"I think the cover and book can be easily summed up in one word: Delight." —Blondie, "Tales from Clark Street" Blog
Read more praise for The Gerbil Farmer's Daughter >

"Wacky and tender..."—Stewart O’Nan, Songs for the Missing
"...Daffy yet sweet and affecting." — Kirkus Reviews
Read more praise for The Gerbil Farmer's Daughter >

“What kind of man becomes a Navy Officer, then sits on his ship in the middle of the ocean dreaming of gerbils?” 
That's the question my sister-in-law asked a few years ago that provoked me to wonder why my father started secretly raising gerbils in our Virginia garage and eventually turned gerbil farming into his second career. 
Whether you're visiting my web site to find out more about how I answered that question in my book, The Gerbil Farmer's Daughter, or just happened to stumble here while you were trying to figure out what pet to buy for your children, welcome!  It's a pleasure to share a moment with you. 
Read an excerpt from my book >

Purchase the book here:
Amazon.com  | Barnes&Noble.com  |  RJJulia Bookstore  | Jabberwocky Bookstores
Borders | IndieBound

 

My Unofficial Biography and Thoughts on Writing

I never meant to be a writer.  I studied biology in college because I either wanted to be a veterinarian or a doctor – preferably one of those doctors who's always jetting off to villages in Africa or Tibet to save thousands of lives while wearing one of those khaki vests that's mostly pockets.  But life intervened during my last semester of college, when I had to take one more elective and I chose a class in creative writing with a professor who started out by telling us that writers are born, not made. More >