So here I am on the other side of the first round of book launch events. How do I feel? A trifle overwhelmed, fighting a cold that’s turned into bronchitis, Read More…
The Big Ask
Dear Friends and Fellow Readers, For months now, I’ve been entertaining you with stories from my upcoming memoir, Daughter of Spies. I’m hoping these have whetted your appetite for the book itself due out Read More…
Why I love to Talk to Book Clubs
I once took the Meyers Briggs personality test and although I can’t recall the exact results, I do remember that I landed right on the line between introvert and extrovert. I treasure Read More…
Book Clubs
Daughter of Spies: Wartime Secrets, Family Lies
The author’s mother never talked about her past when her children were growing up. Do you think this is usual for parents in general or is it particularly typical for people who have lived through a war? Have you experienced this with your own parents?
My Mother and the Queen
Although of course, it was expected, I was especially sad to learn of Queen Elizabeth’s death. She and my mother were born three weeks apart. My mother, a British war Read More…
A Wicked Child
Alice Roosevelt Longworth was the wild child of President Theodore Roosevelt and because we are distantly related and she loved a good gossip, I was often invited to have tea with her on Thursday afternoons. As a budding writer, I was an incurable eavesdropper.
What I Learned from My Father
In the early days of writing Daughter of Spies, my memoir that will be published in the fall, I was convinced that I could write equally about both my parents, Read More…
Naming My Brand
My publicist suggested to me recently that I identify my brand. The suggestion stumped me. Frankly, I associate the word “brand” with pet food or soup or cigarettes rather Read More…
Ian Barnard Hankey
Born Gibraltar November 20, 1921Died in Libya, Battle of Alam Halfa, August 31, 1942
When many years ago, I started writing what would turn into my upcoming Read More…
Polecat Park
On the Road to Polecat Park
Although I rail against the damage I believe the Internet and especially social media has done to our civil discourse, I must Read More…
My Mother’s Childhood
Although I didn’t know how long it would take me to write a memoir about my mother and myself, I did begin researching my mother’s childhood in Gibraltar and Read More…
DAUGHTER OF SPIES: Wartime Secrets, Family Lies
After publishing over fifty works of fiction for both adults and children, I decided to tell my mother’s story in the form of a memoir. My father wrote his Read More…
DON’T KNOCK UNLESS YOU’RE BLEEDING: Growing Up in Cold War Washington
At the height of their fame, Joseph and Stewart Alsop were household names. Syndicated columnists who reached 25 million readers at a time, they dined with the power brokers in Read More…
