Reunited and it feels so good...

The weekend of October 16th I returned to my hometown of Pittsburgh to attend my thirty year high school reunion and to do some author events. The weekend kicked off with my reading and talk at the Mt. Lebanon Pubic Library. While the building has changed dramatically over the years, the soul of it is the same as I remembered as a young girl. Mt. Lebanon library was a frequent stop for me growing up. It was within biking distance of our house and provided me with unlimited opportunities to learn more about the world and to plan my future.

The room filled up with friends, family, and library supporters. As I looked out in the audience I saw people from my past, high school buddies, my Mom, best friend Gwyn and her husband Lester and many new faces. It was a highlight of the whole book tour.

Gwyn hosted a lunch back at her house after the event with a group of friends from high school. Many of them we had not seen since our ten year reunion or even high school. It was startling to see how quickly we all fell back into our high school banter and reassuring to know that once you are connected to someone it rarely changes just because you lose touch. We ate, talked and most of all did what made us all friends in the first place, we laughed.

The reunion that night was overwhelming. The turnout was great. Thank goodness for the name tags with our high school photos on them as that helped a lot. I spent the evening sharing memories from grade school through high school with lots of classmates.

Sunday I signed books at Barnes & Noble and was visited by a few more friends from high school, including a friend who missed the reunion due to flight delays. Again, it was such a good feeling to reconnect.

Driving back to New York after the weekend I realized I don't really talk a lot about my time in high school. My memory of it was filtered through my burning desire to get out of Pittsburgh and get on with my life. I had forgotten about how rich and important my bonds were with those amazing people. In high school, those friends helped mold me into the adult I became, they accepted me for who I was and encouraged and supported my creative endeavors. They helped me believe I could have a life in New York.

In my haste to move on, I had forgotten that...until now. I am grateful for those days and the love of so many accomplished classmates!

Back to the Future?

I'm heading to Pittsburgh this weekend for a few author appearances and to attend my 30 year high school reunion. As the date has gotten closer I find myself thinking a lot about the past and the girl I was in high school and how she became the person I am today.

I have to admit I have never been someone who lived in the past or thought very much about it. I don't believe in regret and strive to make the most of all my experiences both good and bad. I keep many stories in my repertoire and enjoy reminiscing every now and then but for the most part I am all about the future, often at the expense of the present.

Back in high school, all I wanted was to leave Pittsburgh. This started around the time I was twelve and was my primary focus until I landed in Greenwich Village in the fall of 1979. My focus was on my future, away from my town, my family and the pain of my childhood. I was sure my life was in New York and wanted it to begin as soon as possible. Every day I spent at home felt like time served before my release into the real world.

That drive affected how I approached everything from school to extra-curricular activities to relationships. Every test, homework assignment, paper and course needed to be good, my grades had to be the best they could be. When I discovered my creative passions, I knew they would be a lifelong pursuit and I wanted to make full use of the opportunities afforded to me. I took every performance seriously, studied every facet of acting and writing I could. Even in my relationships with boys I kept things casual. Although I had deep feelings for a few incredible young men, I didn't want anything to keep me from my goal.

Yes, I had good times, formed a lifelong bond with my friend Gwyn, and enjoyed my accomplishments but still, I was living for the future.

As news about the reunion spread to my classmates, I reconnected with so many wonderful people from that time, many of whom have commented that my life turned out exactly as they had thought it would and that I "haven't changed at all."

While this is incredibly flattering (especially the comments about still looking the same) it has made me think a lot about the past. It is one thing to have goals and another to not be present in the here and now. As I was focusing on the future, I was not seeing a lot of what was good in my life. I was waiting for my life to begin in New York rather than seeing it was already blooming in Mt. Lebanon.

On Saturday I will be doing an author talk at the Mt. Lebanon Public Library, the same library I used to ride my baby blue banana seat bike to on the weekends to return books and find new, exciting stories of women living adventurous lives in faraway places. I would sit back in the stacks imagining and manifesting my future, never knowing decades later my adventures would lead me right back where I started. I worried then, as I still do, that I will not get to where I want to go, that my dreams are not attainable. Again, it is hard to see what is when you are focused on what could be.

A few weeks ago I got an email from a young woman who had learned about my appearance at the library and went to my website. "Tell me more about yourself," she said. I responded and asked her about herself. She said she loved the library and was a dedicated reader and an aspiring writer, she told me about her plans, her goals and her dreams. She said she couldn't wait to get there.

I know she wouldn't have understood if I had said, "take you're time," anymore than I would have so many years ago. The desire to succeed, to make a name for yourself is a powerful one but as I am learning it should never come at the expense of standing still and taking in what is good now.

After my talk, I'll take a walk back into the stacks and think of that girl I was then and let her know she did okay...hell she did better than okay. I will take a moment to remind myself, as I do every day, that the journey is better than the destination and throughout the weekend I will do what I couldn't do back then, I will appreciate being home.

Happy Birthday - The Last Bridge

On Tuesday, July 28th 2009 after working on it for over ten years The Last Bridge debuted at The Corner Bookstore in New York City. It was a hot and steamy day, so hot that I didn't even bother to put makeup on until I was sitting in front of the bookstore in my car.

