I wrote an article for The Smithsonian on Sammy Davis Jr. and interracial marriage. Did you know the mob forced Davis into a sham marriage to a black woman after he was caught dating Kim Novak? Or that his marriage…
I’m so pleased to be part of Salomé’s July issue. My very short story is called Deluge. Here’s the first two lines: The woman’s personality wouldn’t stay inside her. She vomited it into the corner of the literary gathering, a…
Kyle has a new book coming out! It’s called Linux Hardening in Hostile Networks: Server Security from TLS to Tor. It’s about computer security. How do you protect computer networks from hackers and other unwanted snoops? Kyle knows how. He’s…
I have a book review up on KQED on Isadora by Amelia Gray. It’s about Isadora Duncan. Excerpt: Fun fact: Isadora Duncan and Jack London were contemporaries. Both were born in San Francisco, in 1877 and 1876, respectively. Both experienced…
This has been a busy year so far. I planted a garden, went on many hikes, watched Laura Marling perform, saw a parade, and attended a lobster and rose tasting, where I eavesdropped on rich people arguing about servicing their…
I have an article in the Smithsonian on how How Beatrix Potter Invented Character Merchandising. Excerpt: Beatrix Potter is known for her gentle children’s books and beautiful illustrations. But the sweet stories of Peter Rabbit, Jemima Puddle-Duck and others helped…
My short story Murmur is up on Every Day Fiction. It’s about a ghost. Excerpt: She came in with the rain, through an open window. It was the house of a young family. The ghost, whose name had been Amaya,…
I really enjoyed Hourglass by Dani Shapiro. Check out my review on KQED. Excerpt: My 15th wedding anniversary is in June. It seems impossible that my husband and I have been together for that long. The first 10 years of…
I wrote an article on seaweed foraging for NPR. Did you know most seaweed is edible? And that it’s a natural thickener? And a source of protein? And MSG? AND that seaweed isn’t even a plant, but algae? Interesting stuff,…
We have successfully remodeled our kitchen. This is something we’ve wanted to do for nine years, since moving into this house in 2007. Here’s what the kitchen used to look like: As you can see, the kitchen that came with…