I began writing fiction nine years ago after waving good-bye to a career writing advertising copy, which many people consider to be fiction.  I’ve always felt a need to express myself creatively although the expression has taken different forms. Before my creativity-meets-business foray into the ad world, I was an actress. (No, you wouldn’t have seen me in anything unless you attended a lot of equity-waiver theatre in L.A.)

As a new fiction and, subsequently, nonfiction writer, I’ve latched onto whatever themes and subjects have caught my attention and were most familiar to me: women’s rites of passage, changes in my own life, the survival and demise of relationships, my family, and growing up in the 50s and 60s in a small, mid-western, ethnic, working-class city. Venturing further afield, I’m especially intrigued by tales of middle-aged women “gone wild” and their explorations of singlehood and sexuality, the parent-child dynamic over time, and strange or mentally disturbed behavior. Overall, my work is often characterized by the juxtaposition of the comic and tragic. And that’s how I view life. The humorous thankfully bumps up against the horrific. If it didn’t, I’m not sure how we’d survive.

I’m no longer a youngster, but the continuous sense of discovery I experience as a writer and the joy that tickles me as my skill grows and my work evolves makes me feel like a child, eyes wide open to the universe. I’ve been fortunate to be part of a community of writers who inspire and encourage me. Sharing work, teaching, and learning from each other rocks!