My Web Site - About the Author

Am I urban enough? Actually, I live in an area of L.A. County that’s surrounded by woods. I enjoy urban life, but love coming back to nature and solitude.

2. In school, I flunked:

A. Handwriting, 2^nd grade

B. Geometry - let’s just say math isn't my forte

C. Recess

So I didn’t actually flunk recess, but I’ve had my share of recess mishaps. Several times, particularly in the fourth grade, I’d come back from recess only to have some kid point to my penny loafers and announce, "Oooooooh, Mrs. Weiss, Eileen stepped in dog-doo!" You’d think I’d have learned after stepping in it once.

I also have vivid memories of getting lost coming back from recess in the first grade. The principal always found me and escorted me back to class.

3. Family pecking order growing up:

A. Mom and Dad

B. Jack, my older brother

C. Ricky, our Pekingese

D. Me

Yes, the dog seemed to think he was older than me, and perhaps in dog years he was. Who was I to argue?

4. Nicknames I’ve had:

A. Dee Dee Hardhead, Private Investigator

(given to me by my brother when we were very little)

B. Leenie (I'd rather be Dee Dee.)

C. Bloomers (what they called me at a certain job to avoid confusion since there were two Eileens. For those of you who aren’t old enough to know, in my parents’ generation, “bloomers” was another word for women’s underpants. Flattering, I know. I thought about redeeming the name by writing a children’s series entitled, Mademoiselle Bloomers, but I didn’t want to compete with Captain Underpants.

5. Favorite Pastimes:

A. Reading

B. Hiking, the beach, or anywhere in nature

C. Israeli Folkdancing (and other dancing, too)

D. Movies - one of my favorite movies of all time is Groundhog Day

with Bill Murray. Funny, yet intelligent and profound.

6. Other career aspirations that never happened:

A. Job Title: Dancing Pig

B. Location: Disneyland

C. Department: Electrical Parade

It’s got to be the only dancing job where they hire people 5'2" and under. I’ve always wanted to prance in public wearing a pig costume. The freedom of behaving like that anonymously is delicious. Actually, writing fantasy isn’t that far off from being a dancing pig. Who knew?

7. When writing, I’ve been known to:

A. Slip into a trance,

B. Leave my body,

C. Then travel across the universe where I plagiarize other people’s writing.

Hey? Who wrote that? I surely didn’t. Oh, there I go plagiarizing, again. Seriously, I would never steal someone else’s writing. Not only is it wrong, but I wouldn’t want to miss out on the joy of creating. But sometimes, when I’m inspired, it feels like my characters come to life and whisper in my ear what to write. They just use me to type because they haven’t learned how.

8. Favorite Word

A. Flabbergasted

No need for B and C on this one. Tell me you don’t love it, too. I try to use it in a sentence no more than twice a year; otherwise, it might lose its appeal. It’s said in a

s-t-r-e-t-c-h-e-d out, exaggerated way with a particular accent, complete with hand motions. So satisfying . . .

9. Hidden Talents and Quirks:

A. “Discovering” that bananas can be sectioned like oranges, except bananas have only three sections. I’m always amazed at how many people find it weird that I do that.

B. Getting Lost. If they gave credentials for losing your way, I’d have a Ph.D., although I believe the academic distinction to be Directional Ineptitude.

C. Haven’t I embarrassed myself enough?

10. Patterns in My Writing:

A. Humor

B. Heart

C. Death

I didn't consciously plan it, but death shows up a lot when I write. I even won a contest for writing my own obituary. But it works. Don't believe me? Just read Stuck Down. You'll see.