Suprise Me

As a historical novelist, I love doing research. I can and do lose days at a time finding and reading background information from which facts, or a sense of place or time will emerge to inform my story. I am often asked where I learned about the story in my recently published novel, Even in… Read More

Sometimes, as in the case of my high school math class, time stopped. Read More

Namekagon river, Wisconsin What could be more glorious than a weekend on the Namakagon River in Wisconsin? A group of female nurses, myself, my 12-year-old daughter and her friend, Emily,  drove under a bright sky across rich agricultural land through the St. Croix river’s national forest finally stopping at a roadside rest over the river.… Read More

I have never been on a diet. I don’t say this to brag, just stating a fact. I have no idea how many calories are in anything. I have never read a diet book or listened to a diet guru. I eat whatever I want to, and stop when I feel full. Yet I have… Read More

Getting Lost I must admit I have a poor sense of direction,  but luckily my husband has a very good one,  and he seldom gets us lost.   And on the rare occasions we do get lost,  he’s willing to stop and ask directions,  unlike my rather stubborn father.  (See 17 Gas Stations) But I… Read More

Noah R,  Noah G,  and Noah L Three Noahs As you may know it’s traditional in Jewish families to give children the names or initials of loved-ones who have died.   And so when we were expectant parents we planned to name the baby after my late father-in-law whose name was Naftali. My woman’s intuition… Read More

As an added bonus, Jiminy Cricket taught me how to spell "encyclopedia." Read More

Frances Henne I’ve been inspired by many fine teachers over the years but the one who influenced me most was Frances Henne, my professor at Columbia’s graduate library school. Not a household name and surely not recognizable outside her field,   Dr Henne was a mover and a shaker in the children’s and young adult… Read More

What sounds will the next generation simulate? The silence of eyes staring at screens? Read More

What line must be crossed for there to be no inappropriate time or place? Read More