About Me as a Writer

I have always loved books and reading. The first thing I ever wanted to be was a librarian.  

I remember walking into the library for the first time and being totally amazed -- shelf after shelf of books, all waiting to be read. I thought if I was a librarian, I could live in the library with the books. Then I realized that there were people who wrote the books on the shelves, and I wanted to be one of them. 

Mrs. Azzolini, my fifth grade teacher in Elizabeth, New Jersey, was the first person to suggest that I might want to be a writer.  The next thing I knew, I was writing a novel.  But every time I made a mistake, I got a new notebook and started all over again. That’s a trap new writers fall into -- thinking things have to be perfect before they move on.  First drafts are bad and messy and full of cross outs.  It’s part of the process.  That’s what revision is for!

Other teachers encouraged me over the years, especially  Mr. Zarzecki and Mr. Hollar at West Milford Township High School. In college, at Syracuse University, I majored in journalism and English literature.  That’s where I learned how to do research and write on deadline. And for my English lit classes I read and read and read -- the most important training a writer can have.  

After college I moved to New York City and got a job in book publishing and thought I would write “one day.”  Finally, twenty years later, I realized that one day was never going to come along unless I made it happen.  So I started getting up early in the morning to write before I went to work. And eventually, I was able to make my dream come true.  I quit my job to write full time.  And now I get to work at home in my pajamas!  What could be better than that?

But I did miss working with writers. Visit my book coaching page to learn about how I help writers bring their books to life.