Clea Simon, Cambridge, MA.

After 25 years of deadlines, somehow I missed this one. Maybe I just wasn't sure what I wanted to write. In brief, the last 25 have been good to me. I'm certainly happier than I'd thought I'd be. I lucked out in marriage to Jon Garelick (who taught expos to some of our younger classmates, but not to us). He writes about jazz, and I'm still pretty true to my rock roots, but it seems to have worked and this spring we're celebrating our 10th anniversary here in mid-Cambridge. With his support and encouragement, I have more or less left journalism to write mysteries, though I still freelance a bit on the side. Yes, the mysteries have cats in them and I indulge my lifelong love of bad puns in the titles, but the cats don't talk or solve the crimes. We don't have kids (and only have one cat), so in some ways, it feels like our lives haven't changed that much. Mortgage instead of rent, and I no longer resent this city's early closing hours. But on any given Saturday afternoon, you can find us in one of the Square bookstores (the ones that remain) or having coffee. Looking forward to seeing some familiar faces and watching folks readjust to what has become my home town. (http://www.cleasimon.com)