

At the end of 2021 I visited an astrologist who told me I would write a fiction book. I responded “Oh no. that’s not something I’m interested in.” Then by the time I made the ten-minute drive home I decided it was the best idea I’d ever heard.
On that fall day I had no idea what I was getting into. Many things I’ve tried in life have come easily to me and in the past, I’ve fallen into new careers without much effort. This was different.
For the past few years, I’ve become obsessed with learning the craft. It came to me at a time when my twenty-year career was coming to an end and I needed a new challenge. Once I started writing and was sufficiently humbled (The best way to find out what you need to learn is to try writing a novel) I’ve spent some time re-educating myself with courses, books about writing craft and getting feedback.
My first novel, a historical fiction story about a female surrealist painter. It combines my love for women’s stories with my obsession with art history and poetry. I love the side of history that really is just vintage gossip and studying surrealist culture. It changed my life to see the level of detail preserved for male surrealists versus the women and confronting that lost history became one of the reasons I kept rewriting this story.
Additionally, I’m on the first draft of my second novel which I’m currently calling Project Lighthouse. It’s a family saga set in a New England Island town with a complex mother-daughter relationship and a nostalgic love story. My goal is to complete and polish this story in 2026.
When people ask me when they can read my story, I don’t have a clear answer. I am pursuing the traditional publishing path so, with luck, I’ll be able to share one of my books with you in a few years’ time. For now, I’ll be sharing monthly updates in my newsletter about the process of starting a writing career. If you’re an aspiring writing, join me! If you aren’t, you’ll get a peek behind the curtain of how novels are made.
My favorite kind of email to receive is a passionate book recommendation from my podcast listeners, so don’t be a stranger.
When I’m not writing, I’m reading. Here’s a casual list of twenty of my favorite books.
Circe by Madeline Miller
The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafón
Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin
The Wishing Game by Meg Shaffer
Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt
House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski
The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath
The Luminaries by Eleanor Catton
Rosemary's Baby by Ira Levin
The Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion
State of Wonder by Ann Patchett
The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver
One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel García Márquez
The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern
The Secret History by Donna Tartt
Magic Lessons by Alice Hoffman
Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro
We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson
The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood
Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel