Frequently asked questions about me                                                                     

• What is your favorite restaurant in Columbus?


• Where are your favorite places to travel?


• Where would you like to visit that you haven't been?


• What are your favorite books?


• Who are some of your favorite authors?


• What are you writting next?


• What are some of your hobbies and interests?


• What type of music do you listen to?

That’s a loaded question and depends on my mood, but I do have a standard circuit of eateries:

• Akai Hana (former Restaurant Japan) for sushi
• Hyde Park – the location on Old Henderson Road- for red meat
• Spagio’s in Grandview for wood-fired pizza and bottles of wine
• Chile Verde for a tamale fix
• Betty’s Mac & Cheese for when I need a little ‘comforting’
• Moretti’s of Arlington, when I’m just too lazy to cook

France

Oh! Where to begin? I am a total Francophile. Paris is like an old, comfortable sweater. It stays tucked away in that special place until the right time to bring it out. No matter how much time passes between visits, Paris always feels comfortable and familiar.  So does Nice… I lived there for a while and it’s a manageable city. Easy to fly into and makes a great base for exploring the Riviera and Provence.  Despite being in the heart of the Cote d’Azure, Nice doesn’t exude the glitz and glam of Cannes or St. Tropez.  Its sophistication is more subtle – and you will never see more shades of blue in your life. I recently visited Southwestern France- a most mysterious and magical place, full of Arthurian and grail legend; where medieval architecture lovers, such as I, have no shortage of rubble-n-ruin to explore.  

British Virgin Islands

I adore the slow pace and laid-back lifestyle of the British Virgin Islands. Every view is a photo-op. Every sailor is a pirate. Food leaves something to be desired, but stick with the local nosh (chicken roti or lobster) and you can’t go wrong!  The minimal dining options are the trade-off for peace & serenity. It doesn’t get any better than discovering a secluded beach or experiencing jaw-dropping views from a precarious mountain road.  Not to mention, the duty free shopping is pretty sweet.  This is a true vacation.

Cape Cod

To quote a Patti Page song, “If you’re fond of sand dunes & salty air; quaint little villages here & there… you’re sure to fall in love with old Cape Cod.”  I never tire of this part of the world, but prefer to visit in off-season when crowds and traffic are waning.  The village of Sandwich is among my favorite towns on the Cape, as is Provincetown. Two very different vibes!  Sandwich is loaded with colonial history and architecture; Americana at its best.  P’Town is the antithesis… it’s odd; it’s artsy; it’s gay & colorful. One of my all-time favorite restaurants is here.  My last supper would be at the Lobster Pot. I would leave this earth double-fisting a lobster roll and Bloody Mary face down in a bowl of lobster bisque. Amen to that!

England

I need a London fix on a regular basis. West End Theatre. Chip shops. Dodging taxis & double-decker buses. An insane number of art museums. I dig the London vibe. But once you get out of the city, England takes on a whole new persona. I’ve been to every cathedral city in the country (and quite a few in Scotland and Wales) and it is tough to pick & choose my favorite spots. I lived in a small village between Nottingham and Lincoln for more than a year and became quite attached to Nottinghamshire. Despite not having the most spectacular scenery, it does have one of the most gorgeous and storied cathedrals in the world. The cathedral and city of Lincoln is not on the usual tourist circuit, but is worth venturing slightly off-the-beaten-track to visit for a night or two. I’m particularly fond of Yorkshire, where I worked English Heritage. Its scenery is soft & rolling. Its history is ancient and tumultuous. If I had to pick a favorite, York and its environs would be my choice. The great abbeys of Rievaulx, Fountains, Byland and Whitby surround the medieval walled city, with York Minster as the crowning jewel

There are so many places… My immediate wish list includes Croatia and Turkey and the two Caribbean islands of Trinidad and Barbados. I’m also fascinated with the idea of visiting northern Africa: Tunisia, Dubai, Egypt- mostly for the history and food.  My longer term goals include India, Patagonia and New Zealand.  One of the more odd-ball trips I’d like to take is staying in a yurt in Mongolia… not sure why.  I think a 1994 episode of Lonely Planet got to me. Embarrassingly enough, I’m half-Hawaiian and have never been to Hawaii- and even more embarrassing? I’ve never been to Disney World. Saving it up for those ever-elusive children.

