Come See My Panel At AWP 2015

Hey! I’m going to be speaking at AWP 2015 in Minneapolis this April. My panel is called “Yes, Writing Is a Job: People Who Get Paid To Write.” Marcia Simmons, Ken Walker and Nora Maynard will be joining me. We’ll…

The 1970s Wallpaper Is Gone!

If you’ve been to my house, you know how much I hate the 1970s wallpaper on the dining room wall. Well, now it’s gone. We have painted over it. Free at last, free at last.

8 Things That Happened In July

July was jammed packed. It was the kind of month where at the end of the day you’ll remember something that happened and think, wait, that was this morning? because it feels like it was two days ago. Here are…

Article: 10 Crazy Creations of “Plant Wizard” Luther Burbank

Did you catch my latest article in Mental Floss? It’s called 10 Crazy Creations of “Plant Wizard” Luther Burbank. It’s about white blackberries, thornless cactus, pitless plums, and the russett potato. Even if you haven’t heard of Luther Burbank, you…

Article: 19 Rare Recordings of Famous Authors

My most recent article for Mental Floss is 19 Rare Recordings of Famous Authors. Click to hear recordings of Hemingway (he’s drunk!), F Scott Fitzgerald, Jack Kerouac, Flannery O’Connor, Virginia Woolf, and many more.

Articles: Birds In Mental Floss

My articles for Mental Floss this month were about birds! Check it out: 10 Weird and Wonderful Bird Nests Annnnnnd: 9 Bizarre Bird Mating Rituals

Article Redux: 5 Writing Lessons Inspired by Famous Writers

Writer’s Digest posted an article I wrote that originally appeared in the magazine: 5 Writing Lessons Inspired by Famous Writers. A sample: I was 16 when I visited the cabin where Mark Twain wrote “The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras…

Article: 10 Surprising Facts About Archie Comics

I have a new article with Mental Floss: 10 Surprising Facts About Archie Comics. Remember that time Archie was a superhero called Captain Pureheart? Remember the Archie Andrews radio show? Remember that time Archie was used to piss off The…

Article: 9 Controversial Experiments In Rewilding

I have a new article up at Mental Floss called 9 Controversial Experiments In Rewilding. Excerpt: Strange as it is to imagine, at one point lions roamed Europe, horses galloped over Spain, and jaguars prowled parts of the United States.…