What to expect when you’re expecting your book? What’s going to happen first, and second, and third? Pre-launch of my debut novel, the breadth of information I had to learn overwhelmed me—were there an eight-day week into which I could tap. During the 2-24 months between signing a book contract and receiving those freshly pressed … Read more
About a million years ago I read (a now out of date) mystery, Gastronomic Murder, by Alexandra Roudybush (look for this book. I got a second-hand copy recently. Try the library. That’s where I got in back in the day. At that time, I couldn’t afford to buy books and the local Boston library was … Read more
 “Don’t forget; Jewish people read an enormous amount,†my lovely (and Jewish) literary agent said before my book launch. “We really love books.†I nodded. Yes, I knew that—at least I knew it inasmuch as I was Jewish and I read—as did my mother, my sister, and my daughters, but could I raise that sample … Read more
 Book launch day shoots towards me like an asteroid. Three weeks. Not ready. Almost-final drafts of essays surround me. Fear, sleeplessness, and worry consume me. I won’t get reviewed. I will get reviewed—but they will all hate me. I have nothing to wear to events. Okay, I do have stuff to wear, but nothing … Read more
With every listen, the Trump sex assault tape sounds worse. Every syllable engenders feelings of being small and wretched and humiliated. I search for the genesis of these emotions, for the source of my desire to curl up into an invisible ball. And the truths wash in: The time my neighbor’s boyfriend covered my six-year-old … Read more