Epic adventures and historical fiction.  I’ve always enjoyed long reads with complex characters and story lines. It all started when I read Les Miserables for my high school literature thesis.  It remains one of my favorites.

Just finished reading Ken Follett’s The Pillars of the Earth and enjoyed all 900 pages of it. I wasn’t totally convinced, but appreciated the character development.  I can’t help but read historical fiction with a hyper-critical eye.  Bernard Cornwell’s attention to historical detail is masterful.  He wrote a trilogy re-telling the tale of King Arthur in a fresh way: The Winter King, Enemy of God & Excalibur. His series of Saxon stories is equally engrossing: The Last Kingdom, Pale Horsemen & Lords of the North.  I have not yet read the fourth titled, Sword Song.

I am a huge fan of classic 20^th century mysteries and am currently on a Rex Stout and Agatha Christie odyssey.

Being a fan of art & travel, how could I not like Dan Brown’s Da Vinci Code and Angel & Demons.

Anything by P.G. Wodehouse involving the bumbling Bertie Wooster and his save-the-day valet, Jeeves, is a sure thing. Wodehouse makes me giggle.

I appreciate the great classics and have plowed through many of them. It seems every major newspaper and magazine has published some sort of “Top 100 of All-time” must-read list, but I particularly like Random House’s:  http://www.randomhouse.com/modernlibrary/100bestnovels.html

• The Sun Also Rises, by Ernest Hemingway
• And Then There Were None, Agatha Christie
• The Name of the Rose, by Umberto Eco
• Grapes of Wrath, by John Steinbeck
• The Unbearable Lightness of Being, by Vladimir Nabokov
• I, Claudius, by Robert Graves
• Tropic of Cancer, by Henry Miller
• Day of the Jackal, by Frederick Forsythe
• Even Cowgirls Get the Blues, by Tom Robbins

Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Henry Miller, John Cheever, Anais Nin, Vladimir Nabokov, Agatha Christie, Rex Stout, P.G. Wodehouse, Dan Brown, Stephen King .

I am still plugging away at Anne Rice’s crazy vampire books. I view her stuff as “seasonal reading” and tend to pick them up in the fall- which is why it’s taking me a decade to read all of her books.

There are quite a few things in the pipeline…

I’m presently finishing up the Insiders’ Guide to Cleveland and It Happened in Ohio.  Both published by Globe Pequot Press.  Also, the research for two regional guides is underway. One for the Finger Lakes region in central New York and one about the Laurel Highlands in southwestern Pennsylvania, where Fallingwater and Nemacolin Woodlands is located. 

I am also working on a pictorial history of Carnegie Mellon University for Arcadia Publishing’s “Images of America” series.  My co-author is Jennie Benford, the archivist for CMU.

The eternal work-in-progress is what I lovingly refer to as ‘the best seller’ (yet to be titled)… the ever-evolving historical fiction based in thirteenth century England. Part chivalric classic. Part epic-adventure. Part trashy romance.

Photography, gardening, cooking, wine, reading,  architecture, traveling, music, golf, yoga, writing, visiting museums, doting on my cats, argyle, Andy Warhol, medieval history, farmer's markets, playing scrabble (online only), creative people, herbs, teaching history classes, Ohio State football, anything French, secluded beaches, roses, dinner parties with friends, exploring new places, daydreaming, lobster rolls, visiting conservatories & gardens, road trips, sushi, Frank Lloyd Wright, pearls, horse racing, homemade pasta sauce, fishing villages, sculpture, historical novels, boats, glass art, and personal growth.

Anything that pleases my ears, but I particularly enjoy big band, swing, gypsy jazz & old standards, Andrew's Sisters, Mill's Brothers, Blossom Dearie, Ella Fitz, Django Reinhardt, Bing Crosby, Dean Martin - and just about any Happy Cha Cha music out there.  As for Contemporary artists: Dave Matthews, David Gray, Jason Mraz, Bireli Lagrene, Hot Club of Cowtown, James Morrison, Flynn, The Randys, Jack Johnson, Brandi Carlisle, The Shins, The Killers, Maroon 5, Jimmy Buffet (especially when it's cold out!) and OSU band music (only during football season.) I totally dig Christmas tunes. Classical music too.

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