Before writing fiction, she worked as an administrator for the National Endowment for the Humanities,[3] as a production artist for the Washington City Paper, as an editor for the Miami New Times, and as a proposal and speech writer for Tulane University.
She also worked as a freelance editor and illustrator before attending Columbia University to study creative writing.
Her latest novel, Natives and Exotics, appeared in 2005 and was one of that summer's recommended readings by Alan Cheuse[6] of National Public Radio.
[7] Her short fiction and critical writing have recently appeared in Seed; Five Points; Postscript: Essays on Film and the Humanities; and The Germanic Review.
She has also written several biographies for children and co-edited with Harold Bloom a critical series on women writers.