Nonfiction Writer

Last night, I came home with straw on the back of my black pants & make-up on my face. Why? I was interviewed at a turkey farm in East Windsor, NJ, for a History Channel Holiday Special hosted by Lewis Black that will air in 2009. The set was outside; my seat, a bale of hay; the background, barns with turkeys whose "gobbles" provided the background soundtrack. Interviewed about what, you might be wondering. The producer contacted me after discovering my new book Thanksgiving: The True Story. The actual interview, however, focused on turkeys with question ranging from the history of turkeys to the pressure to cook the "perfect" turkey to a discussion about the gel in the tip of brown feathers that if broken leaves a mark on the turkey's skin that looks like a bruise, thus 90% of all turkeys today are white. Fortunately, although my head is into Stirring Up The World (my forthcoming bio of Elizabeth Cady Stanton & Susan B. Anthony), I had spent the morning prepping for the interview--a day in the life of a nonfiction writer!!