Currently a copywriter and content strategist for a small liberal arts college, I tinker with poetry and creative nonfiction in my spare time. Akin to art or music therapy, creative writing is cathartic, opening the door to self-exploration and healing—as I’ve learned over time. Madville Publishing will release my collection, The Tears of Things, in 2025.
Like a lot of creatives, I took a peripatetic path, mostly as a writer and editor and occasional college instructor. A stint in literary grad studies told me what I didn’t want: an academic career analyzing texts. (I was having too much fun experimenting with my own writing.) No regrets, however. I took a mind-walk through 2,000 years of lit crit, picking up memorable figures of speech. Sometimes that’s handy inspiration when turning a phrase.
So I talked my way into a copywriting gig at Southern Living. (Fake it till you make it, right?) Then I signed on as an editor at Southern Accents. It was a crash course in all things southern: porches made in the shade, lush gardens, blue highways, big-city glare, small-town low lights, antiques, art, and food, food, food. However, a turn at Cooking Light (copy chief) purged bacon grease from my kitchen.
After a detour to collect a master’s in communication arts, I relocated to the Midwest on joining the staff at Meredith Books (associate managing editor) and Better Homes and Gardens (health editor). Iowans are low-key friendly and put on the best state fair. Ever! Life tip: make friends with culinary editors (for invites to dinner parties galore) and garden writers (for an eternal supply of passalong plants).
Expanding my skill set prompted a jump from print to digital and certification in social media marketing. As a freelancer, I’ve covered a lot of topics (except the esoteric, quantum physics, and porn). Whatever the project, I apply creativity, analytical thinking, and economy of language to package accessible content that’s on brand and answers audiences’ needs and problems to solve. Though still in love with the smell of print—especially antique books—I kill fewer trees.