Writing has always been an important part of my life.  Even in my early teens I was producing newspapers for adjoining neighborhoods. In high school I wrote for the local and school papers.
 
There was a short experience with college immediately following high school and that was a time of fun and play.  In 1992 I headed back to college and earned my AAS in Human Services.  My English Comp professor told me he always put my writing at the bottom of the pile because he wanted to save the best for last.   His encouragement contributed to my continuing my writing.
 
My work experience included secretary in a municipal utility (my first retirement), chef-waitress-counterperson in a small whole foods restaurant, library clerk, writing articles and selling ads for various newspapers, WIC breastfeeding consultant, and volunteer coordinator.  In between I found time to give birth to a son (1972) and a daughter (1984).  I worked at a few short term jobs but mostly stayed at home to "unschool" her.
 
I've volunteered since high school in various non-profit organizations.  In 2001 I was hired to set up a volunteer program for a library and retired from the volunteer coordinator position in 2008, when I decided it was time to go back to volunteering, this time as a board member of a non-profit.
 
Since mid-2004 I have written a monthly self-help motivational column for Gannett's Elmira Star Gazette Health & Fitness Magazine (see link at right).

My passion is ...

to live on a houseboat and write.

I know too much about ...

nothing.

My parents always told me ...

Father: save money. Mother: no sense in me going to the lake with you; I can't swim and wouldn't be able to save you.

My childhood ambition ...

Trial lawyer, based on watching too much Perry Mason.

My favorite memory ...

Florida childhood: waterskiing or sitting on a dock with a cane pole, white bread (for fish and gulls) and a book.

Why I write ...

a need to share feelings and thoughts.

What I am reading/watching/listening to ...

Rat Life, Tedd Arnold's first JV book - terrific. Hua yang nian hua (In The Mood for Love)

My first job ...

Neighborhood newspapers and babysitting.

My best moment ...

with family.

My inspiration ...

people. Someone always says or does something to trigger writing ideas.

Arts & Humanities > Horror, Mystery & Suspense Book reviews: The Zombie Survival Guide, by Max Brooks

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Max Brooks' tongue-in-cheek book, The Zombie Survival Guide, will have you wondering if this guy is nuts or just funny. By the time you finish reading this non-fiction manual on "complete protection from the living dead", you might, however, begin to consider taking him seriously.

Brooks has assenbled every obvious alternative to the survival tactics employed in zombie movies. For instance, while a bullet to the right spot in the head of a zombie might do the trick, he states unequivocally: "Use your head...cut off theirs".

As I flipped through the 254 pages, I spotted an illust...

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