The Short Version
I have lived in Durham, North Carolina for the past 11 years and am
the author of the Casey Jones crime fiction series. I am also the
author of the Hubbert & Lil mystery series, writing as Gallagher Gray.
Prior to moving back to N.C., I lived in NYC for 16 years. I was raised
in the South (Raleigh, N.C.) and am glad to be back home. I write
fiction and political essays; own a communications and copywriting
business that provides services to companies, universities and
non-profits; and spend a lot of my spare time being involved in local
politics (the Democratic Party side). I have a daughter, two dogs, two
cats and a lot of really great friends.
The Long Way Home (For Psychologists Only)
I was born in Honolulu, Hawaii's Star of the Sea Hospital on
December 29, 1956: you do the math. My first excursion was a trip to
the hospital roof at the tender age of one day to view the Chinese New
Year's fireworks exploding in the night sky. I like to think that
this first, star-spangled glimpse of the world exploding above me gave me a taste for the surprises of life in
all of its unpredictable, multi-colored glory.
My very large family (six kids, parents, a live-in grandfather,
dogs, birds and assorted parasites) moved to North Carolina in
1960. We lived in a series of tumble-down lodges and crumbling
mansions in Greensboro and, ultimately, Raleigh. It
was a loud, dramatic and emotional upbringing. Saving grace: a constant
parade of interesting people from all over the globe ringing the
doorbell to visit my parents, giving me an
appreciation for the uniqueness of people who dare to be different. I
came of age in the early 70's amidst a family that
thoroughly embraced the counterculture. I attended Broughton High School in Raleigh, then ended up at
UNC-Chapel Hill for an erratic four years, an experience rendered
hazy by the usual 70's influences. I did manage to graduate from its
creative writing program, with many thanks to Marianne Gingher, Max Steele,
Daphne Athis and the wonderful Bill Hardy.
I moved to NYC on St. Patrick's Day of 1980 in search of adventure,
finding it in a crazy, shallow and thoroughly enjoyable decade. Despite
a succession of bad haircuts and scruffy but artistic boyfriends, not
to mention late nights at jazz bars and New Wave clubs, I worked
on Wall Street, where I became the black sheep of my family by
discovering an interest in finance. At the age of 30, I began my career as a writer, making my debut
under the pen name Gallagher Gray. Somewhere along the way, I met
and married my first husband, a lovely man... but a rock musician. My
reaction to the unabashedly mysogenistic world of rock music inspired
the first Casey Jones adventure –- my Southern roots were showing. Sixteen years in the fast lane
of New York City gave way to a deep homesickness for the kinder and
gentler South. In 1996, I moved back to North Carolina and settled
in Durham.
In warp speed time, I found myself with an irrepressible
daughter named Zuzu, a confusing not-quite-marriage that involved a
ceremony and a lost marriage license and, oh, really, it’s too
much to go into. But I just want to point out that, technically
speaking, I’ve only been married and divorced once, okay?!
My Life Today
These days, I often find myself living in a Disney episode as directed by Tim Burton. Zuzu and I share our home with a white Lab named Boskers, a black terrier mix named PeeWee and two cats named Kitzy and Edward. My house is crowded, chaotic, full of life and always in a state of... flux.
I’ve
enjoyed getting older and developing a different perspective
on what’s important in life. I now spend my days dipping
back and forth between fiction writing, business writing, non-profit
work -- especially in the area of environmental responsibility --
political
volunteering and being a mom. I spend my free time seeing friends,
taking Zuzu on trips and traveling to a
small house on the banks of the Pamlico Sound where I read, sleep, eat
and wish I could fish half as well as my brother. In short, I am
happy and well -- and lucky to have many amazing friends. Life is good.
For more information on my writing career, please visit the Books section of this web site.
Looking Back
It is impossible to escape the past... especially if you are a writer. My early life was a crazy, chaotic parade of odd people moving in and out of our house on their way to and from all corners of the world: a German man who rode a motorcycle and built us an igloo in our own backyard... a succession of truly wonderful "aunts and uncles" who arrived paired by gender and loved us like we were their children.... under- paid and overworked black women (this was the South, after all) who managed to love and clothe and feed all six of us in times of need, even though they had children of their own.... famous fan dancers who still danced nude at age 70 and made amazing pea soup... aunts from Chicago who looked and talked like gruff old Irishmen and drank the local priests under the table... gawky career women from the 50's who wore white ankle socks with their high heels... writers, artists, actors, dancers, ice skaters, animal trainers, hobos, convicted felons, governors, mayors, dreamers and more: you name it and they came through our door.
It's no wonder I grew up to write books about people from all walks of life and to appreciate the insane diversity of the human species.
Featured Question:
Q. Where have you been?! Why did you take such a long break?
I took a break from writing because I was doing too many things at once
(writing books, running a business, raising a daughter, taking care of
elderly parents) and I was not really enjoying any of them as a result.
I deeply apologize to anyone who read my previous website and actually
thought a human being could keep up that pace. You can’t, and why
would you want to if you could?
I had to make a choice about what to
put on the back burner, so I simplified my life to concentrate on
actually being part of my daughter’s life. I have absolutely,
positively no regrets, ever. Not even for a single second.
