one. two. she savors the plume of her exhale as it obscures the treeline. three. then, a thousand. she rolls her neck all the way back, as if she was craning to see out of the sunroof, but it's just…

After optioning the film rights to a novel, I remember giving the author a book about screenwriting. My intention was to help her understand the process we were going to go through as we adapted it into a screenplay. But…

In good traffic, my house on the Boardwalk is only 8 minutes north of the Golden Gate Bridge. Not “the country” by any means, but it does border a 600-acre primal salt marsh that is home to California’s largest population…

Sometime in the middle of all the divorce mediation mess , with my fits of rage, and Paul's bouts of fear shredding whatever solid foundations our mediator was trying to help us build for the future, came my birthday. Paul…

It comes every day Around this time I like to watch for signs of it Little sparrows altogether Singing their fierce hearts out In the arms of strong green pines Windows in every house Brighten with yellow light As families…

You know what you hate-- You hate to be picked on They yell "You're an eyesore!" Which you try to ignore. They call out so smugly, "Hey, there-- mean and ugly!" The Principal invites them to have a chat. Thank…

She was mighty young to know what the word “ hate” meant, yet, even so, she knew how it felt. Feelings come with the package, straight from the womb, as red hot and moist as the first tears of terror…

It's the ocean that always knows, that is speaking its mysteries. The ocean, that primordial womb, the source of all creation. For my own healing, I had to make peace with this part of my nature, to meet the selkie…

I was at a friend of mine’s daughters second birthday party. My friends lived in a small apartment in Santa Monica but they were both in show business and one of them had a client/friend who lived in a huge,…

"Fuck it — Sure." Ana looks up at the waiter with a tired smile. He looks glad and uneasy. The couple sits down across from her. It's the only opening and it's only 4. What else was she going to…

Decades ago, it was hard to figure out who I was because I was good at so many things - biology, English, French, history. To my mother's horror, the high school aptitude test said I was an artist, which was…

Me? Do I want a lavish life? Ha, ha, ha. I seen those movies. Tons a them. The gangster marries a blonde, only he don't marry her because he's a sinner and just wants to live together and have fun.…