About Me!

I was born on May 2 in Flushing, New York, between an older sister and a younger brother and sister. I was very much the middle child: the caretaker, the juggler of personalities. I was, and still am, a big-hearted child with an active sense of humor.

My dad was a writer - and still is - and my mom was a TV star. Mom's show was called "Polly's Play Party." She wore a beautiful princess gown and tiara and read books to kids, interviewed them, played with them . . . until she became pregnant with my older sister and the TV station said that a princess couldn't be pregnant (it was the fifties). Because Mom adored children's literature and had studied it at Bank Street College, we were constantly read to as kids. Our home was filled with the energy of writers, singers, and friends from the Met.

As a child, I adored all living creatures, especially cats. My first book, written at the age of ten, was called The Cat Who Loved Green Peas. I also danced, sang, acted, and played classical piano. I had the joy of playing Maria in "West Side Story," Miss Marion in "The Music Man," and Anne Frank in "The Diary of Anne Frank," for which I received a Best Actress Award at a state-level competition. My friends from my high-school years say that I saw the world in a way that was unique to me. This is what I hope to express through my writing.

I've lived all over the country, but now live near Mystic, Connecticut. When I'm not writing, I work part-time at The Toy Soldier, an old-fashioned, wonderful toy store in Olde Mistick Village. The store is a very special place, and always an inspiration for my writing. Especially when the village ducks parade up and down the sidewalks.

Of all my former jobs, the one that allowed me to be the most creative was Baa Creations, my business of designing and creating appliqueing children's clothing and baby gifts. Hours spent alone at the sewing machine allowed my mind to wander. During these moments, characters started to come to me. I have a box full of scribbled notes on tiny pieces of paper, some in the shape of ducks, bears, etc. - whatever design I was appliqueing at the time. Many of these characters are now in my current manuscripts. It was as if the stories were being written in my subconscious while I sewed.

I was a dancer for many years (tap, jazz, and my favorite, modern dance), until an unexpected injury forced me to quit dancing. While dealing with this, I found my way to writing. I learned to dance again, only this time on paper. I used to need to dance to breathe. I now must write in order to breathe.

LITTLE-KNOWN FACTS ABOUT ME:

• My great-great aunt is Kate Langley Bosher, a famous novelist from the twenties.
• I once worked with a photographer on a shoot for alphabet-soup labels. My job was to mix the soup and carefully move the alphabet letters around until they were where he wanted them.
• I met and spent time with Miep Gies (whose house in which the Frank family hid from the Nazis) during the time I was playing Anne Frank in my high school's production of "Anne Frank."
• I love when plants begin to break through the ground in spring. I see hope.
• Our backyard has hosted an albino deer, regular deer, raccoon triplets, skunks, and possums in need of rescuing from the tops of bird feeders - yes, we rescued them - hawks, birds, and owls, which I hoot to in the evening. They will mimic back the number of hoots I call out.
• I have chased and caught a family of shoplifters. Heart pumping, I ran on mere gut, and when I stood in the parking lot I realized what I had gotten myself into, but followed through anyway. Among other toys and collectibles, our shop's stuffed armadillo had to be rescued.
• I have stopped traffic to help turtles cross the road. I also once chased my cat until she released the chipmunk she had in her mouth. At that point, I contacted animal rescue. They arrived within the hour with a real monkey dressed in a safari outfit. He had an entire wardrobe in the back of their van.

MY HONORS:

I have been honored in The Tassy Walden Awards: New Voices in Children's Literature (sponsored by Barnes & Noble) three times. If Daddy Were a Dinosaur was a picture book finalist in 2009. Also in 2009, one of my middle-grade novels, Emma Jean Goes Green (now called Ibbie-Rae Paves the Way) received an honorable mention.

MY WRITING INSPIRATION AND PROCESS:

It was my father who continually encouraged me to write. For years I jotted down notes on scraps of paper - lines of dialogue, character's names, thoughts on stories, etc. - but I never did anything more with my writing until January 2007, when I finally picked up a pen and opened my heart. I have not stopped writing since.

I have often woken up in the middle of the night - disturbing my husband, our two cats, and dog - because I've seen a "movie" in my sleep: a skunk, a rhinoceros, a duck, etc. Usually, first thing in the morning, I hurry to type out what I saw in my dream. Then, I let the document sit for a few weeks. After that, I begin to revise what the characters told me. I am inspired by children, elderly people, and animals.

How do I know when I am ready to write? It starts with energy, a feeling in my gut, an itching in my fingers. Ideas spin in my very busy head until one whisper is louder than the other. I pace in the hall, grab a cup of coffee. The energy begins to work itself up my spine and down my arms, and then, when I can't delay anymore, the tingling that has now traveled up into my head seeps onto the keys of the computer or the paper. I enter the world and let go. When I finally look up, four hours have passed. It is magical. It is invigorating. It is pure joy.

My advice to others? "It is never too late to dream. Always reach higher. Never, ever, give up. There is joy to experience or witness every day. Always keep your heart and windows open to those moments. Be a child."