Category Archives: Blog
Snapshots of World War 2: My Father
Frans van Heugten, my father, lying in the dunes probably watching my mother swim in the winter in Scheveningen, a [then] small beach town near The Hague. My father was an intellectual, always reading, quiet and somewhat shy. Within the family, though, we knew his wit and humor. Oh, and I left out stubborn. He defined […]
Snapshots of World War 2: My Mother
This photograph is painful for me to see. My mother, Jacoba, on the beach in Scheveningen toward the end of the war. You can see how pitifully thin she is, every rib showing, her emaciated arms and legs. But look at that smile! No, nothing ever kept my mother down for long! Even in the […]
Homestretch For The Tulip Eaters!
So it is. On Tuesday, October 29, my second novel, THE TULIP EATERS, will make its way into the world. How does it feel? Crazy. Fantastic. Incredible. All true.When I wrote SAVING MAX and it wasn’t published for ten years (yes, you should have seen my face then, when my neck didn’t resemble a frightened […]
Not Again! Writer’s Block
Many writers I know suffer from that horrifying paralysis known as writer’s block. I can be lazy, uninspired and many other things, but I can always write. I follow the Stephen King School of writer’s block. Put your butt in the chair. The work will follow. Still, I often prefer to describe my inactivity as […]
Why are Writers Crazy and Hard to Live With?
Okay, don’t get too excited. No, that isn’t me in that photograph. You think I’m nuts? That I’d let anyone who cares enough about what I say actually see me the way my husband has to see me at various points during the writing process?
Cork, Ireland: My #1 Irish Fan
One of the unanticipated boons of having a novel published has been the amazing correspondence I have received from people who have read Saving Max. I had no idea that young people would become one of my largest groups of readers. So many teenagers who have written to me either have Asperger’s or have family […]
Get Rid of My Books? Are You Insane?
Okay. It’s a little messy. A lot messy. But I’ve spent my life collecting every volume on those shelves. (There are four other floor-to-ceiling bookshelves just like this one, but I couldn’t fit them into one shot.) There are a few first editions, but most of them wouldn’t bring a buck at a used bookstore. […]
Life During Wartime: The Love-Charm of Bombs
I read this article in the New York Times the other day and immediately ordered Lara Feigel’s book, “The Love-Charm of Bombs.” It’s on its way and I can’t wait. Here’s why. Feigel has written a novel about the impact of World War II – the London Blitz – on the works of five British […]
What I’ve Been Up To
When SAVING MAX came out in 2010, I had no idea that it would find an audience and certainly never expected that it would become a bestseller. No first-time author thinks that – at least not me! As with so many debut authors, I was just thrilled to have the book published. Now three years […]
The Debate About Schooling Autistic Children in a Separate School
Hello, everyone. I’d like to address the issue of whether it is best for Asperger’s and other autistic children to be educated in regular schools or if it is better for them to have their own schools. I am no expert, as everyone knows. I’m just a mother of autistic children. If my kids were […]
