"I write ... with a general love for all that is beautiful in life and a specific interest in painting a picture with words, which bring readers to where I have been and allow them to explore it in their own way." ~ L. Rochelle
What makes this writer tick:
Professionally Speaking ...
I thrive in
my role as a professional writer, editor and author consultant in every
sense of the lifestyle. I am published ... nearly twenty years of magazine
articles, numerous freelance corporate projects, and frequent contributions to others'
books, in addition to my own. An extensive background in executive level administration most often resulted in writing and editing responsibilities, which provided a comfortable segue into working with authors and publishers. Marketing and public relations skills worked their way into both corporate and publishing industry projects until I could no longer ignore their presence in my business.
Beginning with local and regional magazines around 1995, I moved into book publishing in the early 2000s, gaining experience in nearly all phases, working with independent publishers and advocating for authors. Book editing and consulting was a scene-stealer, and has become a great companion to my own authorship.
With a strong desire to assist other women striving for writing success, I founded and administered Women Writers of the Desert, a metro Phoenix organization, for nearly five years. After returning to my native California in 2007, WWD transformed into an online resource to benefit women on a broader scale; renamed Women Writers Worldwide. (WWW - catchy, huh? Currently dormant, still have hopes to resurrect!)
And I never stop honing my craft.
I've lived and worked through the cataclysmic changes the book publishing industry has endured since the advent of digital publication, so can speak knowledgeably with authors about their frustrations and confusion.
Publishing a book was never easy or a get-rich-quick scheme. In today's world, it has hit an all-time level of what seems to be mass hysteria. OK, a little writer's exaggeration there, but still, the industry is more confounded every day. What a tangled web we continue to weave!
It is always a pleasure however, to talk with authors and help them determine the best path for their book, from editing to publication and beyond. My publishing expertise grew in Phoenix while working with a small press publisher as editor, ghost writer, PR rep and author advocate - basically a publishing JackEE of all trades. (And thoroughly enjoyed it.)
Back in
California, I continued as an author advocate for a national independent
publisher until early 2012, when it was time to move forward with Penchant for Penning and my own book
projects. As a writer, I'm more excited than ever at the independent publishing possibilities. My own nostalgia series, Blast from Your Past! saw its first book published in 2012. Book 2 coming soon.
And I vent, laugh, and lament through the world's most elite and inane website, 39 and Holding Club! Where you're never a day over 39 years old, and remember: It isn't your age ... it's your attitude that counts! Writing, editing, and wallowing in the publishing industry is what feeds my muse today. And if I ever stop learning ... well, find out where the wake is being held and have fun!
Diversity ...
Desert Jeep Tour Driver, Outdoor Market Radio Announcer, Tourist Photographer at the San Diego harbor, and Media Supervisor for the Arizona State Fair, are just a few unique positions in my varied life that have provided keen observational skills and created innate insights into human nature, found woven throughout my work.
Enhancing these qualities is a youthful background in the arts, from classical dance to thespian, to poet. And what differences in my writing perspicacity would there be had I not been raised by a Navy veteran father with Midwest values, and an artistic, California-creative mother, complete with egg carton lamps and a penchant for the metaphysical?
Education is certainly not all academic ...
Rochelle on Education ...
My "University of Life" education is a winding path of many and diverse "higher education degrees."
A degree is purely academic―in the truest sense of the word―and while academics provide semantics, varied professional experiences can be more advantageous in relating to many walks of life. Still learning, I consider every day a waste if I have not discovered something new.
I also challenge the validity of degrees obtained more than twenty, thirty, forty years ago. So I vote for daily education and experience ... and no student loans. My writing and editing skills have been acquired over many years, with extraneous courses and several extraordinary mentors.
With solid and obviously effective education and applicable experience, I have been a paid, published writer/editor for more than twenty years. Rockin' on!
