Where are you based?
San Diego, but I grew up in Cornwall, England. After college, I lived and worked in Sweden (Malmö), New Zealand (Auckland), and Colorado (Telluride), respectively, before finding my way to Southern California more than a decade ago.
What topics and places do you cover?
California has been home since 2009, and I love writing about different corners of the state –– from the oldest hotel in Palm Springs to its original ski resort inside Yosemite. Reported stories from far-flung destinations have been a staple too, including the appeal of Icelandic horses for Fodor's and how Tahiti became a leader in ethical whale swim tourism for BBC Travel. Lately, I'm increasingly drawn to experiential stories pegged to outdoor adventure, seeing wildlife, and “nature-positive” tourism. I find talking to people fascinating and love a good profile, too.
What you don't write about.
Family travel, cruising, or anything culinary-related.
What outlets do you usually pitch (and write for)?
It depends, especially with layoffs/editors moving around, but some of my favorite outlets to write for and work with include Matador Network, Organic Spa Magazine, Marin Living Magazine, Fodor's, Forbes Vetted, and InsideHook.
The best PR pitches include ...
Less is more. I've been enjoying more innovative delivery formats –– Newsbytes, Dispatches, Story Seeds –– with easy-to-digest, bullet-pointed notes that include small or interesting details that pique my curiosity and make me want to know more versus a wall of text cramming in too many details that aren't pertinent or too general.
Are you in-house or freelance (or both)?
Freelance, although not adverse to ever going in-house.
What is your approach to press trips?
I'm open to individual and group press trips although confirming assignments for group trips (especially as a freelancer with crossover on writers contributing to the same outlets) continues to be a mixed bag. Private trips are great because I can customize my itinerary and fine-tune the focus of my story/interest areas, like the fight to save wild horses along Arizona's Salt River or renting a car and exploring the North Shore of Oahu on my schedule.
What are your professional pet peeves?
On the PR side, I know there are many moving parts to organize, but 11th-hour flight bookings and finalized trip itineraries. On the journalist side, entitled behavior on press trips and openly mocking PR pitches on social media.
In your past professional life, you were …
I took several STOTT Pilates teacher training courses and dabbled as a student instructor for a hot minute, then made a brief one-year foray into the world of public relations before finding my way back to journalism.
Where would you like to return to?
Since 2012, I have made five trips to Japan and would go back in a heartbeat to snowboard in Hokkaido or try the central Alps. The Cook Islands and anywhere in French Polynesia also rate pretty highly for a second visit.
What's on your bucket list?
Too many places. Oman and Saudi Arabia in the Middle East. Taiwan, Okinawa, and Korea in Southeast Asia while Namibia, Tanzania, and Kenya (with a side trip to Lamu Island) have been long-standing and would like to visit African countries. Adventure trips include a horseback riding tour in Mongolia and heli-skiing in Turkey. A couple of journeys my boyfriend and I have spent years discussing but not quite getting around to are a DIY train trip from Paris to Istanbul (Orient Express-inspired but on a budget) and an Agatha Christie-style Nile River Cruise.
Where do you travel for fun?
Desert getaways in the Joshua Tree-Palm Springs area are my happy place when off the “traveling for work” clock here in California or heading back to Cornwall to spend time with family.
Your funniest (or most harrowing) travel story is …
Not funny or harrowing but the craziest was helping a friend get out of jail on a surf trip in Michoacán, Mexico, when a roadside stop turned ugly after we drove up the coast to buy a used board. After waiting at an internet café as agreed, I inquired about him at the local police station but was then driven to a beachfront restaurant to negotiate his release with a man there. After settling on a sum, I was taken back to town to withdraw money from an ATM. After my friend was released, he was horrified and couldn't believe I was OK as that had most definitely not been the plan! Felt like my guardian angel worked overtime for me that day. I still have the surfboard.
What advice would you give your younger professional self?
My first journalism job was on an English-language magazine in Malmö landing plum assignments like reporting in Copenhagen Fashion Week. Instead of making a strategic move somewhere with a solid media industry and building my career, I opted to travel thinking it would always be this easy to score a great gig wherever I landed. That's something I'd advise my younger self to think differently about.
What nugget would you like to add that we haven't touched on?
Email. I try and send a quick note back to anyone I have worked with previously or the most relevant ones but it's impossible to keep up and gives me severe anxiety every Sunday. Also, I know there are plenty of platforms for sharing pitch calls and freelance opportunities with fellow writers now, but it always feels good being able to pass things along, social @ -- or suggest someone for an opportunity you know would be perfect for them.
How best should people contact you?
The email address on my TravMedia profile or the contact page on my website.
