Spoiler alerts! I was an early fan of Sex and the City, though when it first aired in 1998, I was long past being single in the city. Instead of hugging a Cosmo, I was hugging a second grader and wondering where my other two kids went. Yet the writing and acting were so great…

One of the great joys of being a storyteller is creating memorable characters, much like giving birth minus the pain and anesthesia. Also, characters don’t have to be fed, entertained or educated. But as they emerge from stick figures to become fully flawed and intensely human I often forget that they don’t exist save for…

My late mother was a lifetime member of Weight Watchers and though at age 90 she had no weight left to lose, was disappointed to learn her assisted living center did not offer weekly meetings. Apparently she took the word “lifetime” seriously and longed for lectures about portion control (“A sliver leads to a slice,…

If you are a mother, there are some things you never forget. The moment you discovered your home pregnancy test turned positive (and celebrated buying the brand name not the generic)! The first time you heard a natal heartbeat (and secretly wondered if you would be giving birth to a horse). And, of course, the…

Do you believe in getting signs from above? Maybe seeing a cardinal on your window sill or finding coins or white feathers on the ground? There are skeptics, of course, but I am not among them. On so many occasions, I have felt the presence of loved ones who have passed it is inconceivable I…

I’m a breakfast person. Doesn’t have to be big or fancy. Just enough coffee to jolt me into a new day and something utilitarian to eat to stave off hunger. But is the breakfast table a wellspring of creativity? Hardly. I’m too busy catching up with my husband and the day’s headlines. Or as my…

My former nine-time elected Congressman, Steve Israel, must have been having a really bad day in DC if he suddenly decided that becoming a novelist would be far more rewarding. Understandably he’d had it with chicken dinners, fundraising and the wrath of unhappy constituents. But never did he imagine that sitting behind a table at…

I was recently stuck in a traffic jam on a busy commercial street. Both sides of the road were packed and drivers were, big surprise, freaking out. Every time the light changed someone, or several someones, ran the red and ended up blocking the box. Not great, but not the end of the world. Except…

If there was an Olympic competition for those who panic, fret and agonize, I would be a gold medalist. Might be because I inherited the worry gene from my mother or that as a novelist, I’ve had to train my imagination to go to scary places. But in the name of sanity, I am trying…