Writing, My Forever Favorite

I have always loved writing, from journaling in my room and composing songs, to penning poetry and sending snail mail. Even school papers were fun assignments to me. When it came time to choose a career track, I chose a profession that I knew would allow me to write every single day… journalism. It was a perfect fit for my curiosity and desire to publish constantly!

I graduated from the University of Missouri-Columbia School of Journalism with degree in journalism, magazine sequence, and an emphasis in theater. I began my career as an intern at Wedding & Home magazine in London. From there, I moved to newspapers, covering city government, education, business and features at the Kansas City Star, Pioneer Press and the Sun Times News Group in Chicagoland.

As a staff writer for Chicago Public Schools, I had the privilege of visiting dozens and dozens of schools, meeting incredible children, teachers and principals. At CPS, I developed press events and wrote speeches for district leadership, including then-CEO (and former U.S. Secretary of Education) Arne Duncan. At a Chicago PR boutique, I led messaging and publicity for clients, such as Giordano's Pizza, Adler Planetarium and Ronald McDonald House Charities.

Then, in 2017 - in slivers of time between professional writing projects, and often in lieu of sleep - I returned to my first love… writing picture books!

Early Picture Book Memories

I started creating picture books before I knew how to spell. It’s true! With a pencil, I would sketch out my characters and scenes, then fill in the shapes with colors from my Crayola box. (I analyzed the name of every hue!) To get the words on the page, I dictated stories to my mom, a first-grade teacher. She would print them below or above the pictures. This me with my first writers group, as captured by the local newspaper.

Our house had a big collection of books, and my favorites were the Little Golden Books, filled with gentle, lively stories. Their foil binding captured my imagination and begged me to slide a sliver of magic off the shelf. Of the Little Golden Books in our hallway, my favorite was “The Monster at the End of This Book: Starring Lovable, Furry Old Grover.” It pulls you right into the action, fills your ear with sound, builds anticipation, and resolves with such a lovely discovery. Ah, the power of picture books!

I Positively Adore…

As it turns out, I haven’t changed a lot since my early years! Here are a few of my favorite things:

• Yellow

• Stripes

• Velvet ribbon

• Sisters

• Willow trees

• Daffodils

• Giraffes

• Salty ‘n sweet breakfast

• Peanut butter spoons topped with M&Ms

• Boating and floating

• Kitchen dancing

• Rainy days

• Movies and musicals

• Writing about big feelings

• Going to the library

• Rocking and reading

Digging in, learning lots, and connecting are the things that bring me joy - in life and writing alike! I’m an administrator of the Wolf-Hirschhorn Syndrome website wolfhirschhorn.org, a certified attendee of the P.O.D.D. Communication Book workshop, and director of marketing and communications at The Nora Project, a nonprofit committed to building inclusive classrooms. The pic above? That’s me in my happy place, on the porch of the home I share with my home-improvement-oriented hubby, three-very-blondes, and kitty Pancake in suburban Chicago, Ill.