Nora Frances Horn
Writing well got me through a lot of essay questions in college. If I was short
on facts, being long on style guaranteed a grade hike. Good grades led to writing
fashion advertising copy, at what seemed like good pay at the time, where I
routinely delivered such memorable messages as "Gold Has Always Been My
Standard!" and "After a Tailored Day, Gauze Sets You Free!"
My third layoff in a series of mergers and downsizings set me free to earn
part of my daily bread through freelancing and to write my still-to-be-published
children's novel and picture books. In the writing life, as in real life, hope
springs eternal. Amazing how one handwritten note from an editor saying she
really liked your story (and hoped to see it published at another house) can
send the spirit soaring.
Freelancing has put me in touch with an interesting range of people and topics--the
company that dredged up a jetliner from San Francisco Bay, Hollywood's hipster
joint that hosted the A-listers of a bygone era, the lingerie emporium that
introduced pointy bosoms to Middle America, and Southern California's best-known
bug-bombers. Finding the right angle to tell their stories is the creative challenge.
Payment can get creative, too, like swapping words for wine. I've even managed
to work for outfits that sailed away into the sunset, leaving unpaid invoices
in their wake. Some years are better than others, so it's a good thing I love
reading, weeding, cooking and walking, and that I enjoy the support of a through-thick-and-thin
husband.
Nora Horn lives in the Silver Lake neighborhood of Los Angeles, California.
She writes business profiles and editorial content for national history book
publisher Heritage Media and has written on fashion, beauty, wine and interior
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