Welcome to rachelbethlevin.com! I’ve now officially got my own little plot of online real estate. I’m used to seeing my byline in print, but it does feel a little strange to see my full name plastered there across the top of the screen in its own url.

As you might imagine, there are lots of Rachel Levins out there. When I went shopping for a domain name, I found that rachellevin.com was already taken by a middle-aged Philadelphia realtor with a penchant for hot listings. Also, there’s another freelance journalist named Rachel Levin whose career seems to shadow mine (or mine hers). She too writes about culture and lifestyle for California-based publications and, I must admit, is more prolific than I. Though I’ve never met her, I keep crossing her path in strange ways. Once, a publicist in San Francisco mixed up our contact information in his Rolodex. Another time, a friend called to congratulate me on a byline in the New York Times – which was hers. This past year, our 1099 forms for Los Angeles magazine got mixed up! Thankfully, I got things straightened out before I had to pay taxes on her earnings.

When it came time to choose an address for my website, I opted to differentiate myself from this particular Rachel Levin and other Rachel Levins of the world at large. That’s why the website is christened with my full name — Rachel Beth Levin. So, I have now officially joined the ranks of three-name writers – Robert Penn Warren, Sue Monk Kidd, William Carlos Williams, Maxine Hong Kingston, Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Isaac Bashevis Singer, Jonathan Safran Foer, and (dare I say) Barack Hussein Obama – at least in spirit. Thanks to Mom and Dad for giving me a reasonably short and sweet middle name!

And thanks to all who visit the site. I hope you enjoy what you read here.