My new book, "Malled: My Unintentional Career in Retail", inspired by my New York Times story, is out in paperback July 31, 2012 and will be published in China in September 2012.

"Malled" was nominated for the Hillman Award, given each year to honor "journalists who pursue investigative reporting and deep storytelling in service of the common good."

It's the story of my two-plus years working for The North Face as a sales associate. Intimate, detailed and candid, my book tells what it's really like to work for $7 to 10/hour.

Retail is the nation's third largest industry and the U.S.'s largest source of new jobs.

"Malled" explains this global industry in detail, from factory workers committing suicide in China to Americans struggling to support large families, usually on part-time poverty-level wages with no benefits. Working retail can be a terrific job -- when its productive and hard-working employees are well-managed and properly compensated.

My blog, with more than 900 followers worldwide, is here. I post three times a week, often on women, work and social commentary.

I'm a trustee of the Writers Emergency Assistance Fund. If you qualify, we can quickly grant up to $4,000 to non-fiction writers; apply at weaf.org.

I help corporate, consumer and custom clients, including The Wall Street Journal, Toronto Star, New York Times, Creative Living and Boys' Life. I've published more than 100 pieces in The New York Times, from renovation, real estate and sports coverage to medicine, personal essays, small business and personal finance.

I'm always looking for challenging new assignments. I also coach other writers and edit their work; please email me for rates.

"Thanks so much for the great coaching session. It really improved my query for my memoir and in fact, there has been some interest from agents as a result. I can't thank you enough for your advice." -- Judy Mandel