what I’m working on now:
I’m working on a new novel, tentatively titled The Truth About Gossip and a new dating book.  Both will be out in 2009.

how I became a writer:
I’m pretty sure I was born one  (although, I may have been brainwashed while in the womb – my Grandma Vernie always said she wanted a writer in the family.) That said, there’s a bit of distance between having the ability to put words together and actually making a living from it. I recommend that anyone wanting to write books starts by getting the best writing job you can swing (newspaper, magazine, advertising copywriter) where you are surrounded by, and hopefully supervised by, writers who are far better than you are.  Learn everything you can.

about writer’s block:
I don’t believe in it.  Some days I write crap, and some days writing is blissful, smooth and easy.  What separates working writers from wannabe writers is sticking it out, getting it done, whether your muse is on vacation or not.

how I found my agent:
My first agent found me.  I found my current agent, Jenny Bent at Trident, after a long process of researching the agents and agencies representing my favorite authors in my genre.    (Yes, I basically scoured the acknowledgments sections of my favorite books in my genre.) I made a list of five “dream agents” and Jenny Bent was on that list.  She read my manuscript and loved it, a few days later she was my agent.

My favorite writers:
Anything by Jane Austen, Delia Ephron, Nora Ephron, Jennifer Weiner, Sophie Kinsella, Oscar Wilde, Jane Green. I loved Freakonomics for the writing.  I love Eats, Shoots and Leaves for the punctuation stickers in the back. Liberating Paris by Linda Bloodworth Thomason was a revelation, and Michael Alvear, Lisa Earle McLeod and Lenore Skenazy crack me up.

to outline, or not to outline:
I use a rough outline that includes basic character sketches and a general idea of the action.  I also use a technique called “storyboarding” which I stole from Janet Evanovich.  Actually, I read about it in her book, How I Write, just about the time I was stuck in the middle of writing Fifteen Minutes. (27 scenes floating around in my head, and no idea what order they should go in.) Storyboarding is a film and television technique for laying out scenes.  Since I’d used storyboarding for most of my advertising career in writing TV spots, it made perfect sense to me. Now, I write all the scenes on a giant whiteboard in my office, which makes it easier to figure out what happens to each character, in what order.

will I blurb your book?
That depends.  For legal reasons, I cannot review unpublished manuscripts. That said, if you have a published or about-to-be-published book you’d like me to blurb, please send me a note.

mac or pc?
I have been working on macs since college – mac is the computer of choice for most ad agencies and production houses, and I spent the early part of my career as a copywriter.  I work on a MacBook Pro. I like it because it works the way my brain does. I tend to get very attached to the “feel” of a particular keyboard, when it’s time to upgrade to a new laptop, I always have a few jittery weeks at the thought of leaving my old keyboard behind. 

Questions?  email me
Keep writing! 

Books Ilove:

Pride and Predjudice by  Jane Austen (anything by Austen, really)
Good in Bed by Jennifer Weiner
Liberating Paris
by Linda Bloodworth Thomason
Aunt Delia’s Manners Quiz
by Delia Ephron
Finding Grace When You Can’t Even Find Clean Underwear
by Lisa Earle McLeod
Men are Pigs But We Love Bacon
by Michael Alvear

Must-have books for writers:

On Writing by Stephen King
How I Write by Janet Evanovich
Writing the Breakout Novel (book)
Writing the Breakout Novel (workbook)
The Marshall Plan (book)
The Marshall Plan (workbook)
1001 Ways to Market Your Books
by John Kremer
Eats, Shoots & Leaves
by Lynne Truss
Sell Yourself Without Selling Your Soul