M.S., Public Relations
University of Southern Mississippi

B.A., History
Ouachita Baptist University
 

My love affair with writing began in childhood, and the career deal was cinched when my skills began to draw praise from teachers, professors, and later journalists, novelists, poets and business communicators. (Flattery, by the way, will get you everywhere.) Like many writers, I have an insatiable curiosity and a great diversity of interests, so over the years I've worked in the fields of public history, banking, criminal justice, and education, but invariably with a focus on writing.

Truth is, I enjoyed working in all those fields. I vividly recall, however, a sweltering, 108-degree, Arkansas August afternoon years ago when I found myself literally in the middle of a field, training as a field archeologist. I was kneeling in a pit, digging with a teaspoon or something equally as effective in clay, when I had an epiphany:

I really don't like to get my hands dirty. Maybe there are some things I could just write about.

Writing, in fact, is the best career I can think of that allows me to explore physical realities and metaphysical motivations. With writing, I generally get paid to ask a whole bunch of questions, and I usually don't have to get my hands dirty.

And it's all in the questions. Asking the right questions. Over the years, I've written about everything from golf swings to mood swings and lots in between: swine production, high-tech measurement and control, politics, Southern history, finance, great causes, the arts, humor, and relationships.

Whether the result is a training manual, news release, Web site, or newsletter, I enjoy the art and science of writing, especially when it's born of intelligence and strategy that comes through collaboration. Like that song from "A Chorus Line," it's what I do for love.