About
Hello, and welcome! I’m an freelance writer who concentrates on travel, food and beverage, and arts and lifestyle. I provide well-written pieces that serve the needs of my audience and clients, as well as my own interests and creativity. Take a look around.
A Bit About Me
Writing is something I enjoy because, in the end, I’ve told someone’s story. I’m comfortable with just about anyone and feel at home just about any where. I’m both an artsy type and a business-minded person. I enjoy my good health, eating everything in moderation, keeping fit. I enjoy being a mother, a sister and a friend…the other roles I play in my little world. I grew up in inner-city Chicago, and will always love that city. I’ve lived in Portland, Oregon for 24 years now (how did that happen!?) and have also lived in Bellingham and Ferndale, Washington and Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
There’s no city girl-country girl debate here: I’m both. I need my city activities, with its arts, galleries, theater, music, lectures, parties, concrete sidewalks and energy. I also like the pace of a small town, being close to the outdoors, and where you can’t go anywhere without bumping into someone you know. I enjoy the silence and peace that comes from yoga, mediation, a walk or a hike. I love the energy of being active outdoors; a strenuous hike, boogie boarding, kayaking, horseback riding, and those little bucket-list adventures like skydiving.
And of course, I love to travel. I’ve enjoyed big moments like visiting Machu Picchu, walking a bit of China’s Great Wall, and stargazing in the middle of the night in the Sahara desert. Just as wondrous as those little moments you always remember, like sitting in an outdoor cafe people watching, joining in on street dancing (anywhere in the world!) and good cup of the local beverage. I’ve been blessed with a big, full life.
As a writer, I take on freelance assignments and I’m the Editor of ConfettiTravelCafe.com. Take a look! (The work that I do there is not included here.)
Other Things I’ve Done, Work-Wise
I’ve been a managing partner in a telecommunications construction company. As an artist, I sold my wire art and crafts at art festivals and in shops throughout the West Coast. I helped edit a natural health newsletter and manage a natural health site in the early days of the internet. I’ve worked as a software technical writer. I freelanced as a medical editor and writer for technical publications, newspapers, magazines, books, and online products. I edited two medical journals, working with an international editorial board. I’ve published some fiction, poetry and photography in various, small literary journals. All good things.
But, But, And, And…
But writing is what I love best, and it’s good be be back into it full-time. Word crafting is hard work when you care about getting it right, but it’s also GREAT FUN. It’s a joy to combine my love of hearing and telling stories with travel to new places and other adventures! Travel writing gives me the opportunity to travel in a different way than I have before. I get to meet and work with this whole wonderful community of editors, writers, travel and tourism professionals, business owners, and tour guides. I interact more with people who live in the places I visit, and I get the chance to hear about what they do, the lives they lead, and why they love living where they do. I seek out sites and experiences I wouldn’t normally because there’s a story there. Rather than just see the sites, eat the food, wander, enjoy—all wonderful of course!—travel writing allows me to experience a place in a much more personal and meaningful way. Once a story comes out, I love to hear from readers and the people I worked with on the story. Travel writing is just yet another way travel connects you to others.
Let me hear from you. Again, thanks for stopping by!
