Where are you based?
I'm in northern California, about halfway between Sacramento and Lake Tahoe.
What topics and places do you cover?
I've found a niche as a travel writer, but I'm also a history buff and art lover and those topics have found their way into my freelancing as well. One of my favorite interviews was with artist Wayne Thiebaud just before he passed. I also write real estate stories about extraordinary homes or architectural styles. I like flexibility and sometimes pitch stories on “out there” topics. I'd like to expand my F&B writing.
What outlets do you usually pitch (and write for)?
I write news posts one day a week for Time Out's U.S. travel news team, and I pitch Wall Street Journal, Thrillist, Fodor's, Smithsonian, Atlas Obscura, and Wine Enthusiast. I've also had one-offs in Rolling Stone, Condé Nast Traveler, San Francisco Chronicle, and others, and in the past, I wrote a lot for the Washington Post. I'm interested in finding new publications.
Are you in-house or freelance (or both)?
Freelance. I'd love to find another day-rate situation to supplement my freelancing.
What is your approach to press trips?
I love them and am grateful for them! I appreciate the extra time to explore on my own and come up with angles that are complementary to the host's intended coverage. Those stories seem to gain leverage more easily. I also travel with my husband and two kids on our own dime, so I pitch those stories as well.
What are your professional pet peeves?
People who complain. I'm traveling to be upbeat and find joy that I can convey to readers.
In your past professional life, you were …
a traditionally published novelist with Random House and others. Still working to get that part of my profession back on track!
Where would you like to return to?
There's one place in Portugal I didn't fully explore when we were there. Gotta get back there to give it its due! I also hope to return to Egypt when the GEM is open. I was there in the '90s when the Cairo Museum didn't have electricity. I'd like to do a compare/contrast story about how things have changed and how the Tutankhamun artifacts now have their own space. I'm a big fan of that tragic boy king.
What's on your bucket list?
I'd love to walk the Prince Edward Island circumference trail with my sisters (Anne of Green Gables, anyone?), visit Croatian castles with my family, and see the Jane Austen sites in England on my own or with a literary friend.
Where do you travel for fun?
I'm lucky that northern California is a wonderland for day-tripping. With my family, I go back East often (Maine and its environs), and we try to go to Europe once a year. France is our happy place. This year we're regretting not snagging tickets for Vietnam before they rose in price. We also tent camp at least once a year, and we road trip to the midwest with our little dog—bringing Toto back to Kansas, as it were.
Your funniest (or most harrowing) travel story is …
Back in 2005, my husband and I used Airhitch to fly to Paris (basically, “hitchhiking in the air” to take unsold seats). This predates the wide use of smartphones. Acting on faith, we had driven from Oakland to Los Angeles with the hope we'd get on that plane for $70. To get a code to present at the airport, our friend back at home had to go into an AOL chatroom with some very surly individuals—think “comic book guy” from The Simpsons—to jump through stupid hoops and get insulted. We had tiny flip phones on which we'd communicate with her as she got more and more exasperated at the Airhitch guy. (I'd love to interview someone who worked in that Airhitch chatroom...) We waited at the ticket counter for about an hour until we got the code. Then, we swanned onto an Air Tahiti Nui flight and received luxury treatment on our nonstop to Paris, privately whooping in disbelief that it had worked. We had a wonderful trip and stayed several weeks in Paris. Sadly, the return trip through Airhitch was impossible as we learned after multiple visits to internet cafés; we were offered a flight coming out of Germany a month later. We were flexible… but not that flexible. We ended up buying a ticket on Northwest Airlines. Our flight attendants had just recently returned to work from a strike, and they were almost as unhappy as the Airhitch chatroom folks. It was a rough flight to Detroit and then L.A. with zero legroom, and we longed for the beautiful treatment we'd received on the outbound flight. At any rate, it was one of those once-in-a-lifetime trips that involved a bit of risk and optimism!
What nugget would you like to add that we haven't touched on?
I adore this industry and am grateful to everyone who makes travel writing happen: hosts, destinations, PR teams, and journalists. We work together with the same goal: to get people excited to travel. And I'm so happy Travmedia exists as an easy way to find people we need for connections, photos, suggestions, and inspiration.
How best should people contact you?
You may contact me via email, available on my TravMedia profile here.
