Although I was teaching writing for years, my own formal writing all started with my dog, an amazing dog named Joey, who I met in 2000. My book, DOGS DON'T LOOK BOTH WAYS, was inspired by quick-moving events a number of years later in which he was central. After publication, the book recently received the prestigious B.R.A.G. Medallion, a thrill for any author.

In the years since that first full-length book, I have been a film critic for several Boston newspapers; my poetry, essays and movie reviews have been published in numerous print and online journals such as "Poetica Magazine," "The Persimmon Tree", "Every Writer's Resource," "The Jewish Journal," "The Newton Tab," "The Jewish Advocate" and others. I enjoy writing haiku and posting it to my blog.

My newest book was inspired by a newspaper article I had read, which gave me an idea, the fruit of which is "NOBODY KNOWS HOW TO WRITE A GRAMMAR BOOK BETTER THAN ME: WITH AMAZING EXAMPLES BY DONALD TRUMP."

Academically, my background is English Education. I taught ESL and remedial writing for many years, in New York City. I also developed an educational software application ("Easy Writer: An Interactive and Audio Book") that teaches writing and editing skills to learners of English) based on my years of teaching.

I am involved with many and varied and time-consuming but rewarding local community activities; the short list includes bicycle and pedestrian safety, feeding the hungry, and literacy.

Joey's descriptions of me in DOGS DON'T LOOK BOTH WAYS are, except for a few insignificant details of time and place, still true and accurate.