I was raised in a town in northern New Jersey that was for many years best known for its White Castle. Now its claim to fame is probably that it is occasionally mentioned on The Sopranos. Over the years, I've lived in Boston, Philadelphia, and Milan, Italy, and I went to Boston University to study graphic design. I loved the challenges of graphic design in a classroom setting, but the joke was on me when I realized that I didn't like it at all in a workplace setting. Whoops.

I did stints working in a children's museum, a lingerie store, and a toy company, before realizing that I might like to spend my days writing. My first writing job was at Kidshealth.org, a consumer health Web site for parents, kids, and teens. From there, I went to Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston, which is where I work now as an editor. It was back in 1999 that I had the idea to write a novel based on my experiences in the toy business, and after many drafts, countless rejection letters, and much weepiness, BABE IN TOYLAND was finally taken on by an agent, sold to Avon Trade Paperbacks, and published in March of 2004.

I continue to work at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute these days, although I've had to cut my hours a little bit to allow myself time to write. When I'm not working or writing, I like to read (my favorite authors are Bill Bryson and Steven McCauley), belly dance, watch TV (I am addicted to America's Next Top Model and Arrested Development), cruise the aisles of Sephora, hang out with pals at Charlie's Kitchen in Harvard Square, and tentatively try to cook new recipes (I'm frequently underwhelmed by the results). I live in Somerville, Massachusetts, with my husband David, our two cats, Kiddun and Loki, and our fish, Lulu.