Frank McCourt, the Irish-American schoolteacher whose poignant memoirs earned him a Pulitzer Prize, has passed away at the age of 78. He leaves behind a gripping set of life stories.

Angela's Ashes

'Tis

Teacher Man

A Sweet, No-Bake Tale of Success

"You are a lover of words. One day, you will write a book."

That fortune, cracked free of a cookie after eating my favorite Chinese meal of chicken and broccoli (extra spicy), resonated with me. I did love words. I did want to write a book.  Continue reading...

For me to say that the idea for my novel Twilight of Avalon came to me in a dream seems almost too fantastic a story to be believed. But it really is true, and it happened this way.  Continue reading...

I began writing fiction in 2000. I needed an outlet for my thoughts and feelings following the death of my mother. At the time, I was overwhelmed with emotion and my work counseling parents was very intense. I was writing a monthly parenting column for a Boston newspaper and working on a nonfiction parenting guide. But it's in writing fiction that I found my home. For me novel writing is a wonderful catharsis and a deeply personal means of creative expression.  Continue reading...

My novel Best Intentions built on this kernel of an idea: What happens when you think you know what the person you love is thinking — and you're dead wrong? I think we've all experienced this in various relationships — you may act with the best intentions to make someone else happy but without real communication, the results can be disastrous.  Continue reading...

Back in 1981, when I was ten years old, my life had become a foreign-language film without subtitles. Everywhere I went, people spoke English, which was a problem because all I knew was Korean. My mother, my two sisters, and I had made the trek from Seoul, South Korea to reunite with my father in New Jersey, and once we got our bearings, it was time to get to work.  Continue reading...