On my fourteenth birthday, I woke up to find my parents gone an d a note on the kitchen table that said: "At the hospital."

A few years ago when my sister-in-law retired, she decided to write witch novels.

I was cleaning out my office the other day and came upon a box of letters. There were a hundred or so, and soon I was surrounded by paper: pretty stationery, notebook pages, and postcards.

I received a fan letter from a lady who loved Hostile Witness. She ended her note by thanking me profusely for not killing Max, the dog.

Lawyers work pro-bono. Doctors cross borders to help those less fortunate. Retired business people and teachers mentor. Most pros recognize that volunteering is key to establishing and growing their business.

When I was little my parents packed my brothers and sister and me into the back of a huge station wagon every August, and off we went to Palm Springs. There was no air conditioning in the car or the budget hotels where we stayed. It was 110 in the shade if we were lucky. The kids shared one room and our parents the other. I understand now that we weren't well off.