My Story…Well, Some of It Anyway.

In the Beginning: Born in Massachusetts, nearly delivered in traffic on the way to the hospital.

Siblings: Only child for first 20 years of my life, when my dad and stepmom adopted a beautiful baby boy named Andrew, who now has two kids of his own!

Dream: I wanted to be a comedy writer for Mad magazine or Saturday Night Live which I watched on the lowdown in the 70s. Created my own magazine and called it COOL. Made duplicate copies so I could share with the college students whose apartment was a floor above mine. Looking back, did I just want to be Tina Fey before she existed? Hey Tina, let's talk?

Reading: Nearly every book in the Woburn Public Library kids’ section in the 1970s. Used to take out books ten at a time and then read them in one sitting. Favorites: Encyclopedia Brown, Robert McCloskey’s One Morning in Maine and Blueberries for Sal, T.S. White Once and Future King, E.B. White Charlotte’s Web, Winnie the Pooh, Little House on the Prairie, From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler, and any biography I could get my hands on.

Obscure injuries: Knock wood–I have never broken an arm or a tibia or anything like that. But I do have three cool scars over my right eye from where my face collided with a wall; where I tripped over a chair into a desk (second grade–and hey, I was pushed!); and where a miniature golf club made unfortunate contact with my eyeglasses–and eyeball.

Writing: When I was in second and third grade I worked diligently on my very first story called Harry & Me. I have no idea who Harry was supposed to be (many characters we write are inspired by real peeps in our life, but Harry was a mishmash of everyone I knew). I wrote it during recess. 

Wannabe actress: Born a ham; always a ham. When I was in high school, I won a Shakespeare recitation competition competing in NYC. The judging panel included theater legends Helen Hayes and Rosemary Harris! Also competed nationally in public speaking tournaments/ forensics competitions, too, in the category of Dramatic Interpretation. As a senior in high school I wrote and directed a short play called Lost Until Now.

Writer/illustrator inspo: Two words: Judy Blume. And seven more words confirmed it: Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret. Incredibly, I was lucky enough to meet and work with Judy on a freelance project. Fave fact about Judy: She is one of the biggest anti-censorship advocates.

First book I wrote: Scooby Doo’s Guide to Life. Ruh roh! Yes, I was paid in Scooby snacks.

School: Graduated from Columbia College, Columbia University with a B.A. in English. I was the third class of women accepted at the school. It went co-ed in 1983. Most of my best college buds I met the very first week of college. They’re FFL: friends for life.

Jobs before my big job: Babysitter, waitress, barista, switchboard-operator, real estate listings agent, receptionist, the list goes on. Then I sent my resume in response to an ad in the NY Times; and landed a job in the Publisher’s Office at Bantam Books. Our office building was at 666 Fifth Avenue around the corner from Rockefeller Center, which was a truly cool place to work.

Greatest inspiration: eavesdropping on unsuspecting strangers; analyzing dreams; re-reading old diaries; my three kiddos; science documentaries; baroque music; and my readers (of course!)

Best advice I ever got about writing: “Trust Laura and her perceptions of things.” My college adviser wrote that on a file card for me more than 30 years ago, I still have the coffee-stained and torn card framed on my desk.

Terrible habit: Lateness. It drives everyone I know crazy, including me.

Gets my writing motor humming: rainstorms; highly competitive games of Scrabble and Wordle; crossword puzzles; true crime podcasts; libraries; and iced espressos with extra ice.