... what was just supposed to be a writers' retreat in Japan....

... then I moved to Terracina, a beachside town in Italy with a witch-shaped mountain floating in the sea.

I gave myself another deadline: three months tops in Terracina. Then back to New York.

I really meant it, too.

That was in 2010. One novel later (and another one on the way), and I'm still here.

I'm a glutton for punishment, I guess.