Interests:

I've been a writer and editor since 1986 with more than 125 credits, including Time, Seventeen, Phoenix, Police, Tennis, Hispanic, Tribune Newspapers, and Dell Horoscope (yes, I'm also a professional astrologer). My first book, _Yesterday, Today & Tomorrow: Meeting the Challenge of Our Multicultural America & Beyond_, was published in 1996 by Caddo Gap Press and won state (1997, 1998) and national (1997) awards. I love to cook and bake and consider my kitchen a place for gathering and creating gifts of love for the table. I love to play Scrabble, but I don't care for the stupidity of words that are allowable in the Scrabble dictionary. It's more fun to use real words. I like to travel too. Despite shyness, I do enjoy getting together with friends for whatever.

Music:

My favorite music tends to be eclectic. I like the classics although I can do without Wagner, thanks. I like Broadway and opera when I'm watching the performances themselves, soft rock, some jazz, international, reggae, some rap, some folk. Favorite performers range from Idan Raichel Project and Bruce Burger (Rebbe Soul) to Enya, Beyonce, Joan Baez and Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan. I've been known to like single songs of a performer and hate the rest of the work s/he does

Movies:

I'll have to think about this...my tastes vary according to the mood. The key to a movie for me is much like the key to books I like to read: It needs to pull me in and envelop me in the story. I become one with the story

Books:

Kahlil Gibran's _The Prophet_, all of Bette Bao Lord's books, Stephen King's _On Writing_, some of Kristen Hannah's work. I also like John Jakes and Paulo Coelho. Most recently, I just finished _Reading Lolita in Tehran: A Memoir in Books_ by Azar Nafisi, and I plan to explore _Dreams from My Father_ by Barack Obama and some of the works of Chaim Potok next. If there were more time in the day, I could read more

Television:

I don't watch much television, but I like great drama, suspense and true stories if I can sink my visual teeth into it.