My writing career spans two decades. I have written hundreds of articles for national and international magazines in a wide variety of topics.

I began writing fiction at an early age, but once I discovered journalism, I never looked back. While completing my MS degree in journalism at the University of Illinois, I was captivated by the artistry and discipline of stringing facts together to tell meaningful stories about real people and events. Although my professors were grizzled newspaper men, I knew that magazine writing was more my style.

Upon graduation I worked for the University of Illinois editing an engineering magazine and newspaper. I wrote about successful alumni working as astronauts, race car drivers, wheelchair designers, professors and White House engineers. Technical articles taught me how to bluff my way through an interview and to write a convincing article about a topic I didn’t quite understand.

After work I headed home to the closet I had converted into an office. I moved beyond engineering to the fields of archaeology, conservation, travel, international relations, paleontology and biology. During my trips to Mexico and Central America, I dodged drug dealers and monkeys to gather photos and article materials for national and international magazines.

Some 25 years later, I still relish the challenge of telling a story in the most accurate and interesting way possible. As an editor I view the search for the right word as a treasure hunt. As a writing coach I am confident I can make a better writer out of anyone.