Well, hi there! Thanks for stopping by. Can I get you anything? Water, coffee, martini? I make an excellent martini.
(Really, what else is there?)
My name is Michelle. I live in Brooklyn. I am generally content, but rarely satisfied. I drink an inordinate amount of coffee.
I am a recovering academic who opted out of the educational institution one dissertation shy of a PhD in 19th-century British Literature and Composition/Rhetoric. I finished one full draft of the dissertation just to say I’d finished writing something. I wonder sometimes whether it would have been worth it to go through with the revisions and have a finished book, but once I’d made the decision to do something else, I wanted to start that something else immediately.
I somehow stumbled into publishing just before it drew breath for its last gasp (though I don’t really believe that’s what’s happening) and worked for a few years at a small craft-centered publishing house, writing and editing and, well, playing with yarn.
Since then I’ve been flitting about as a managing editor and producer on various Web sites, one of which never got off the ground and the other of which is now run by another company. I’ve also been doing a lot of writing. I’ve decided that I want to focus more on writing, for fun, for pay, for my health, so that’s why I’m here right now.
I’ve been using the “smartgrrrl” moniker since graduate school, though I couldn’t tell you its exact origin. Coming up with titles and names for things has never been a strength (though I have my moments) and I think I wanted something that nodded to both my third-wave feminist sensibilities and the fact that I know a lot about a lot of stuff.
I think the Internet is a wondrous, magical place. If I am not online, I am probably sleeping.
I read a lot of books (sometimes for money!), I watch a lot of TV, I don’t go to nearly as many movies as I would like because right now the admission costs are a little prohibitive. I knit, crochet, and embroider, I sort of sew, I want to start painting. I’m starting to experiment more with cooking. I like making old school cocktails. I just bought an ice cream maker.
I live with a 15-year-old cat named Scout. He’s sitting next to me on the couch right now, grooming himself. I am endlessly fascinated by him. I don’t mention him much here, but if you want Scout news and pics you can check out my Tumblr. He shows up quite frequently there.
(He is still grooming. I could watch him do this for hours.)
If you want to know when I am overjoyed, annoyed, sleepless, or snarky, you can follow me on Twitter.
I am also looking for work. Just, you know, FYI.