In the August 1996 issue of Seventeen Magazine , I wrote a story called “My Surprise Summer Love” which romanticized late night games of Questions my friends and I answered as we sat outside among a chorus of crickets. It described the coworker with the cute soccer butt beside whom I sliced deli meats at my morning job and my night job at the pizzeria where the uniform made me resemble a carrot (orange apron, green visor). During those dewy summer nights, we asked questions t

First, they love bomb you. They tell you you're wonderful and beautiful. Then they engage in future speak, saying things like, "We'll...

In addition to writing lyrical, engrossing books readers will forfeit sleep over and gripping query letters that no agent or editor could...

I recently had the pleasure of being a guest on Keepsake Chronicles , a podcast about the stories behind things. I write about my Granny...

When I graduated college and sold my first story to Seventeen magazine, I thought I was on my way to becoming a famous writer. It was all...