IW CONTRIBUTORS

Meet Our Imperfect Women Contributors

Ever since she won a writing contest in 6th grade for her essay “The Travels of a Quarter,” Gwen has been writing. As a freelance writer, Gwen has written for publications such as Women’s Health and Fitness, Baby Years, Journaling, ADDitude, BHG.com, The Gwinnett Daily Post, Gwinnett Living, and many more online and print publications. Gwen is a former magazine editor and publisher, and is the author of “Ivy: The Story of a Friendship” which is available in Imperfect Women’s Book Store. Her fiction also appears in several anthologies. When she is not working on her next novel — and other writing projects – she’s busy juggling a full time job as an online marketing guru and hanging out with her family. She is the mother of four; wife of one. You can read more of Gwen’s writing at A Life Less Ordinary.

Emil Schmit

Emil Schmit is a self-trained poet, free-lance writer, public speaker, and journalist. His weekly column, “Rhyme and Reason,” appeared for over twenty years in the Dubuque, Iowa daily newspaper, the Telegraph Herald. Emil is a long-time member of both the Dubuque Area Writers’ Guild and the Southwest Wisconsin Writer’s Club. Collections of his poems have been published in a variety of magazines and books throughout the tri-state area. A resident of Southwest Wisconsin his entire life, he sees poetry as the stirring of his soul. Schmit does not have the educational background that one would expect from someone so attuned to the nuances of word and sound. For better than 30 years he was a seedsman for Pride Seed Company. The writing of poetry came about as a means of focusing his mind during his lunch hour. Nature, its power and beauty, are the subjects of many of his poems. Others are nostalgic in nature and tend to romanticize the past. Ultimately, it is home and hearth and his love for the land that drives him to rhyme. ” Rural life is being close to nature and land. I think that’s pretty important for us. This is my inspiration. It’s something to write about; maybe it’s a reason to write.” You can read more of Emil’s work on his blog, Rhyme and Reason with Proud Papa.
Tiffany Tweedie

Tiffany is a busy, single mom of 5, three of whom are on the autism spectrum. She’s an avid movie-goer and voracious reader. Over the last three years, she has lost 75 lbs. She WAS training to run in the Paris Marathon on her 40th birthday, April of 2010. Unfortunately in January, she was sidelined by stress fractures in both legs. This has bummed her out to no end. However, it is not the end of her goal to run 26.2 miles through the streets of gay Paree. Now she is more determined than ever to run in the 2011 Paris Marathon. She has had her youngest son on a gluten-free casein-free diet for over two years. This knowledge helped tremendously when she was diagnosed with Celiac’s disease late last year. Her passions are her kids, Junior Mints and Brendan Fraser… not necessarily in that order. You can read about all that and more on her blog Mommy in Real Life.

Kimberly Field

Kimberly is a mother, daughter, sister, and friend. She’s been writing as long as she can remember — short stories and poems mostly. Her family and friends have encouraged her to share her stories. She enjoys photography, traveling, people and writing about whatever is on her mind. “Over the years I learned to look at the big picture. Making small changes in my life allowed me to experience things that would normally be last on the list – such as writing and taking pictures.” You can read more of Kimberly’s work on her newly constructed blog, a step in my direction.

Tricia Deininger

Tricia is a freelance photo journalist who came up through broadcasting, writing and producing in those media. An avid reader from childhood explains a courtship with writing, leading to advertising copy, news stories, humor columns and internet marketing. Credits include news, photos and humor pieces for the Albany Times Union, the Atlanta Journal Constitution, the Savannah Morning News, Savannah Magazine, and the Savannah, GA issue of Creative Loafing (an alternative weekly). Born in New York, though raised in Louisiana, Tricia bounced between the North and South to reside with either parent often causing her severe head spinning. Unusually wired, her observations of the seemingly ordinary are often quirky, so she uses herself as a foil for poking fun at the human condition. A couple of loose screws and a few credits shy of a B.A. with highest honors, her articles were widely published as an adult resuming college.

Jen Rattie

Jen Rattie (aka CraftyMomof3) is a mom of 3, blogger and avid crafter. She currently lives in Illinois but is a New Englander at heart. Jen fills her hectic life with being a lunch mom at her kids school, selling Tupperware and running after her energetic 3 year old! She is a student of life and is currently teaching herself graphic web design and is hoping to have a small business up and running in a year to help other consultants, bloggers and crafters get their name out there. In her spare time she loves to read and play Rock Band 2 with her kids. You can read all the Jen’s been up to on her blog My Crafty Life.