biography
little old me? i've been a writer for years, though i've only chosen the last five to truly pursue things. ok, maybe not even the last five (i was busy running a business with my husband). but here i am, nonetheless.
how i got here
as i mentioned above, i've been here for years. i first starting writing in diaries and journals, like lots of little girls (and boys!) around the world. throughout school, i continued my writing, holding positions on various school publications as staff writer, copy editor, and academics editor. somehow, i even ended up as an on-air dj for the college radio station (aka. jenjen the mid-morning music goddess, thankyouverymuch). but writing has always remained a passion.
after graduating from western michigan university with a communications degree, i was offered a position with a dot com company out in seattle, washington. i had never been to seattle, but knew i wanted to live on the west coast, so i was thrilled with the opportunity. my fearless best friend helped me make the long-distance trek across the country, and i settled in, content to ride the late-90's dot com wave.
in 2001, while living in seattle, i stumbled across the seattle writergrrls group. returning to writing after a long break, i can't say it was my best work, but it was work, and that was the most important thing. the uber-supportive writergrrls suggested i write a few articles for their online 'zine, published under my then-maiden name of jennifer matthewson. on a whim, i sent my first writergrrl 'zine article, entitled "writing can be a grrl's best friend", to the writer magazine and a few months later, on a random afternoon as i sat eating favorite lunch ever (my egg salad sandwich with a side of beef barley soup) their senior editor called to let me know they were publishing my article.
what i've done
my article in the writer was published in march, 2004, shortly after i had embarked on my next project - building and running an organic catering business in portland, oregon with my extraordinarily-talented boyfriend at the time, chef jeff heigl (we married in july, 2004). in september 2003, we had launched zen kitchen catering together, an organic off-site catering business featuring pacific northwest fare produced with only the finest locally-grown, regionally-produced organic produce, wild seafood, and free-range meats. though i had never really worked in the food industry, i loved the learning experience of running a business. in previous positions, i felt as though my talents were really overlooked, so it was a joy to run zen without the boundaries of micro-management. jeff and i relished in our new experience, donating food stuffs to local non-profit organizations and showing our clients how to incorporate organic items in their everyday favorite foods.
while running the business, my writing consisted mainly of print and online advertising, and web content. i published a few small articles for the writergrrls and the now-defunct nervy girl 'zine. in the fall of 2006, we had the great luck of securing a contract with a local literary group, catering for exclusive author receptions. to my great glee and delight, one of my favorite authors, stephen king, was a featured guest speaker in the series. luckily, i had the opportunity to sit in on mr. king's lecture, and was so inspired by what he said, i put my pen back to paper and began to write again.
where i'd like to go
now that we've stepped aside from zen for a bit, i have more time to focus on our family and my writing career. most of my writing tends to be of the creative nonfiction/personal essay/memoir genre. in the publishing of career diary of a caterer, however, i've gained a new insight into career and business writing as well.
through the facilitation of our catering business, i've also learned a lot about sustainability, small business, marketing for small businesses, running a business with your spouse, and earth-friendly business practices - not to mention a whole bunch about the shady and not-so-shady world of food service. you can read some of my thoughts at my food industry blog, daily blender. i've learned a lot about big business and small business over the years as well, blogging my thoughts over at in good company, my small business blog at the seattle post-intelligencer.
i've travelled the world a bit, from studying in south australia for a year to visiting kuala lumpur, nice, copenhagen, san sebastian, tortola, new york city, and others. i have a lot to write about and i'm always working on my next project. i have only just begun.
quote o' the moment
"heeellooo. uh, it's HEIGL. it's alright. it's a hard last name, i know. "
~Katherine Heigl
jen around the web!