ABOUT ME
Activities
Inline skating with The Inline Club of Boston, biking, XC skiing, downhill skiing, traveling, ice skating, dancing (techno and hip hop), and hiking. I enjoy skating with others and attending weekend skates hosted by skating clubs in cities all over the US like Miami's Great EsSkate or The Inline Club of Boston's: SkateBoston
One of my favorite places to skate is Montreal. My husband and I enjoy going their during the jazz festival. We skate all around during the day, and enjoy the festival (along with crepes) at night. Montreal has an awesome network of bike paths (paved and suitable for skaters) all around the city dotted with charming places to stop for Sangria.
Hobbies
Reading, writing, needlepoint, poetry (reading and writing), miniatures (I have a large doll house that I put together from a kit).
The amusing first two instructions for my doll house were: 1. Don't Panic 2. It stated the dimensions of the doll house as a reminder to make sure I could get it out of the room I was building it in.
Pets
Yes! Two cats, Precious and Bessie. I had three cats, but Leibchen died August 8, 2005
Family
Family is important to me! I am
married to Nick! He is wonderful, a nice balance to me! Where I
might be bouncing off the walls, he is calm. He also loves to travel
and we enjoy the same activities. I have one daughter from a previous marriage, Anna. I have 5 sisters and 4 brothers,
although one sister, Jenny, died several years ago. She was like the
leader of the band! We all went to her. Her health failed terribly
over the years, but yet she always found something to laugh about.
When she went blind, and I had knee surgery and couldn't drive, she
offered to drive, and I could be the eyes. When things weren't going
well when she was having dialysis, she actually called the clinic,
looking for jokes about dialysis-they didn't have any.
Diann
incredibly talented, you could give her a pile of manure and she
could turn it into something beautiful! I suspect it would still
stink! The cover of Into This Mind is a photo of an original
oil painting by my sister Diann.
Vicki - brilliant with
decorating, gems, style and wisdom.
Rita - patience and
sweetness.
Judy - my idol growing up. She was then, and still is,
full of energy. No doubt she can kick my butt! Go Judy.
Brothers:
Ralph our family comedian, Danny, Carmen, and Tony. All my brothers
are talented mechanics.
Between me and my brothers and sisters,
we have ten children, and many of them now have children! One of my
great nephews is a few months older than my daughter.
Family reunions are fun on both sides
of my family - Izzie and Guglielmi - as both my mother and father
had many brothers and sisters.
Nick has one sister, Kathy. She
is married to Harry and they have 3 boys, all a pleasure to have
around. Really!
Place of residence
Although I live in New England now, most of my family is in Ohio, mainly in and around Columbus. My husband's immediate family is in England and South Africa.
Education and Occupation
I graduated Magna Cum Laude from Ohio State University with a Bachelor of Computer Science in 1996. I am currently working as a contractor at iRobot. I work as a Software Developer and Test Engineer on the Government and Industry side of the company which I most enjoy.
Coffee, Tea and Chocolate
I confess, I am a coffee snob. I travel with my own coffee pot and a stash of Peet's coffee. I also love Peet's teas, especially the Black Currant.
It should be no surprise that I DO love chocolate!
My novel, how it began
One day, early spring of 2006, my husband and I were walking around the newly opened conservation land: Assabet National Wild Life Refuge. We came upon a dirt road, and through the trees, I could see an abandoned house. I walked up to the house, and poked my head in the window. From there, my idea sprung to life.
A few days later, while skating/biking with my friend Karen , (she bikes, I skate), I told her about my idea and she encouraged me to write my story by also agreeing to read it. So I wrote it, in the beginning, with at least the idea, if no one else, she would read it. Karen read each chapter as I wrote it provided feedback. I originally started writing Into This Mind in past tense. Karen preferred present tense as she found it more engaging. Since she was my only audience, I changed it to present tense and grew more comfortable with that tense. I am already working on the sequel! After the initial draft, My sister Diann provided a tremendous amount of on going support.
Jena's name, the main character in Into This Mind, is a combination of my mother's name: Anna (of whom my daughter was named after), and my sister's name: Jenny.
I originally wanted the cat to 'save the day', however, I was cautioned against getting too cared away with all the cat talk in my novel, so I removed some of it, (yes, can you believe that), and changed the ending.
Ben, Jena's husband, didn't start out being South African. I changed it because my editor had stated numerous times that I wasn't using American lingo. I am American, however, I might have picked up some terminology from my husband, numerous South African friends, and from BBC American.
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Bessie |
Precious |
Leibchen |