It's hard to describe the feeling I had all day on Tuesday, on the one hand it felt like the wait had been so long that it was hard to

believe it was finally here, on the other, I had the feeling that it had all happened too quickly. Was I ready? Would it do well? How would it feel to add "published author" to my evolving story?

I was worried and understandably so. Anyone who has ever seen a dream realized knows it is one thing to work and plan for something, it is a whole different thing to step into it and experience it with joy and acceptance. You see, I didn't just want to get through the book launch, I wanted to be present and to feel the enormity of the moment.

I did. And man was it intense!

The evening started with me arriving at the same time as my friend Jane and both of us looking at the window display FILLED with copies of The Last Bridge. Within

seconds, my friend Gwyn and my niece Cameron came up and snapped a picture of me in front of the bookstore. Please note the smile, this is a real one not one of my fake, I'm trying to be happy in spite of all the pressure I'm feeling smiles.

The Corner Bookstore is the kind of bookstore you wish was on...well...every corner. It's just big enough to hold enough books for you

to actually browse through and with a team that cares about the books and their customers you feel like someone has already whittled down your choices for you. I am happy to say that although the bookstore is the perfect size for books, it was almost too small to hold all the well wishers who came to christen the launch of the book.

Chairs were setup in two columns with an aisle down the middle, and although I was a few minutes early the seats were already filling up. Lenny, the owner of the bookstore, walked me through the evening and asked me if everyone I was expecting was there. I looked out into the room and saw so many friends and colleagues from work, fellow writers

from workshops and writing groups who read hundreds of versions of the book, friends (or sisters!) of friends from high school, my agent and the full JVNLA support team!, my editors, publicist and marketing peeps from Random House and my large extended family!

Lenny introduced me and as I stood in front of the mic I felt all my worry slip away. The expression, "you are among friends," was never more true than standing in front of that crowd. Honestly, if you could bottle that support we could change the world by dinner on Sunday.

For the launch I decided I wanted to read one of my favorite scenes from the book, the dinner visit with the Igby's. I love it because I think it sums up Cat's real nature, her drinking, her humor and her difficulty assimilating her past, and I love Ruth Igby as she is truly a nosy neighbor.

Central casting couldn't have filled the room with a better crowd, they laughed at all the right spots (some I didn't even realize were funny) and sighed at the end when a critical piece of information is revealed.

The questions were fun. I was asked if I thought about making The Last Bridge into a movie and I joked that there was no way I would consider it. I was also asked about the editorial process, where I got the story from and what I was currently working on.

Lenny wrapped up the reading portion of the reception and asked everyone to fold up their chairs so we could mingle and then the book signing began. I have to admit that I was so excited that I had to ask a lot of people, people I have known for many, many years to spell their names for me before I signed their book. I was so afraid I would spell it wrong (and hope I didn't!)

In case you need more proof of how great my supporters are, this will seal the deal. Many, many people bought more than one copy of the book. In fact, they bought every single copy of The

Last Bridge in the store, including the ones that were on display in the front window. Including my own author copy I brought to read from!!

As the evening was winding down, I looked up from signing to see a tall handsome man come into the store. He looked a lot like my brother, Patrick but I knew it couldn't have been him, as he was in Michigan that day at a board meeting, still this man looked A LOT like my brother. I looked at my sister, my friends Gina and Donna and from the look on their faces I knew it was him. Although he would not go into detail about how he managed it, he left his meeting in Michigan and got to the event with minutes to spare. In an evening of highlights, that was a major high point! (Okay I'll admit it, it made me cry.)

Lenny helped us coordinate getting a table at a nearby restaurant to continue the celebration (what other bookstore do you know will do that for you????) I landed home late in the evening and had a hard time falling asleep (okay I'm still pretty high from the whole thing!)

It is not possible to fully describe the emotion of the evening except to say this, I cannot imagine a first book getting more love than The Last Bridge did and well, as a published author now, I'm pretty sure that spells success.

(That's Mom, bro-in-law Giuseppe, niece Sophia, sister Tami, yours truly and brother Patrick.)

There are no pictures of my friend Catherine as she was the one who took all these great photos (check out the slide show to the right for the full set!)

Book launch at The Corner Bookstore

Skin and Bones Under a Clear Blue Sky

Last Monday night I read from Skin and Bones as part of the Summer Gazebo reading series in Oceanside, Long Island. It was a perfect night to sit out on the beautiful green and listen to poetry and prose. The evening is hosted by the local Kiwannis Club and helps to raise money for underprvileged children to go to summer camp. Who can't get behind that? My friend Gina came with Christopher and Matthew who are getting used to attending readings as this was their second one in three days! Christopher served as my photographer and grabbed a bunch of shots while I read (thanks Chris!)

Save the Date -- Summer Reading Series

On August 4th I will be participating in the second season of the Summer Gazebo Reading Series held in Oceanside, Long Island on the Schoolhouse Green. The series is a community event and gives local writers a great opportunity to read outdoors to a receptive crowd. The event is free and all you need to bring is a blanket or lawn chair.

I will be reading an excerpt from my debut novel Skin and Bones which is scheduled for publication by Ballantine books in July of next year. (Seems so far off but believe me I have a lot of work to do before then!)

If you live in the area or are in the mood for an adventure, check it out!