Her breathing deepened and quickened into staccato gasps for breath she tried to control. But she could not. Instead, they overpowered her. The gasps burst out into anguished tears that she had held back too long. Skip a few lines to the next sequence in this scene: Her mother, who had never been able to…
The inspiration for the book came to me during my senior year in high school, (which was a very long time ago.) A friend got pregnant and decided to keep the baby and get married once she graduated high school. As the writer’s mind often wanders into the “what if,” I wondered what would have…
Last year, I was having a glass of wine with my editor who wanted to know what was next for me. I told her, I’d thought about writing a sequel to The Wisdom of Hair, but I wasn’t thrilled with the storyline that had my protagonist barefoot and pregnant when the first novel had ended…
When my sister and I first agreed to collaborate on a story, we constructed one similar to what we loved to read at the time—stories about women, their emotional lives, and the choices they make in life. Our first characters were three sisters—beautiful, blonde, rich, and American. The story was a struggle and we realized…
A lunch date with a friend about two years ago birthed the idea for my latest novel, THE SILVER LOCKET. Patty and I had known each other for about five years and shared a number of common interests but it wasn’t until that particular lunch date that Patty confided her story to me. Growing up…
I always enjoyed business-related writing and thought a non-fiction self-help book, with life-lessons I learned along the way, would be a fun project. But, as often happens when you put yourself out there, I discovered another path and took it: I developed a TV pilot about New York in the seventies because, as they say…
It’s been said that every author has a story they need to tell. After years of submissions I had finally been signed by a traditional publisher. They’d released two of my novels when I submitted Solo. Since they primarily published commercial fiction I had my doubts since it was intense, edgy— even a bit on…
In the Mirror is the story of young mom Jennifer Benson – a woman who has it all: a successful career, a perfect husband, two kids, and abundant friendships. The only problem is she may be dying. In the Mirror was inspired by a beautiful, intelligent, giving, perfect young mother I had the pleasure to…
It was a cold, miserable February day when my girlfriend, a mother of 5 and a full time surgical nurse walked into my house and stated, as a matter of fact, that life could not continue until I put on my coat and proceed with her to Barnes and Noble to buy a book. Because…
I had always dreamed of visiting Italy. Who hasn’t? The art, the architecture, the romance of the Italian language, the food, the wine, the shopping, and all the beautiful people. La bella vita. Two years ago, I finally got the chance. It was a very last-minute decision, one that hinged on the arrival of a…
The Story Behind the Book 