Monday, March 4, 2013

Writer

When I was in the six grade, we had to do a report on what we wanted to be when we grew up. Then we dressed up as our planned occupation and had a fancy black & white portrait taken. So I am pleased to present to you the six-grade future Mariah: writer

When I was 11, I wanted nothing more than to be a writer. I was a bit of a bookworm (understatement) and I thought there would be nothing cooler in the world than to walk into a book store and see a book with my own name on it.  Though I'm sure I pictured myself writing fantasy or sci-fi novels, it turns out I was closer to my future than I ever could have known (right down to the Save the Whales t-shirt and other hippie wardrobe choices - did I know I'd be moving to Boulder or something?)

Today, as it turns out, I actually am a writer (and a hippie). I get paid to write, and often about environmental issues. I already have one book with my name on it (though, unfortunately, my name is not on the cover - I'm listed as a co-author on the title page): International Environmental Law in a Nutshell, 4th Edition. With a title so thrilling I am sure you are all rushing out to purchase said book right now! (Don't bother, I don't get any royalties on that one anyways!). My second book will be published this coming fall. Co-authored with my uncle (a former physics professor) this book is about oil, politics, and environmental justice in Louisiana. 

I've also been writing this blog for four and a half years. While I don't get paid for any of the content on this blog (and don't ever intend to - this is a space for my personal story), this blog did lead me to another writing job on a topic I never considered when I was 11: arthritis. I have just been hired as the Arthritis Expert at Answers.com, where I'll be writing articles about different arthritis topics every month. I have five published there so far:


I'll be posting links to my articles on my Facebook page as they are published, as well as doing a month-end list here on this blog. I've also added an Answers.com Articles tab to the blog that will contain a list of all my published articles. I'm super excited to have a part-time writing job I can do from home while OZL naps! And while I have to follow strict formatting instructions for my articles, I still hope they will be informative, accurate, and useful for people searching for information about arthritis. 

(NOTE: A lot of the information about arthritis on Answers.com was not authored by me, so if you ever spot an error or misleading information about arthritis on that site please let me know right away so that I can get it edited!)

2 comments:

Sarah Z said...

MOST ADORABLE PICTURE EVER

Helen said...

I love this! Also, I want to read your book!!

I just found out an environmental law paper I wrote a few months ago was accepted for a conference at the end of the month. This will be my first conference paper - I'm definitely nervous, but excited too!