We come from very different backgrounds! Paul grew up in New York City and suburbs with his closely-knit family -- grandparents, great grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins all living close by. They were fairly affluent and Paul’s father went into the family law firm after he left the navy. When you read about enchanted childhoods, Paul and his younger sister Laura had it! They lived in a rural suburb of New York City in a majestic custom-built home with a pond (ice-skating in the winter!), stream and ducks.

On wintry days, Paul’s mother, a stay-at-home mom, would have a roaring fire and steaming cocoa ready when they tramped home from school through the snow. In the summer they picked blueberries, raspberries and strawberries. They were given piano lessons, riding lessons, swimming lessons, archery lessons and astronomy lessons at a nearby observatory… every interest was encouraged. You’d think spoiled brats would come of all this privilege, but instead, Paul and his sister are gentle, generous, curious, well-rounded and confident. His sister and her two little boys live 25 minutes away and we visit with them often; we were thrilled to sleep over four nights in the guest room last Christmas...it was magical! And we got to catch up on bedtime stories. (Rupert has requested that Loren make him a book on the red panda, 12 chapters!)

Loren was born in Maryland and grew up with two younger sisters and a little brother, both from her mother’s second marriage to a jazz trumpet player. (He is the coolest…he even tuned our piano himself!) Like Paul and Laura’s childhood, the holidays were always a big deal -- over-the-top decorations, craft projects, Easter egg hunts, Fourth-of-July picnics, homemade cakes and cookies. Because there was so much expressiveness and fun, it wasn’t until Loren was older that she realized their means had been very modest. Loren’s family lived in three different cities while she and her siblings were growing up and Loren learned how to cultivate friendships everywhere she went. She met her biological father when she was in her 20s and was amazed to find they were both writers, had studied ancient Egyptian grammar and loved monkeys. Loren’s mother is a former art teacher, an actress in theatre (always working) and teaches special-ed kids. She will be over the moon when Loren and Paul tell her they have been blessed with a baby. The whole family will be over the moon!

As for other family, Loren has a celebrated playwright cousin less than an hour away who just had a second baby last year. Loren’s youngest sister had a baby in March and Loren and her other sister planned the shower down to the smallest detail including doing the calligraphy on the invitations.

Loren and Paul are both successful, published writers. Paul works full-time as a writer and is completing his first novel set in 18th-century Europe. He’s already won several awards, and yes, he has a great agent! Loren works four days a week with a beauty company writing and producing creative short films. She’s also written for newspapers, magazines and books, which have been translated into several languages. The great thing about being a writer, is that you can do it from home -- you can do it anywhere! After Loren and Paul take time off to bond with the baby, Loren wants to trim her schedule down from four to three days a week.