I am a travel writer, photographer, and adventurer living in New York City. A bit about each of those:

My Writing

I am the author of four books: Relocating to New York City and Surrounding Areas (2nd Edition in progress), Writer's & Illustrator's Guide to Children's Book Publishers and Agents (2nd Edition), New York City with Kids (2nd Edition), and Shopping the North Carolina Furniture Outlets. You may click on the book images to your right for more information about my books or to purchase any of them. I also write magazine, newspaper, and online articles about destinations near and far.

I am currently working on a new edition of Relocating to New York (forthcoming from Three Rivers Press in 2008), and planning many other adventures with my latest and greatest labor of love, my son PJ.

How I Got from There to Here

A travel enthusiast since childhood, when I saved my babysitting and snow shoveling money for my first overseas trips, I've journeyed to the four corners of the globe in search of unusual destinations, interesting people and unique travel experiences. I've written for major national travel publications about, among other things, wineries in South Africa, New Zealand, and British Columbia; trekking in the Nepal Himalayas; Michelin three-star dining in Europe; climbing Mount Kilimanjaro; SCUBA diving destinations around the globe; journeying overland through Africa; archaeological digs in the Middle East; Southeast Asian cuisine and culture; cooperative camping in Alaska; and solo dining and travel for women.

My first career was in book publishing, as a marketing manager. In 1996, no longer satisfied with selling other people's writing, I took the plunge. I launched my career as a travel writer -- by traveling more. Leaving my husband behind at home, I took to the water first, studying and diving to get my PADI Divemaster certification. Once accomplished, I returned home, washed my dirty underwear and, waving goodbye to my husband once more, I set out again for phase two: traveling for three months overland through Southern Africa.

Once my travel trinkets were shelved and my tan had faded, the reality of the challenge ahead began to set in. Slogging it out from home, sending query after query and receiving rejection after rejection, travel writing didn’t feel like much fun. Somewhere along the way, though, I submitted an article about my travels in Africa to Arthur Frommer, Editor in Chief of the then fledgling magazine Arthur Frommer's Budget Travel. In one fell swoop my piece was accepted and I was hired as an editor.

By the time I left Budget Travel I had gained the title of Senior Editor, had lived the ups and downs of the magazine industry, and endured the grueling hours of working at a startup publication. After interviewing around a bit and finding no jobs that appealed to me, I decided I was ready to give the freelance life a shot. My husband (litigation attorney cum freelance food writer -- imagine having this conversation from a pay phone on The Skeleton Coast in Namibia: “I think I’d like to quit my job as a lawyer and try freelance writing full time.”) and I packed up our car and spent the next two months and 11,000 miles driving around and exploring the United States, he writing and updating his Web site from Motel 6 dialup connections and I writing and e-mailing newsletter updates. That was in the summer of 2000.

It wasn't long after our return that I received a fateful e-mail from the founder and Publisher of Prima Publishing (which was subsequently bought by Random House; Prima titles were later folded into other RH imprints or went out of print). We began a correspondence and I contracted to write my first book: Relocating to New York City and Surrounding Areas. Two other books followed: Writer's & Illustrator's Guide to Children's Book Publishers and Agents (my other passion, in addition to travel, is children's books) and New York City with Kids, and the two respective second editions followed with Random House imprint, Three Rivers Press. My fourth book, Shopping the North Carolina Furniture Outlets, was published by Three Rivers Press. During this time I also wrote "Off the Beaten Path," a weekly column for Condé Nast's Concierge.com, hosted the travel discussion forums for the New York Times on the Web, and wrote travel articles for Frommer's.

My Photography and Exhibits

I began my photography career as a teen shooting parties. Currently, I concentrate on cultural portraiture, mostly in Nepal and elsewhere in Asia (Mongolia, Tibet, China). My passion is photographing people in their local environments and capturing them as they go about their daily lives. I also photograph nature and natural environments ranging from Mt.Everest and some of her sisters to flowers in bloom and yaks bearing their burdens. I also enjoy food photojournalism: chefs and kitchens in action, plated food/still life, artisinal farmers/cheesemakers/bakers, street food and vendors familiar and foreign, etc.

