Hello.

Thanks for wondering a bit about who I am.

The short version:  I am a writer and editor who lives and works in Chicago.

The long version has a beginning about growing up in a steel town in the Midwest  and a middle about moving to the big city after college with no specific aspirations in mind, just a general sense of anticipation stuffed into the corner of my green Samsonite suitcase.

Many years and adventures later, I’m still here in Chicago, dug in deep — even though I often imagine myself living in a cabin in the north woods of Wisconsin and on Friday nights, driving in to town to sing at a little piano bar. Or maybe living in a thatched-roof hut on a Caribbean beach…and on Friday nights, driving in to town to sing at a little piano bar.

I could list a collection of my favorite writers, like Italo Calvino, Thomas Hardy, Marguerite Duras, and Rod McKuen, but that list would be too long, and I would fret about leaving off someone important. My favorite movies? There’s another impossible list to create, but it includes Cinema Paradiso and A Hard Day’s Night.

I wrote my first book, Human Slices, during the time I was enrolled in graduate school, majoring in creative writing, at Columbia College in Chicago. It’s a love story with a female protagonist who is quite happily childfree by choice, like me.

My professional background includes experience as a nonprofit administrator, magazine editor, writing teacher, event producer, and communications director. I also contribute to a film blog at http://www.homeprojectionist.com.

I still read the newspaper, the printed version. I worry that kids don’t learn how to do cursive writing anymore. What a tragedy to be unable to put pen to paper! I wish I went out dancing more often, but as my mother would say, “Whose fault is that?” At different times in my life, I’ve dyed my hair black, red, and platinum blonde. Now, it’s getting gray.

Sometimes I feel older and wiser. Other times, not so much. In fact, now that I’m thinking about it, most of the time, not so much.

Three other things about me? (1) I like to laugh really loud. (2) I love cats. (3) I am an obsessive maker of lists, constantly scribbling on scratch paper, backs of envelopes, and sticky notes.

I think what I do best is imagining, telling, and writing stories. I hope you might like one or two.

Nice to meet you.

Amazon Author Page at amazon.com/author/gloriabowman

(A special thanks to graphic designer Dave Hunter for the look of this blog. You can see his portfolio at www.dhdd.net.)

Contact me directly using the email form below.