Fall is the time of year when I most feel the pressure to get the words on the page and revise the stories that I allowed to languish all summer (or since last year). Maybe it’s because October is a…
I have a complicated relationship with the word “slush.” In the seventh grade, my stepbrother ratted me out for “borrowing” 71 pennies from my parents’ penny jar to buy a slushie at the 7-11. I got a stern talking to, which…
‘Masshole’ is now officially a word, not just the word I yell at the drivers who nearly run me over in the crosswalk. Much like being a pedestrian in Boston, the publishing path is full of hazards, even when you…
Before I wrote regularly, I made art. My mother was an artist and art teacher, so I guess it was in my DNA. As a child, I drew stories — graphic novels without written words. As a young adult, I…
We’re coming ’round the snow mountain and the February of Doom. I love March and its hope for renewal and warmth. Some of my favorite people on the planet were born in March. It’s the only month that works as…
There’s not a lot of advice I can give to other writers about how to be successful. The problem is that there are too many individual interpretations of “success.” To me, success looks like this: I can pay my electric…