Hello, I’m Cathy. I have had a blog, The Petrini Page, since 2007. But my old host company has become a problem, so it’s time to upgrade to a new one. I hope to copy a lot of my old posts onto this new page, but it could take a while, so bear with me.
In the meantime, for those of you who are new to The Petrini Page, here’s a summary of who I am and what I hope to do on this site.
I am a published author of 28 books for children and young adults, a former magazine editor, and the mother of a high-school senior. I’ve written 20 books for Sweet Valley High and other teen series, all under pseudonyms. My nonfiction kids’ books, under my own name, are on topics ranging from Dragons to Stonehenge to the Cherokee Indians. Currently, I’m writing a science fiction novel, a picture book, a teen time-travel fantasy, and a historical teen fantasy. In other words, I am trying to do too much at once and not making a lot of progress in any of them. But I’m closing in on a decision about what to pursue first, and I’ll let you know when I sort it out.
I’m a member of the Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers of America, the Society of Children Book Writers and Illustrators, and the National Federation of Press Women, among other groups.
In my spare time, I enjoy reading, drawing, traveling, taking photographs, and ruining my son’s life by making him do homework instead of letting him play video games all day. Other hobbies include releasing books into the wild for BookCrossing, filling my Little Free Library with books, and sending postcards to correspondents all over the world through Postcrossing. I also run an arts contest for children and teens at 220 schools across Northern Virginia, and help arrange fundraising and communications for my son’s high-school orchestra.
I hope to use this blog for talking about writing, reading, and parenting, as well as, at times, politics, art, and history. I know, it’s broad and unfocused, but so is life. Right?
I hope this will be interactive. Please respond if you want to chime in, agree, disagree, or otherwise add to the conversation. I ask you to keep it respectful, and to steer clear of spamming and scamming.
Thank you for tuning in!
The Petrini Page 