I grew up in the suburbs of Long Island, in New York. I've lived all over America but these days I live and teach in Wales. I'm a published academic now writing fiction (and still a lot of critical stuff). I like to write novels featuring hard-boiled women. I also love language, sometimes to distraction. I made this profile as an author, but I really enjoy being a reader here. I am happy to answer questions about my books, but also just to chat about whatever people are reading. I love nineteenth-century novels, geeky non-fiction and contemporary genre stuff, when it's well written.