Somewhere in the late nineties, I attended a Norman Mailer reading after which I mustered up the courage to ask him how on earth he did it: Did he have his novel plotted out? All his characters named? Did he already know what they would say to each other? Did he understand the deeper meaning of his story?  “God no,” he scoffed, “I just hear a voice in my head and see where it takes me.” This was fantastic advice! I dashed home and wrote the opening paragraph of what would become my first novel, The Free Fall (Henry Holt)—which was selected by the New York Library as one of the as one of the most notable books of the year. After that, I received my MFA from Columbia University because I wanted to teach and a degree seemed helpful.

My short stories have appeared in New England Review, The Sun, Michigan Quarterly Review, NER Digital, Literary Orphans, and The Intima. “You Can’t Be Too Careful” was selected as a Best American Short Stories Notables 2013. I have an essay in Lost and Found: Stories from New York edited by Thomas Beller.

I’ve written for numerous magazines and websites including Vogue, The Huffington Post, The Rumpus, Vh-1, Interview, Guernica, The Manifest-Station, Tricycle, The Detroit News and Mr. Beller’s Neighborhood.

I have also ghostwritten and collaborated on several books.

I’ve taught writing at Rutgers, The New School, Washtenaw Community College, and numerous private workshops.

I charge by the hour. I average between five and twelve pages an hour, depending upon the amount of notes I’m making. This is based on an average of 250 words per page.

Please contact me for rates.