As a television reporter I loved covering funerals. I know that sounds odd, but I saw it as an extreme honor, one of the final public opportunities to share a person with the world. I covered many funerals: soldiers, police officers, dignitaries. They were usually never people I knew in real life, only people I [...]

My latest article for Business Black Box is out. It’s called “The Next Big Thing.” I interviewed several local and national business leaders and entrepreneurs about a new program that is launching right here in the Upstate. Entrepreneurs pitch their ideas, and a select few are invited to attend a summer boot camp where they [...]

Yes, August Belle is out… I feel a little bad sharing this news now since it’s so belated. But I was in Africa for ten days with no Internet access, so hopefully that counts for something. August Belle will help you tap into your artistic side. We’ve got a feature on why sewing isn’t just [...]

Need something fun to do Friday? Head to The Channel in downtown Greenville for a book launch party! Ambassador International author Gene Krcelic will be reading from his new book Loves Like a Hurricane. Plus DecembeRadio will be performing and artist Jared Emerson will do a live painting. All that for just $5!

My husband and I are part of a team heading to Liberia, West Africa tomorrow to assist in well-drilling projects for Water of Life. It’s hard to believe that this is actually happening. I’ve been passionate about bringing clean water to Third World countries for years now and I’ve dreamed of witnessing that moment when [...]

This weekend The Today Show flew my four best friends and I out to New York City for a segment with Hoda Kotb and Kathie Lee Gifford. It was the most amazing experience and I’m still processing it all! A Today Show producer saw our article in The Wall Street Journal last month and thought [...]

The International Christian Retail Show is happening in Atlanta. My husband runs Ambassador International’s US office in Greenville, South Carolina. My role in the company is to work on publicity for many of his authors. I’ve spent the last couple of months preparing for the show, creating media kits and setting up interviews for them [...]

I’m in Atlanta for the International Christian Retail Show. It’s an amazing event and I look forward to it every summer. Today I was walking to the show from my hotel and I looked up to see the CNN world headquarters  in downtown Atlanta. Immediately a name popped into my head: Jacqui Jeras. She’s been [...]

When I was little I always wanted Katie Couric’s job and this is about the closest I’ll probably get. I’ve been invited to appear on The Today Show on Monday, July 18 to talk about The Traveling Journal I started ten years ago with four long distance friends. We’ve kept it going for a decade [...]

You won’t see my name in the July issue of SELF, but I did some work for it. You may not realize this, but sometimes the experts who answer questions don’t actually write their own columns. So for the July issue I interviewed Dr. Catherine Birndorf in response to some questions submitted by readers involving [...]

Our July issue of Belle is now on news stands! It’s a fun issue all about pets. I had a great time working on several pooch-centered articles including one on dog-preneurs. I interviewed two talented women who loved their pets so much they launched companies around them. I also interviewed the owner of the smartest [...]

Are you planning a summer vacation? I’m planning a few of them and I am very excited– especially because I’m paying cash! Summer vacations are so much more fun when you can come home without lugging a bunch of debt back with you. This month in my piece for Hope for Women Magazine I talked [...]

I’m a ball of excitement today. I was recently interviewed by Elizabeth Bernstein for an article in The Wall Street Journal. I was looking forward to seeing her article in today’s paper, but when I cracked it open at my neighborhood Starbucks this morning I had no idea my friends and I would be featured [...]

For the third month in a row I have an article in REDBOOK. This month my piece is about how to keep kids drug-free. One of the ladies I interviewed for the piece, Deb White, started an innovative program in her community of Cody, Wyoming. I talked to Deb a few times on the phone [...]

The June issue of Belle is out and actually it has been for more than a week! I just completely forgot to write my monthly post announcing it here. It’s a great issue– groundbreaking really. We’ve got two guys on the cover for the first time in Belle history. One is Chris, the winner of [...]

The town I grew up in is facing a major disaster. The Missouri River is breaking its banks, sending flood waters into the cities that line it, including the community where I’m from. Right now water has engulfed several areas including the Anderson Dance Pavilion in the photo to the left. Just to give you [...]

I’d say 95% of the time I love interviewing people. I love the freedom being a writer gives me to ask pretty much any question I want– no matter how crazy, bold or uncomfortable. I can talk to people about things that they may not normally tell a stranger. And after more than ten years [...]

Have you ever scored a really great freebie? What did you have to do to get it? A while back I got a freebie for complaining. Yes, I liked getting the $20 gift card since I had experienced such bad customer service, but I didn’t like having to be negative to get it. So I [...]

I said goodbye to 31 and hello to 32 yesterday. I usually like to commemorate my birthday with a quick rundown of the year’s highlights. So here it goes: I started 31 by rollerblading 26 miles from Greenville to Travelers Rest and back. Yes, I did start crying because of the pain, but it was [...]

Every year the first birthday card I receive is from my insurance guy. It usually contains some interesting facts about the year I was born or celebrities born in May. And this time the card contained some pretty amazing facts about what has happened so far in my 32 years of life: My heart  has [...]

Be sure to pick up a copy of the May issue of Belle Magazine. My contributions for this issue include profiles on local artist Marquin Campbell and Logen Hall, a 17-year-old featured in Seventeen Magazine this month because she won a national talent competition. I also got to review an incredible restaurant in Spartanburg called [...]

I wrote an article for the spring issue of At HOME about some treasures my husband and I found in our attic. We were cleaning out the attic rafters and found vintage newspaper printing plates from the 1930s as well as envelopes sent to Greenville from around the world. For the article I took my [...]

Explorer David Livingstone said, “I’ll go anywhere as long as it’s forward.” That quote took on extra meaning for me during a recent assignment for Business Black Box, a business magazine based right here in Greenville. The editor Jordana Megonigal called me last month with an exciting (and somewhat scary) proposition. She asked me to [...]

I don’t care if small cross-body handbags are in style this spring. I will forever carry a big purse because that’s the only way I can take my coupons with me wherever I go. Most people that know me know I love saving money. I’m definitely not cheap– I just can’t stand the idea of [...]