1. I have five older brothers. The difference in ages between the oldest and me is 18 years. Between the youngest and me is 11 years. I was raised more like an only child, since they were all out of the house by the time I was six or seven.
2. I have 13 nieces and nephews. I’m closer in age to my oldest nephew who just turned 34. (I'm 41.)
3. It feels weird to write things like "I'm 41." I don't think it's old (or young, for that matter). It's just an age. But it still feels weird. Of course, I also think the 90s were a decade ago. :)
4. I was a late bloomer and experienced my first kiss a month before I graduated high school. But the kiss had no meaning.
5. My first meaningful kiss happened in the back room of a TCBY in a rest area on the Mass Pike when I was 19 (it sounds a lot shadier than it was...we both worked there). The boy I kissed became my first love. We dated for four years, and we’re still friends today.
6. I was adventurous in other ways, however: I’d gone skydiving, rock rappelling, hot air ballooning, and white water rafting by the time I was 21. Three of those activities I did while I lived in Australia. In my early 20s, I did stand-up comedy (I met and worked with Dane Cook a couple of times!).
7. I became the producer for a Boston radio morning show at the tender age of 21. I was as green as green gets. My program director took a major leap of faith on me, and he taught me more about writing—yes, writing—than anyone had up until that point.
8. I met some interesting people thanks to radio, including Tony Randall (who flirted with me, even though he was a half-century older than I was), Tina Louise (Ginger on Gilligan’s Island), Maureen McCormick from The Brady Bunch (Marcia, Marcia, Marcia!), Donny Osmond, Richard Marx, Rod Stewart, Linda Ronstadt, Paula Cole, Judy Collins, Marion Ross (Mrs. Cunningham, who is a HOOT), Fred the Baker (Dunkin’ Donuts guy), and Debbie Gibson.
9. I’ve been on the air in two countries: US and Australia. In Oz, I had an internship for 2RPH: Radio for the Print Handicapped.
10. I’ve wanted to be a writer ever since I was in fourth grade. I’m happiest when I’m writing.
11. I took the long route to get here (see above detour re: radio).
12. I left radio in 2001 and started my own freelance writing business (which I still do as my day job).
13. While I was building my freelancing career, I cobbled together a bunch of different part-time gigs, including a teaching stint at Mass School of Law. I taught a writing class to first semester law students. The goal was to teach them how to write like real people, not stereotypical lawyers.
14. I felt like a charlatan while I taught, convinced the school had made a mistake when it hired me. How could I teach writing when there was so much I didn't know, so much I needed to learn, so much I hadn't accomplished yet as a writer? That said, the adage turned out to be true: if you want to learn something—truly learn it—then teach it. Nothing improved my writing skills more than teaching others how to write.
15. I got my MFA in Creative Writing from Lesley University in 2008. (Note to apsiring writers: you do NOT need an MFA to write or to become a writer. There are some good reasons for going into a program, but also many smart reasons for staying out. And if you want to know more about my experience, just ask.)
16. I used to be the BIGGEST self-publishing snob on the planet, meaning I swore up and down that I would never, ever self-publish. (Oh, never say never!) Since 2010, however, I've self-published two novels and a handful of short stories. It's been an interesting ride, to say the least. All that said, I'm not a self-publishing evangelist, nor am I against traditional publishing. I think there are many different paths writers can take today (and that's a good thing).
17. Some favorite authors: Jodi Picoult, Chris Bohjalian, Lionel Shriver, David Sedaris, Anne Lamott.
18. What I loved to read as a kid: Anything by Judy Blume, especially Tiger Eyes. Alfred Hitchcock and the Three Investigators series. The Hardy Boys. Sweet Valley High Series (don’t judge). Where the Red Fern Grows by Wilson Rawls. Night by Elie Wiesel. Ten Little Indians by Agatha Christie. The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint Exupéry. “To Build a Fire” by Jack London. “The Veldt” by Ray Bradbury (which made me want to write short stories). The Egypt Game by Zilpha Keatley Snyder. Seventeen magazine (which I started reading when I was around thirteen).
19. Some favorite books and essays: Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout, We Need to Talk about Kevin by Lionel Shriver, My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult, "The Fourth State of Matter" an essay by JoAnn Beard, and almost anything by David Sedaris.
20. One of my favorite places in the whole wide world is Provincetown (P-Town!) on Cape Cod. It’s a dream of mine to write in P-Town for an extended period.
