A PhD in biology isn’t the direct route to becoming a travel writer, but my wish to be paid for a travel story recently came true. Not only was it my first paid travel article, but it was also my first byline in a major media outlet. “How did you get your article into the…
by Janice Nigro Good question. I too wonder how my travel story ended up in the LA Times. It did and one thing for sure, it’s easier for me to say, “I am a writer” when people ask. There it is, the proof in print. But with visibility like that comes comments like that (although…
When the stars align, I now believe you can’t stop what lies ahead. Like Meghan and Harry falling in love. In February, I was conflicted about taking a trip to Germany for a friend’s special celebration. The question wasn’t whether I wanted to go, it was did I deserve to go. Struggling a bit with…
Do you think of artists as super-powered people? I did until I discovered underwater photography. Discovering my artistic side I tend to think of as a glorious accident, but I wonder, because underwater photography has all the elements that are important to me: travel, sport, and science. An Accidental Artist is a collection of my…
by Janice Nigro Families get together over the holidays. Exchanging gifts and watching movies. And eating. And well… eating. Growing up I would say Christmas food for me was a lot about the cookies. My grandmother made the best cookies on the planet. She always had cookies in a cookie box, a rectangular Tupperware number,…
by Janice Nigro Sometime immediately after the stroke of midnight on New Year’s Eve, panic sets in. Suddenly, it’s the new year, and just like that I am supposed to adopt some new behaviors that will make life better for me. Then I relax for a moment. I am a scientist. Our job is to…
One of the things about learning a new language that I have experienced while living and traveling around the world is that no one gets good at it unless you use it. The same argument could be made for writing manuscripts and making presentations. I have been editing articles for native as well as non-native…
