Susan Spillman, Neighbor

Susan Spillman, a former staff writer and columnist with the Life section of USA Today, these days shares a home office with her son, Jordan, 15, and daughter, Lily, 10. While that means she doesn&#39;t get much writing done after 3 p.m. or on weekends, the set-up does keep her up on the latest from the trenches of both elementary and high school.<br><br>A journalism graduate of Pepperdine University back in the day when big cities had two thriving newspapers, Susan&#39;s work has appeared in dozens of publications, including The Wall Street Journal, Entertainment Weekly, TV Guide, Smart Money, The New York Daily News, People and Cosmopolitan.<br><br>Married for 19 years to media executive Jeff Rowe, Susan enjoys chronicling her weekly observations of life in the burbs, realizing that &#34;these days are precious and fleeting fast.&#34;