Can you keep a secret?
Here are some secrets about me...
Here are some secrets about me...
Q: What are some of your favorite things?
A: My adorable dog, Petunia, as well as tap dancing, animals, and hockey. Here I am with a Gibraltar monkey, kissing a pig and yes, with the Captain of the Capitals, Stanley Cup Champions 2018 (go CAPS). And that's me as a young ballerina and with my tap dancing class today!
I also love opera, old movies (especially with a bowl of buttery popcorn) and, of course, punctuation. And did I mention food? I love toast with raspberry jam, chocolate chip ice cream and Skittles!
A: My adorable dog, Petunia, as well as tap dancing, animals, and hockey. Here I am with a Gibraltar monkey, kissing a pig and yes, with the Captain of the Capitals, Stanley Cup Champions 2018 (go CAPS). And that's me as a young ballerina and with my tap dancing class today!
I also love opera, old movies (especially with a bowl of buttery popcorn) and, of course, punctuation. And did I mention food? I love toast with raspberry jam, chocolate chip ice cream and Skittles!
Q: Where do you live?
A: I grew up in Bayside, Queens, NY. I lived for many years in northern Virginia, but now live in St. Petersburg, Florida.
Q: Do you have any children?
A: I have two grown children. My son (getting his Master's degree in this photo) lives in Baltimore; my daughter moved back from Uganda, Africa and now lives in Boston.
Q: When did you start writing?
A: OK, I'll let you in on a secret. I started writing when I was a kid. When I was in sixth grade, I wrote a story about a ballet dancer that I sent to Scholastic. Of course, it was rejected, but with a very nice letter. I practiced law for 20 years, and wrote a lot, including legislation. But about 20 years ago, I decided to write for children instead.
Q: How did you get your idea for your first book?
A: Thanks to my dad, I have always loved words, grammar and punctuation. Imagine how excited I was when, in the early days of my career as a lawyer, I got to research a question about a missing quotation mark in a very old banking law. Without the quotation mark, no one was sure if the law existed--The United States Supreme Court had to decide!
Q: What were some of your favorite books when you were a child?
A: As a child, and even as an adult, I love all the ANGELINA BALLERINA books by Holabird, FREDERICK by Lionni, a nonfiction book about ballet by Violet La Mont and MISS FLORA McFLIMSEY'S CHRISTMAS EVE by Mariana, which my sister finally returned to me after all these years (she had to admit it was mine when I showed her my name in the front)!
Q What is your favorite color?
A. Write to me and tell me yours and I'll tell you mine!
