Throughout my school years, I panicked whenever I had to write an essay. What would I say? Why would anyone be interested? Many years later, I accepted an invitation to edit and write the Parent/Teacher newsletter at my children’s grammar school. It was then that I fell in love with words and their power to stimulate, motivate, and influence. It was the stepping stone to a fulfilling life of writing.
I collaborated in writing a humorous play that successfully eradicated existing discord between parents and faculty. I went on to work with the school system’s psychologist to create a series of Behavior Modification skits to benefit parents and teachers.
Throughout the 1970s, I wrote human interest stories and press releases for the West Essex Tribune and the Star-Ledger newspapers. I then joined the writing staff of sister publications, Northern Horizon and Montague magazines. My assignments included provocative topics such as How to turn doilies into Valentines, How to decorate tissue boxes with gold sprayed macaroni, and What to do if confronted by a bear, in the woods. For those who are interested, the answer is scream, and bang pots and pans, which only work if you remember to bring them with you on your hike.
In 1999 my column, Laverne’s View, was published in Fifty Plus Monthly, a regional New Jersey newspaper with a large readership. The column caught on and nearly every day brought emails and letters from appreciative readers.
Senior Wire News Service picked up my column for syndication in 2004 and is read nationally.
In 2012 my first book, How the (Bleep) Did I Get This Old? was published. Within hours of its release I was flooded with emails from publications across the country and Australia asking me to blog for them. Forbes and Huff Post were among those that reached out to me. I accepted Huff Post.
The onslaught of non-stop emails and phone calls continued for several exhausting, exciting months.
My writing has appeared in, to name a few, Huff Post, Reader’s Digest, Mature Living, Woman’s Hockey, Big Apple Parent, TrueHumor.com, After Fifty Living, and the Daily Record newspaper. Some anthologies that include my writing are Story House, Rocking Chair Reader, Bedpan Banter, Craft of the Modern Writer, and Columnists: While We’re Still Around.
I was interviewed by international radio host Carol Marks on her show A Touch of Grey. Brian Feinblum interviewed me for his book marketing buzz blog, and Bottom Line Retirement interviewed me twice, for its national publication.
Driving Backwards On a One-Way Street; a Sassy Senior’s Map to Finding Humor in Everything, is my second collection of laugh-out-loud syndicated columns.
I live with my artistic husband, Marc Cicchetto, and our pampered Bichon Frise, Shadeaux, who was born in France and barks like an air horn but with a French accent. Marc and I met online in 2003. We live in Newton, New Jersey where we enjoy all the perks of country living.
Being a breast cancer survivor has contributed significantly to my immense love for, and appreciation of, life.
