Formerly a magazine and newspaper journalist, I have been a writer for over 30 years. In addition to two award-winning memoirs, I've had four collections of poetry published, and I'm working on a third memoir.
My mother, who was also a writer, read to me as a child and encouraged my love of words. In first grade, I wrote my first poem: "There once was a car/that bumped into a jar. /It didn't go very far." I journaled and kept notebooks of poems throughout my school years. As a student at Davidson College, I was inspired to keep writing by my wonderful creative writing professor, Anthony "Tony" Abbott.
My career as a journalist began shortly after my husband Joel and I were married. We lived in Atlanta, GA, and I was hired by Communication Channels, Inc., a magazine conglomerate. I worked my way up from editorial assistant to assistant editor at Today's Living and Better Nutrition magazines to managing editor of Cashflow Magazine.
Before my mother became ill with Alzheimer’s, my husband and I lived in Houston, TX, where I rode horses and worked as the executive editor of three editions of The Observer, a community newspaper, and later as the managing editor of the Conroe Courier, a daily newspaper. I was also a contributing editor for Horseman Magazine. While I enjoyed many aspects of newspaper work, it was not my calling. The daily grind of hard news wore on me, and I felt compelled to nourish my soul through creative writing projects and spending time with horses.
When my husband and I moved back to North Carolina to be closer to our family, I split my time between freelance writing and teaching riding lessons. We built a barn for my horse Crimson and my riding students' horses.
When I discovered that Tony Abbott, my mentor from Davidson College, was teaching poetry classes. my creative writing spirit caught fire again under his tutelage, and I took classes from other local poets. I was honored to win the Poet Laureate Award twice from the North Carolina Poetry Society and thrilled to have my poetry read by Garrison Keillor on The Writers' Almanac. My award-winning collection of poetry, What Flies Away, was published by Main Street Rag.
Eventually, I began to spend most of my time on my pet project – Motherhood: Lost and Found – a memoir about my mother’s descent into Alzheimer’s at the same time I was trying to become a mother. After a series of miscarriages and much heartache, my husband and I were blessed with a beautiful baby girl. Several years later, my memoir was published.
In 2017, I joined the management team of AlzAuthors.com, a nonprofit website that represents hundreds of authors who write about Alzheimer's and dementia. It has been a pleasure to connect with so many writers who share the experience of being a caregiver.
Through the years, I have enjoyed sharing my passion for writing and horses with my daughter, who is now in college. My family and animals lived on a small horse farm in North Carolina for almost 30 years.
My mother, who was also a writer, read to me as a child and encouraged my love of words. In first grade, I wrote my first poem: "There once was a car/that bumped into a jar. /It didn't go very far." I journaled and kept notebooks of poems throughout my school years. As a student at Davidson College, I was inspired to keep writing by my wonderful creative writing professor, Anthony "Tony" Abbott.
My career as a journalist began shortly after my husband Joel and I were married. We lived in Atlanta, GA, and I was hired by Communication Channels, Inc., a magazine conglomerate. I worked my way up from editorial assistant to assistant editor at Today's Living and Better Nutrition magazines to managing editor of Cashflow Magazine.
Before my mother became ill with Alzheimer’s, my husband and I lived in Houston, TX, where I rode horses and worked as the executive editor of three editions of The Observer, a community newspaper, and later as the managing editor of the Conroe Courier, a daily newspaper. I was also a contributing editor for Horseman Magazine. While I enjoyed many aspects of newspaper work, it was not my calling. The daily grind of hard news wore on me, and I felt compelled to nourish my soul through creative writing projects and spending time with horses.
When my husband and I moved back to North Carolina to be closer to our family, I split my time between freelance writing and teaching riding lessons. We built a barn for my horse Crimson and my riding students' horses.
When I discovered that Tony Abbott, my mentor from Davidson College, was teaching poetry classes. my creative writing spirit caught fire again under his tutelage, and I took classes from other local poets. I was honored to win the Poet Laureate Award twice from the North Carolina Poetry Society and thrilled to have my poetry read by Garrison Keillor on The Writers' Almanac. My award-winning collection of poetry, What Flies Away, was published by Main Street Rag.
Eventually, I began to spend most of my time on my pet project – Motherhood: Lost and Found – a memoir about my mother’s descent into Alzheimer’s at the same time I was trying to become a mother. After a series of miscarriages and much heartache, my husband and I were blessed with a beautiful baby girl. Several years later, my memoir was published.
In 2017, I joined the management team of AlzAuthors.com, a nonprofit website that represents hundreds of authors who write about Alzheimer's and dementia. It has been a pleasure to connect with so many writers who share the experience of being a caregiver.
Through the years, I have enjoyed sharing my passion for writing and horses with my daughter, who is now in college. My family and animals lived on a small horse farm in North Carolina for almost 30 years.
Photo below: Ann with her horse Crimson, 1995
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Ann with her husband Joel, daughter Sydney and Sydney's horse Foxie, 2015
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