What I Did to Stella

Much of my writing of Vagabond occurred when I was newly pregnant with my second daughter, which was instrumental in my deepening of Stella’s character. I had a very difficult pregnancy, winding up on hospital bedrest at 34 weeks. And though, as the mother of a two-year-old, I’d occasionally fantasized about required bedrest and all the amazingly productive things I’d be able to do if I were medically mandated to not parent, the reality did not live up to the fantasy, and I spent my days missing