Much of who I am is non-standard. My ethnic (kinky/curly) hair. My height. My shoe size. My career choices. The values I inherited from my parents and so much more… Growing up in a philosophically non-standard family heightened my awareness of the general defaults in society and in storytelling, too. Books, films, and TV shows are full of stock characters and standard scenarios. I’m not saying that these cliched plot turns don’t create good stories, I’m just saying that familiarity can breed both comfort and contempt—from saccharine Christmas miracles and femme fatales to waking up in bed with the corpse
Read More

I’m not a gambler. I find the idea weird and intriguing in a story, but in real life I just don’t get it. I’ve played penny Poker (in college) and my mom taught us how to play blackjack on a rainy day at a beach house in my childhood when beach houses didn’t have TVs—let alone a myriad of portable entertainment devices. In general, I think being a writer, being a single woman, dancing Tango, investing in the stock market, and living in New York City is enough risk for me.             Because I’m home recovering from Covid (yup, it’s
Read More

Artists often wonder about “doing too much.” A painter might have the habit of second guessing and adding just another and then another and then another touch of paint until the original lines—the actual strokes of genius with a brush—are buried and blurred in second thoughts. One too many chips in that piece of marble and instead of getting the perfect profile, the subject might lose his nose! I know I’m being silly right now, but there’s a little bit of serious business buried in my over-painted, over-carved, meandering analogy. How do you know how to end a story? Sometimes
Read More

I’ve been having amazing conversations with people about WHERE we are right now in this pandemic adventure and WHEN we are heading toward something closer to the pre-pandemic normal life that all of us long for in our own ways. The conversations are revelatory—in the sense that they are huge billboard-like signposts illustrating the priorities, fears, and hopes of individuals. These conversations don’t answer my personal questions, but they are the building blocks of character. We are what we dream. The limitations imposed by the pandemic put priorities into perspective. We’re all asking ourselves, “Is this what we really want
Read More

I’m back, but this time I’m asking questions. I took some time off from blogging to ponder what’s next. What’s next for me in fiction? What’s next for me in my freelance writing work? What’s next for me in LIFE? And the more I pondered—the more time and space I gave myself to wonder what’s next—the more I questioned everything. All my expectations, plans, and desires were suddenly peppered with question marks. Everything is up in the air. I’m back, but I’m still asking questions and we’ll see where this new approach takes me. I could abandon it and reboot
Read More