I began writing before I knew how to write. As a child, I used to draw comic strips and narrate the story to my siblings and cousins. As soon as I learned the alphabet I began writing stories, poems, plays and scripts. I did not choose writing; it had chosen me, presented itself to me […]
Looking back, I suppose you could say that writing has always been a part of my ethos. One of my earliest memories is falling asleep to the sound of my father tapping away on his Olivetti typewriter as he composed his first novel from his office in our small Massachusetts home in the woods. I […]
When I was a kid, the best stories came through my ears, usually during meals—often on “happy” holidays like the Fourth of July. There were certain old relatives who excelled at holding court as it were. I was curious and shy, so I’d listen demurely. Then came school, where reading and writing happened and it struck me to try to […]
I have always been in love with the power of language. As the daughter of refugees, I spoke two: Yiddish and English. It amazed me that different sounds and syllables could mean the same thing, yet carry flavors, nuances, of their origins. I also marveled at the power of the written word. I’d read the […]
Since the time I was very young I wanted to be a writer. I would write poems and stories and even sent off the first five chapters of a novel to a Big Five New York City publishing house when I was ten years old. That was my first badge as a writer – a […]
Before I became a writer, I was on another path entirely, working toward a PhD in infectious disease research. It was interesting enough, I guess, but I was unfulfilled. Science wasn’t so much my passion as it was something I fell into. Early aptitude led to advanced placement, which in turn led me to an […]
Why do I write? I think I owe it all to my mother, an immigrant from China. Although her command of English was shaky, she did enjoy American horror films, and I spent many happy hours as a child, screaming my head off in movie theaters. I thought the height of entertainment was to scare […]
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