4 Things You Probably Don't Know About Me

I haven't been sure what to post about, so I've decided to share some facts you may not know about me. After all, that's one of the benefits of the modern relationship among writers, bloggers, and readers, right — the personal connection. And while I've written about the industry and about my writing, I haven't spent much time writing about myself, partially because of #3 and #4 below. Here goes:

1. I'm a naturalized U.S. Citizen, or in other words, I'm an immigrant. In fact, I didn't become a U.S. citizen until my freshman year in high school, which I remember most vividly because my classmates didn't believe me the following day that that had been the reason I missed school. The assumption was that since I spoke English like a native, I must be a native. But I was born in the Soviet Union, and I first learned to read and write in Russian.
2. I'm Jewish. Rampant antisemitism was part of what drove my family out of Russia, and its drastic resurgence is part of why I haven't much referenced my religion or nationality, even though some may have suspected simply because I went to Brandeis (which has a lower percentage of Jewish students than you might think). At first, I was concerned that making Judaism part of the conversation when it came to me as an author would potentially push certain readers, or possibly even agents and publishers, away. If my Judaism offends you, though, that's your call, and you can feel free never to read my work or to return to this blog.
3. I'm terribly introverted. So not only is it difficult for me to reach out to or connect with people, virtually included, but I'm also horrible at it. Even Twitter chats make me anxious.
4. This post initially had a higher number in the title, but I honestly don't know what else to share which might be of any interest. So feel free to ask me any questions in the comments!