About Me


I'm a native New Yorker and amateur historian. While other kids were reading Dr. Seuss, I would read history books for fun, but the more I studied history, the more I wanted to know about the women who made it, only to find that the section in my school library was rather slim. Still, I persevered, reading everything I could get my hands on. The result of my research is the blog Scandalous Women (http://scandalouswoman.blogspot.com), launched in the fall of 2007 to an audience eager to discover some of history's most fascinating and flagrant women.


Since its inception, Scandalous Women has averaged over twenty thousand hits a month and was named one of the 50 Top History Blogs by Zen College Life. I am a member of the Historical Novel Society, MWA, and Sisters in Crime. My first book, SCANDALOUS WOMEN, was released in March 2011 to enthusiastic reviews (Stiletto Storytime called it “not to be missed.) Since the book’s release, it has been sold to Thailand, Poland, and Korea, and was a best-seller in Singapore. The book has been featured in the DAILY CANDY weekend section and was an RT Book Review Non-Fiction Pick of the Month for April 2011.

I've been interviewed by Marie Claire Malaysia, The West Side Spirit, and the Pittsburgh Historical Fiction Examiner. She was also named RWA NYC’s Author of the Year for 2011. A pop-culture diva, I have written for the popular quiz site Reward TV.com as well as Heroes and Heartbreakers, A Perfect Romance, and Criminal Element. A former professional actress, I have played virgins, vixens, and princesses in everything from Shaw to Shakespeare.

My second book PRETTY EVIL NEW YORK, came out in October 2021

Popular posts from this blog

The Many Lives of Beryl Markham

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“A life has to move or it stagnates. Even this life, I think. Every tomorrow ought not to resemble every yesterday.” – Beryl Markham   Two of my favorite writers, Lauren Willig and Deanna Raybourn , have writers have novels set in Kenya during the 1920’s. I have previously written about some of the denizens of the Happy Valley Set (Alice de Janze, Idina Sackville) before but I was all of a sudden inspired to read more about Beryl Markham. Way back in the 1980’s, after OUT OF AFRICA was released, there was a miniseries on CBS called SHADOW ON THE SUN starring Stephanie Powers as Markham. I vaguely remember a scene were Powers as Markham says “I’ve flown the Atlantic” in a really terrible English accent. Born in England but raised in Kenya, Beryl Markham was a notorious beauty. She trained race horses and had scandalous affairs, but she is most remembered for being a pioneering aviatrix. She became the first woman to cross the Atlantic Ocean and the first person to make it
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Scandalous Women in Fiction: Irene Forsyte

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I recently watched 2002 Granada Television production of John Galsworthy's The Forsyte Saga again to immerse myself in the world of the Victorians. I was struck again by the character of Irene Heron Forsyte, the mysterious, and aloof beauty that is at the heart of the first series. During the course of the first six episodes she manages to enchant not one but three of the Forsyte men as well as stealing the heart of Philip Bosinney, the fiance of her good friend June Forsyte. She leaves her husband Soames, which causes a scandal, that reverberates throughout the second series. Soames is never really able to get over losing Irene. Irene is certainly a Scandalous Woman but it is less about what she does than how the men in her life perceive her that makes her so Scandalous. When we first meet Irene in both the television series she is living in Bournemouth with her stepmother. Her father who was a Professor (we are not told of what) has died, leaving Irene with only 50 pounds a year
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Royal Princess, Royal Scandal - the sad life of Princess Margaret

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It'll be six years next month that HRH Princess Margaret passed away at the age of 71. Apparently her ex-husband, Lord Snowdon has decided to share intimate details of his marriage to the late Princess in a new biography. According to Hello Magazine: "News of the book, which is set to hit UK stores in the summer, may come as a surprise to many royal watchers. "There has always been an understanding that no biography would be published during his lifetime," says royal author Tim Heald - who wrote a biography of the Queen's late sister. "He has never spoken a word in public about Margaret," he continues, "He has remained very loyal to her and to her memory." "However, the royal snapper, who married the beautiful, blue-eyed royal at Westminster Abbey in 1960, has given his "full agreement" to the new biography by well-known journalist Anne de Courcy. "I am now happy for people to know about my life and I want to put the record
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