Sad news came to me today.

My elementary school librarian, William C. Towner, passed away.

Mr. Towner was the first person in the world to take seriously my solemn declaration in the third grade that I was “going to be a famous author when I grow up!” Without a moment’s hesitation, he took me over to a shelf in the library and showed me exactly where he will put my books. Continue reading →

Boyds Mill, PA — Have you ever wanted something really badly, but somehow it’s always eluded your grasp no matter how close you come?

Well, I’ve always wanted to be in a MONSTER storm and live to tell the story!

But when Hurricane Sandy swallowed my little town of Hoboken last October, I could only watch in horror — on my computer screen, from the other side of the world. I was in China then, doing research for my next book.

Then Nemo (that’s omen, backwards) hit us last night.

The New York City area got a TON of snow. High winds. Power outages. Trains stopped. Buses stopped. People were told to stay home.

But I’d already left town on Thursday, ahead of the storm,  and here in the Pocono Mountains, where I’m co-teaching a writing seminar at the Highlights Foundation, we got five inches, maybe.

This is what it looked like at the Highlights Foundation retreat center this morning on my way to breakfast: Continue reading →