Rules are meant to be broken.

What keeps me sane, might make you crazy. What you think is heaven, might be my personal version of hell. It is the same with working motherhood. The idea behind 42 Rules for Working Moms is to gather the hard learned lessons from a lot of different women and share them with others so that we all feel better about our lives, our choices and our successes as working moms. What you read here each week might be just the thing you have been looking for, or you might give it a try and think to yourself, “What was she thinking?”

In the spring of 2005, I began my search for an OnRamp. I had worked for 15 years in corporate finance and was Managing Director at GATX before taking 4 years off to stay home with my four children. I had a great resume, active network and glowing recommendations, but a four-year gap in my resume

I write the majority of my books sitting in coffee houses, usually at one of the Starbucks or Tully’s close to my house in Bellevue. Bellevue’s fairly swanky as cities in the Pacific Northwest go. Great schools, glitzy malls, elegant libraries. It’s a great place to raise kids and a great place to be a woman, particularly if you’re one of the women that don’t have to work but can afford to be home with your kids.

Apparently I have a situation. Actually, I have three situations. Four, if you count the dog. Situation. That's how my boss used to refer to my husband.Just so you know, there was nothing wrong with my husband at the time. He wasn't ill. He didn't intrude at the office. He was busy building his career while I was busy building mine. We intended some day in the far future to have kids. But otherwise we lived independent lives.

If you are one of the many women in the U.S. thinking about returning to the workforce after taking time out to start a family, you might feel a bit lost. Technology has changed, your field may have shifted, and your priorities may be different now that you have little ones at home. The corporate job that excited you before having kids, for example, might appear too demanding.

Having a book out is huge. Having a book get turned into a movie is well, nothing short of miraculous.

Earlier this year, the book, “The Dangerous Book for Boys” made national best seller lists. Its call for boys to start being precocious, uncoddled and un-bubble-wrapped resonated with many parents who are loathe to slip into the role of helicopter parents.

Mommy Tracked, the novel, is the story of four women who become close friends as they wade through the exhausting and joyful years of new motherhood.

“Why don’t you help out in the classroom more, Mom? Why aren’t you there more like the other moms?” I suppose you could say my son’s innocent questions inspired Odd Mom Out.