Several years after Beginners I got a call from the people working with Patti Davis (the daughter of actress Nancy Davis and Ronald Reagan, who was President of the U.S. at the time) asking if I’d like to meet with Patti to talk about a novel she wanted to write. I’d never collaborated with another author before, like most writers I was more of a lone wolf, but I was intrigued by the idea. Patti had already written about a hundred pages toward the book, which I read and we brainstormed about the project, about her vision for the book and what it could become.

Coincidence: our editor at Crown turned out to be the illustrious Betty Prashker, whom I had met before, on Beginners, when she was at Doubleday. Betty was masterful at helping us shape the book, structure the story, troubleshooting, and directing our focus.

A very big year: I was pregnant with my first child during the 9 months that Patti and I worked on Home Front. In August of 1985 we delivered the manuscript, and the second delivery came a few weeks later at Cedars-Sinai Hospital in West Hollywood. {He is a Libra.}

My daughter arrived three years later (a Gemini). In my experience, motherhood and writing make beautiful companions.