Get to Know the Writer Helping You
Writing has always been one of my stronger skills. Starting in high school and continuing through college, I could write papers. In fact, I gave up my goal degree in physics because I couldn’t keep up with the advanced maths.
But I could write papers. So, it was an English Lit degree for me.
As I served in the US Air Force, most of my roles included a lot of writing. Performance reports, informational papers, decision papers, “how-to” documents and policy documents—I was always part of writing something.
I learned it was most important to understand who the audience was and to answer their needs.
Did they need to know critical information? I did my best to let them know what that information was and why it was important. If I needed them to make a decision, I learned to let them know quickly what decision that was and then provide them with the background they needed.
The one theme that applied to all forms of writing was clear, concise communication. And I try to continue that practice in everything I write today as well.
People are busy. I understand that and work to make my writing easy for them to understand and remember. As a writer, I know sometimes it’s important to write longer articles. But I always do my best to use simple language and easy-to-remember stories formatted for scanning and quick reading.
Oh yeah, somewhere in here I should mention that my professional background is in human resources. I was a generalist, supervisor and manager with 3 years as a professional military education instructor. The truth is, I hate the “black hat,” compliance requirements that rarely make sense to me, especially for small businesses. But I love how Johnny C. Taylor, CEO of the Society for Human Resource Management, is working to refocus the field into being strategic partners that help businesses grow.
I’ve been a financial advisor and a startup business consultant for a non-profit helping veterans. I’m still a volunteer with SCORE and provide 101-level digital marketing workshops for aspiring business owners.
When I’m not busy writing, I enjoy connecting with my referral network. I love learning about people and businesses and helping them. This is my way of connecting with people and helping build my community at the same time.
When I completely set work aside, you can find me on the agility course with my dogs, Dakota and Onyx. A competition weekend is my “Calgon, take me away” place. I love the teamwork and connection—earning performance ribbons and titles is a little additive as well.
I find my “introvert’s cave time” by reading smutty romance novels, the type most of us are embarrassed to admit to enjoying. Not all my favorite books are romance, but I’m always attracted to the relationships between the characters whatever the genre. I also enjoy reading non-fiction, personal and professional development. But those are like eating my vegetables. I enjoy them, but mostly only do it because it’s good for me.
My current favorite authors include Patricia Briggs, Christine Feehan, Grace Goodwin, & Lora Leigh. Anne McCaffrey, Terry Brooks, Raymond Feist and Piers Anthony wrote some of my all-time favorites — stories I still remember with great fondness.
I’ve had a world of other hobbies. Sometimes I pick them up again for a while and then move on again. Those hobbies include origami, playing the keyboard, hiking, general health & fitness, working out, and essential oils. Right now, I’m having fun learning to draw & paint.
Mostly, I just love to learn. We’ll see what catches my interest next.
I traveled the country and world while I was in the Air Force. But I’ve come back home to St Louis, MO, where I live with my Aunt Sheryl and our three dogs, Gracie, Dakota and Onyx.
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