In addition to writing for teens, I’m a freelance writer who has written articles and essays for national publications including, Cosmopolitan. I think I’ve always wanted to be a writer even though I often referred to my college major in English as “PreLaw” because it held the promise that I might actually find work someday.
As it turns out, I did find work. My first paid writing gig was as an editorial assistant for the North Jersey Herald & News, where, in addition to developing a life-long passion for coffee and news, I wrote obituaries for eight months. I’ve also worked as a speech writer, bank teller, ghostwriter, bookkeeper in a lampshade factory, pet shop clerk, and music zine editor.
My debut young adult novel, HOW MY SUMMER WENT UP IN FLAMES, was published by Simon Pulse in May 2013. My second YA novel, FAMOUS LAST WORDS, about a teen obit writer was published by Christy Ottaviano Books/Henry Holt Books and Company in July 2013.
THE SUMMER AFTER YOU AND ME will be published in May 2015 by Sourcebooks Fire. The story is set post Superstorm Sandy at the real New Jersey Shore, a place that is very close to my heart.
The picture on the left is me at eight, hoping I’d get a letter to Hogwarts some day.