I became a professional writer at the age of ten when the generous owner of a children’s dress shop paid me four dollars for a four-line poem advertising her establishment. The moment is what’s called an “inciting incident.” It gave me confidence to write more poems, then essays, then a column in my local newspaper … Read more

As writers, we’re told not to write to the market, but to write what we know, what we love. It’s safer, they say, because markets change quickly. What’s popular today might have waned by the time our book comes out. My favorite phrase relating to this advice is, “Vampires are dead.” Yup, they certainly are. … Read more

Judging from the number of texts I receive, as compared to the number of actual phone calls, I suspect texting has replaced calling as the most popular form of communication. Or miscommunication. And that’s why I’m blogging about it. Texts are words without inflection, read without emphasis on any one word. You don’t know what … Read more

August is Romance Awareness Month and I was going to write about romance. But there’s a problem. I’m not feeling very romantic these days So I checked the Twitter hashtag trends yesterday and found lots of other topics. Two were related to romance. National Girlfriend’s Day and National Night Out Day. Hmm. Sounds like they’re … Read more

I can never remember a time without a pet. At one time we had eight cats—not legal in Sonoma, CA unless you live out on a ranch or vineyard property. Fortunately, we lived on five acres with a portion planted in zinfandel grapes. Yup, we made wine. Not great wine. Drinkable-now wine. With food. Lots … Read more