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As a former retail executive specializing in e-commerce, for years I’ve channeled my story-telling passion into writing thousands of words in the form of published articles, white papers, website and social media content, marketing materials, documentation, and blog posts. My degree led me through a long and successful career in retail. It allowed me to travel the world to over 22 countries to create and find products, providing a first-row seat to meet and work with thousands of people from all stations in life. I’ve experienced all the highs and lows of demanding leadership roles and in all of that busyness of a career and raising a family, I was never able to find the space and time to treat writing as my professional focus. I began writing my first novel over ten years ago, often while stuck in an airport or late at night, finally able to pursue becoming a serious writer in early 2022.

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I graduated with a B.S. from The Ohio State University, focusing on merchandising, textile science, and marketing, then later received my Master’s in Merchandising. Before becoming a full-time writer, I held various executive positions with companies including Dillard’s and American Airlines as well as .com start-ups. I previously led and taught the digital degree program at a major university and ran their digital research center. My work has been published in media outlets including Total Retail and ShopTalk, I developed and ran the Digital Scholar Blog as well as developed and hosted a webinar on the Future of Customer Experience.

 

My entire life I have been a lover of books and writing…

 

My love affair with the power of words and holding a book in my hand began in the summers as a child in a small town in Ohio when a ‘bookmobile’ would drive through our neighborhood every week. We could check out as many books as we liked, so I always borrowed a stack. The entire space of this ‘library on wheels’ had that wonderful smell of the center of a book! I was amazed at how a book could lift me out of what I thought was a boring rural life and drop me right into the middle of a faraway place populated with different people than I knew and ways of life that were foreign. Some early books I remember having an impact were Helen Keller, Flowers for Algernon and Animal Farm.

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I developed a similar interest in research during my senior year of high school, with an assignment of researching and writing a paper on someone famous. I chose Judy Garland, my naivety and blind love for the magically produced movie as the driving force. As I read and read, I discovered hers was a life more tragic than delightful, as I had inaccurately assumed before diving in. I worked hard on the paper and thought it was well done for my first effort. It received high marks for the writing and the content, but frustratingly, came back heavily red-marked for improper citation formatting. Since I was a near-perfect rule follower in those days, I felt even at that time (and still to this day!) that it was harsh and that directions had not been clearly provided. The instructor was not a flexible woman, so I chose to accept the early criticism in silence. No less, I was quite proud of the work, although I don’t remember ever sharing it with anyone else to read. It is one of the few high school mementos I have dragged around with me through life. The process opened my eyes to the power of words as they paint a picture and tell us the more complex side of stories.

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My heritage is part Welsh on my mother’s side. My brother says we all get our natural storytelling from that bloodline. It’s for this reason that I write under my maiden name Paul, as opposed to my married name Mihalick. In college, my degree was in merchandising, textile science, and marketing but I took every single English course I could fit in. I even worked in the library to help pay for my tuition. I met my husband in an 8:00 am English class but that's a long story for another day.

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My broad and unique perspective of experiencing our world feeds my creativity to tell the stories of people and places that need to be found and understood. Equally happy in a hectic, busy city or quietly strolling down a cobblestone side street in the medieval village of Saint-Paul de Vence, I am happiest when my next exploration of our world is booked.