I’m a journalist and author who also has worked as a bookseller, bartender, and barista (all great jobs for gathering material for fiction). My first novel, House and Home, was published by Hyperion in 2008. I’ve written articles for The New York Times, The Washington Post, Good Housekeeping, Ladies Home Journal, and USA Weekend, as well as HGTV.com, where I was a regular columnist. Right now I teach writing as an adjunct professor at American University in Washington, D.C., and live in northern Virginia with my husband and two daughters.
Little known facts about me that may (or may not) surprise my friends:
· At age 12 I was briefly considered for the lead role in “The Exorcist,” until my mother found out what the movie was about. (Mom had a friend who was a casting agent.)
· I majored in comparative religion in college and don’t regret it a single bit.
· I attended law school for a semester at Union University in Albany, which was very helpful in focusing my awareness on how much I did not want to be a lawyer.
· I interviewed Michael Jordan when I was two months pregnant and came perilously close to barfing on his expensive leather shoes (but didn’t!).
· I’m a very fast walker.
· I can do thirty push-ups (real ones!)