Hello! Welcome to the page all about me. Seems an odd thing to focus on, but in case you’re wondering, here’s a little info…I grew up in Lawrence, KS and attended KU (Rock Chalk Jayhawk!), earning a double degree in history and English, with an emphasis on creative writing. I took a class called the Art of the Personal Essay and fell in love – not with Professor Atkins, but with creative non-fiction, and it remains my favorite form of writing. I write short stories and poems as well, but this site is specifially for non-fiction.
I also fell in love with a guy at KU (a terribly long story) and married him soon after I graduated. This guy had studied film and moved to L.A., where I then moved and lived for eight years. During that time I taught middle school, ESL, and later ran a literacy program for a non-profit agency in inner-city L.A. Second best job ever. (Shout out to the Bresee Foundation!) My husband, Marc, meanwhile, worked on movies like Win a Date With Tad Hamilton and Pirates of the Carribbean, and I got to be an extra on a couple of them (see photo of tiny me in Thirteen Days here).
My son was born in 2004 and my whole world changed. I quit working and stayed home with him until we moved back to Lawrence for the free babysitting and a house that didn’t cost a million bucks. And the front porch. We like our front porch. I now have three kids and hang out with them most of the time. Best job ever.
In 2007 I co-wrote a short film with my husband called And What Remains that has won a bunch of awards and been to over 45 film festivals. It even won a regional Emmy in 2012. There. I promoted myself. Done.
My hope for this site is: A. To make me write. B. To put my writing out in the world. And C. To have an excuse to go to Starbucks and be alone once a week.
Hope you enjoy reading my thoughts on life as much as I enjoy a few moments to have complete ones.
Cheers,
Jenea
P.S. Here’s my first post ever for Plumb, explaining why I chose the name and my goals for this blog…Here We Go