Although I earned a PhD in English Literature from Rice University, after teaching for a while, I decided to focus on writing rather than teaching. I had published academic work in Dickens Studies Annual, but freelance writing sounded more interesting. After I moved from Houston to San Antonio, I started writing for local magazines such as San Antonio Monthly and Texas Architect out of Austin. I served as the “Underground Gourmet” (restaurant reviews) for the San Antonio Light newspaper, and later wrote profiles for the Sunday magazine of the San Antonio Express-News. 

While writing about anything and everything, I increasingly focused on travel. My stories and photos appeared in newspapers and magazines, including the Miami Herald, Boston Herald, Modern Bride, Los Angeles Times, Go, Voyageur, GateHouse News Service, and travel trade publications such as Tour & Travel News and ASTA magazine. I also wrote special advertising sections for Travel & Leisure and Texas Monthly. I won Mexico’s “Pluma de Plata” for a story on the Copper Canyon. 

My writing supported me, but when a chance to work at The Nature Conservancy part-time with salary and full benefits, I jumped. My schedule was so flexible I was able to continue my travel writing, sometimes taking as many as 18 trips a year for assignments. I worked there 18 years while still freelancing.

But when the economy tanked in 2008-09, many of the travel editors I worked with (such as Fran Golden at the Boston Herald) were furloughed or lost their jobs. Newspaper travel sections withered or disappeared.  At the same time, many outlets began decreasing the word count and pay for stories, while requiring the same amount of research (usually a week+) one would do for a much longer story. Selling my time for such small returns no longer seemed worth it. I felt ready to retire.

Not so fast, it turns out. The joys of travel writing kept calling, and after my “retirement,” I decided to start again. But it’s a brave new world out there. I knew I had a lot to learn to join that enviable profession again.  It’s a lot like starting over: finding new markets, meeting new writers, making new friends in the travel industry. I believe the NATJA Conference in Galveston is not only a fantastic opportunity for me, but a step in the right direction.