I’m an award-winning screenwriter and author of both fiction and non-fiction, a filmmaker, a social advocate, and a public speaker.
My first novel was Finding Emmaus, a historically and factually accurate fiction / fantasy which explores the treatment and mistreatment of the mentally ill over the course of about 350 years, and how society marginalizes and victimizes those deemed to be ‘different’ (aka ‘less than’). Since then I have also published several children’s books, including the ones here on this website — with more to come! 😊
In 2012, I wrote and co-produced Last Will and Embezzlement, my critically-acclaimed documentary film about the financial exploitation of the elderly, starring Hollywood icon, Mickey Rooney, which was inspired by true-life events in my own family. The film premièred in Manhattan in April 2012 to a standing-room-only house. Since then it has traveled across the country and across oceans, helping to educate and protect countless seniors and their families.
From that came my non-fiction book, Silver and Gold. A companion piece to Last Will and Embezzlement, it is a compassionate, practical guide to recognizing and responding to elder financial exploitation. Equal parts awareness tool and advocacy manual, it supports both families and professionals. It was written in honor of my deceased parents and released on what would have been my Dad’s 93rd birthday.
I’ve also written several short stories, including The Calicoon, a thriller set in a decaying old hotel in the Catskill Mountains of upstate New York, and Wrong Side of the Pond, a tale of sibling rivalry so extreme, it leads to kidnap and murder. Eventually I’d like to publish an anthology of all my short stories.
Originally from New York City, born in 1953, I moved to Connecticut with my family at eighteen. A Dean’s List student, I graduated from Eastern Connecticut State College (now Eastern Connecticut State University) with a degree in English and secondary education, with concentrations in both psychology and sociology. I earned my honors Masters in Creative Writing and Literature from Harvard University.
I attribute my love of architecture and antique restoration — two aspects of my life which are woven into the fabric of Finding Emmaus — to my grandfather who, after emigrating to the US from Austria in the 1920’s, became an iron worker and joined the ranks of those who left their legacy in the form of New York City’s incomparable skyline. But my real hero, though gone nearly fifty years — and the reason I feel so strongly about supporting newly published or soon-to-be-published women writers — is still my grandmother, whose strength, courage and unfailing faith taught me that “nothing and no one can keep you from your heart’s desire without your permission and your cooperation.”
I am proud of all the affiliations I have had since beginning this journey in the literary world: >>Writer’s Guild of America >>Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Films >>Connecticut Historical Society >>Royal Society of London >>British Library >>IBPA (Independent Book Publishers Association)
I reside in rural Connecticut where I continue working on several new projects, advocating for those who don’t always have a voice of their own.
To see other projects I have done, please follow the links below.
