I was recently interviewed by Meg Pokrass for the Fictionaut Five.

Looks like it's official: I will be reading at the Brooklyn Book Festival as part of the "Next Texts" program.

Guess I better write a book.

Andrew Shaffer (Author, Philosopher, Scoundrel) gave me his Cosmo Quiz and posted the results on his site. He also gave me a pedicure and then we laughed and laughed.

PS. I really, really look forward to his book.

I have a new essay up at The Nervous Breakdown: "Research, and How to Fake It."

When preparing to write a novel, the role of research can't be overstated. There are moments of panic in every writer's life when they realize they don't know what vermouth tastes like on its own (kind of medicinal and dry, with a hint of a tonic flavor as the result of herbs added to what is basically cheap wine), how many years it takes one to go from law school to full fledged partner (seven, if you don't ever go home or have any connection to what one might call "a life") or how difficult it might be to have sex in a moving vehicle while driving (still in the planning stages). Research fills the cracks between a character being anyone and being someone, making them particular, making them resonant with an audience. Even if your reader doesn't know that the stick shift could prove a tremendous hindrance (or aid) to the mobile love scene, they must trust that you, the writer know that it would cause problems (or move things along at a nice clip). If the writing rings authentic and true then, ironically, the reader won't even notice the writer is there; if it is inauthentic then it is as if the writer has just arrived, uninvited, and soiled the dinner napkins...

Read it HERE.

I was lucky to be interviewed by the talented and inspirational Victoria Schwab for her Tea Time series. (She is talent and self-motivation wrapped up in cupcakes.)