Articles
"What's in a Name?" (Divatribe, 2005)
My name is Katia. Her name is Kate. We live at the same address, share the same family, and write the same books. On the scale of professional accomplishment, one being failure and ten being success, I hover comfortably around two. Kate is restless closer to six and has her eye on nine, minimum. [more]
"If the Shoe Fits" (Modern Mom, 2005)
“If I don’t sell this novel, I’ll open a shoe store.” That’s what I told my husband, and I meant it. Shoes were easy and fun—I quested for them on an intuitive level only a shoe lover would understand—whereas my career as a novelist, another passion, had been a struggle. [more]
"First Pages" (Buzzle.com, 2005)
Context, character and conflict -- I call them "the three c’s." They are the essential fictional elements a writer should braid together on the first page of a story or novel in the quest for a sparkling beginning. If you save all the good stuff for page fifty, but you haven’t held your readers’ attention, no one will ever find out what a great writer you are because they will have already put your work aside. [more]
"She's Come Undone" (Working Mother, May 2003)
"How to Wash a Gas Mask" (Salon, December 2001)