. A few minutes later, over the baby monitor,…
Read MoreIt's Not Fair
“Can cats open doors?” Ocean wanted to know this morning, as she watched a neighborhood stray preening on our deck. “No,” I told her. “They can’t.” “Why not?” “For a lot of reasons – they’re not tall or strong enough, they don’t have hands, and they’re not very smart.” “Oooh!” she said in dismay. “It’s…
Read MoreEnough Stuffs
I was in Target late last week. Again. I feel like we spend a lot of time there. Not that I’m complaining. I LOVE seeing my books there. They, among others, have been huge supporters of my paperbacks. And I am very grateful for that. But prior to my move to Florida from New York…
Read MoreFive Weeks in Paris
My family and I spent five weeks in Paris this summer. It was a dazzling experience and a much needed disconnect from everyday life. I did a lot of writing while I was there, both on my next novel and also simply recording my thoughts and observations on a truly stunning, vibrant city. Of course,…
Read MoreChanges
I’ve said on an earlier post and in several interviews that I could not have written BLACK OUT if it weren’t for my daughter. Motherhood changed me, naturally. How could it not? It changed my view of the world, and so it changed my writing. It also made me more paranoid than ever before –…
Read MoreEnemy At The Baby Gate
Like generals heading into battle my husband Jeffrey and I prepared for every possible condition in readying ourselves for the arrival of our daughter. Overwhelmed by the horror stories of those who’d headed into the fray before us, there was no attack — from colic to breastfeeding issues, from sleep deprivation to sexual starvation —…
Read MoreBooks That Changed My Life
Late last year I was asked to write a piece for The Sun-Herald in Victoria, Australia about the books that changed my life. I have loved so many types of books since I was a child that I found this very difficult – as though I’d been asked to say which people in my life…
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