My pen name Mozelle means little house in French, which is fitting, given my upbringing and the extended bouts of “confinement” throughout my personal history. In fact, a house—as the main antagonist—has been the most frequent motif and player in my dreams for decades. So many rooms! Some, I’ve wanted to hide inside. Others, I’ve tried to flee from. Writing allows me to explore them all—safe behind the backspace button on my laptop.
I chose the Hebrew spelling and meaning of Mozelle, as it means drawn/saved from the water and bitterness. Ah, now that’s even closer to the mark! But the true emotional component that ‘sealed the deal’ on my pen name was a childhood memory of one of my mother’s friends, the mysterious, dark-haired Mozelle. Neighbor, artist, belly-dancer, taxidermist, landlord to snakes and owls in her kitchen, independent-minded wife and mother, under-the-radar rebel. Perfection. Not her, per se. No one on earth is perfect. And she fed a group of “society” women acorns from her backyard without them knowing… Who does that? No, I mean the electric, creative air that surrounded her. Thank you, Mozelle, for your part in the colorful dream I’m compelled to fulfill. Now that’s a lot of L’s!