Category: Story Time

Here’s another intriguing Romanian folktale I loved as a kid. I kept the translation close to the original language and cadence to give you a sense of what storytelling sounded like for my ancestors almost 150 years ago.

This is the story behind my debut novel, a legal thriller shaped by my immigrant experience, a heartbreaking moment with my daughter, and the painful ways my adoptive country has changed around us.

As a writer, I’m supposed to love writing, but there are parts of the process I really dislike. Proofreading, for instance. But that’s just a surface-level frustration. What truly unsettles me as a writer…

The first time I was asked that question, I was so baffled by it that I didn’t do a good job explaining myself. I think I might have even apologized for wanting to publish my work.

It was one evening in 2001. I was new to the US when I met another Romanian at a supermarket. His alias is Radu Codrescu. Radu had been imprisoned in Romania for trying to flee our native country during communism.

The US presidential elections are just a few days away, which makes me think of this story from my childhood in 1980s’ Romania when I joined a little cult…