In addition to being the photographer for all three of my travel books, my photographs have appeared in, amongst others, full spreads in Arthur Frommer's Budget Travel, the publications of the CanWest Global media conglomerate in Canada (my photographs have been published in as many as 10 newspapers at once -- including the Montreal Gazette and the Vancouver Sun -- weekly for a seven week series), and photo essays on eGullet.org (accompanying my articles and Weblogs) where I'm also the general site photographer and provide stock photography for the organization.

I've given talks and slide shows around New York City and the United States, in both commercial and educational settings. My most recent slide presentation and photo exhibit was at the Telluride MountainFilm festival on tour in Northwest Florida. I've spoken at several schools as well as for the American Youth Hostel organization. I do accept requests for slide presentations and photo exhibit displays about Nepal and the Himalayas, as well as about being a travel writer and photographer. I'm located in New York City but can travel with sufficient advance notice.

A number of my photo collections, including "Faces of Nepal," are available via the links at the left-hand side of this page. I'll be adding more of my photo collections over time.

My Adventures

Before my son was born in August of 2005, I led 10- to 18-day treks in the Nepal Himalayas most every October. This trip has always been open to enthusiastic, low-maintenance, independent-minded, physically fit travelers. Group size never exceeds a maximum of 12 participants (and often fewer). I do not advertise these trips: they are strictly a word-of-mouth endeavor, so if you know of people who might be interested feel free to direct them to my Web site. I prefer to lead groups this way, so that only those who are truly interested in experiencing Nepal up close and personal make their way to me. This makes for enthusiastic, well-prepared trekkers, small cohesive groups, and the experience of a lifetime. Early booking is encouraged in order to secure airline reservations (flights to Nepal for October are regularly sold out by the end of March), so please inquire early if you're interested in doing a trek.

My pause in leading these treks coincided not only with the birth of my son but also with the greatly increased violence brought on by the conflict between the Maoists and the government in Nepal (carried out by the military and police). I continued to trek and travel in Nepal (departing the United States and leading a trek just days after September 11, 2001) for years after the Maoist insurgency began but in the past couple of years, the escalation had given, even me, pause.

But now it seems that things have quieted down. The government has come to an agreement with the Maoists and this has led to a laying down of weapons on both sides and a promise by the Maoists to leave locals and tourists unharmed. How long this will last, I cannot say. But for the time being, things look more promising than they have in many years -- since the insurgency began. So, treks in Nepal are starting up again on demand. If you or someone you know is interested in a trek in Nepal, see the links to the right for details and feel free to be in touch.

From 1997 to 2005 I, along with long-time hiking buddy Jim Jackson, co-led a hiking trip for the Sierra Club along the historic Rogue River. We have each since hung up our Sierra Club trip leader titles (Jim in 2004, I in 2005) but the Rogue River trail is still a winner by all accounts and a bit tamer (and closer) than a trek in Nepal.

The Rogue River Trail is a lodge-to-lodge trip over relatively easy terrain and, for a hiking trip, is relatively luxurious and user-friendly. The food at the various lodges is quite enjoyable as well, and has been the subject of one of my photo essays on eGullet.org.For those who are not interested in hiking, the Rogue River is famous for rafting and fishing trips.

In addition to the destinations listed above, I can also, upon request, accommodate small groups on trips in Mongolia, China, and Tibet. All of these trips are subject to a number of variables and I do emphasize small group, low impact, culturally sensitive trips.

In addition to being an avid trekker, I run in the occasional marathon (I've done New York three times as well as Vancouver). A former NCAA swimmer who still swims almost every day when I'm not traveling, I feel almost more at home in water than on land. I am also a PADI SCUBA Divemaster.