My personal essay about my Episcopalian affiliation and my fiancé's Buddhism appeared in the first issue of RiseUp, a new 5.5 million circ. weekly national magazine distributed with newspapers around the country -- from my former employer, the New York Daily News, to the Washington Post. I'm now working on five more pieces for them. Their focus on multiculturalism and diversity matches my experience, with residence in five countries, multiple international fellowships and fluency in French and Spanish.

In June, I attended the National Magazine Awards in Toronto, having served as a bilingual finalist judge. I enjoyed lunch with several Canadian members of the American Society of Journalists and Authors (ASJA), focusing on our goal to attract more Canadians to our 1,267-member international group. I'm an ASJA board member and co-chair of its New York City program committee.

In that role, Mid-May I moderated a Manhattan panel of New York Times editors advising freelancers how to pitch the Science, Home, Sports, and Westchester sections. We had 55 in attendance and the webcast (available for sale through ASJA) got rave reviews from as far away as Colorado and Florida. Freelancer Valerie Peterson quickly sold her first NYT piece as a result.

My book, Blown Away: American Women and Guns -- which Booklist called "groundbreaking and invaluable" -- continues to sell to those hoping to understand why 11 to 18 million American women have chosen to own a firearm, for hunting, sport, work, or self-defense. It also includes the voices of the many women touched by gun violence, with 104 original interviews from 29 states, from Olympic gold medalists to convicted felons.

I'm proud that 591 libraries, from Yale, Princeton, Brown, and Harvard Law School to The Federal Law Enforcement Training Center, have added it to their collections.