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!