Has it been a year? Are you sure? It seems just yesterday that we started our debutante year. I had no idea how funny and wonderful the debs are–or how much I would enjoy their writing. I still had ambitious plans for a west coast tour. I was busy trying to assimilate all the information I was getting from more experienced writers about the do’s and don’ts of book touring…
I used to think I was highly organized and extremely disciplined. I finished a screenplay every year. I regularly went through my closets and bookshelves and gave away stuff I no longer wanted or used. Birthday cards got mailed, and Christmas shopping got done. I kept neat to do lists. Everything was under control. And then I had a kid. Here’s what I learned post-child: sometimes it’s better to go…
When I was twelve years old, I won a Desert Island Disks contest on the radio. They picked my letter out of the stack (I deliberately used some garish stationary) and played my five favorite songs on the radio. The prize? Tickets to see Los Lobos at a time I couldn’t go. Oh, well. It was a thrill to be picked. As to what songs were on the list, I…
My first book came out this year—POSED FOR MURDER. Despite all the excitement around my anticipated debut, Oprah did not call me and ask me to come on her show. I did, however, appear on a local TV show in Fairfax. The experience reminded me why I went to film school in the first place. I like to be behind the camera (directing preferably) rather then in the hot seat….
When faced with a choice, I usually gravitate to “neither.” I really don’t like to be categorized or to think of everything as black and white or either/or. And so my answer to whether I’m an introvert, an extrovert or neither is, as it is with many other choices, “it depends.” Introvert? Let’s see… I like to spend time alone. I need to spend a little time alone everyday (a…
The interesting thing about being a writer is how many opinions people have about writing as a career. Maybe it’s because most people have had to write something in their life—an essay in school, a letter to get a job, an email to complain about service at a hotel—and they think they know something about the “writing life.” Here are some of my favorite writing myths: Writing is easy. This…
When my husband and I first lived together, he hung his own art up on our walls. But everytime he sold something or had a show, our walls would suddenly be blank. It was depressing to see all those bare nails. I finally put my foot down, and that’s when we started collecting our own art. We don’t collect expensive art or art by world famous artists (at least not…
I’ve always been very independent. I need some time alone everyday to decompress (and write). I like to do things myself, and hate being told what to do. And then I married someone as independent as I am. He is equally as bossy and opinionated. He needs time alone in his studio everyday. But we’ve managed to muddle along. We know to give each other space, and we like to…
There are those few moments in life so huge that by passing through them, you become someone different. You become a new version of you. And no matter what you told yourself before the event, it wouldn’t matter. You’d probably still charge ahead and do it. Graduation. Marriage. Childbirth. Book deal. Buying a house. Moving. So one day you’re a college student, a single person, a struggling writer, a renter—and…
I love funny books. Not ones that are archly funny, always examining whether or not they’re funny all the time, but ones that seem to effortlessly reveal a hilarious new angle on life. I enjoy David Sedaris (his description of taking French in Paris is the best) and Bill Bryson’s take on American culture. They often are laughing at themselves as much as the people around them. And I always…
