Audrey Couloumbis Biography:


*Birthplace: Springfield, Illinois

*Education: high school

*Past occupations:sweater designer, working freelance for woman’s day, ladies home journal, good housekeeping, fiberarts, handmade—when knitting and crochet were part of the art-to-wear movement in the 70’s. This led to opening a yarn shop.

Then when I started writing in the 80’s, closed the store and worked as a custodian in the school system, and eventually did housekeeping. All that walking was a very nice antidote to too many hours in front of the computer.

Now I write. I’m a reiki practitioner. I try to put enough time into the garden to benefit it, but not so long—it’s easy to go from one necessary task to the next, losing all track of time—that I have to, as another gardening friend says of herself, crawl up the back steps at the end of the day.

*My husband has been the biggest part of my writing success, always supportive, got me my first computer (and every one since then, save one that came from a writing project), is very good abt trudging out at all hours and in all weather to get paper, toner, repair services. Never complains too loudly abt evenings spent at home nearly alone, since I am in another room and mentally, emotionally, out of touch. Never complains at all that the dishes aren’t done, dinner isn’t served, and vacuuming is a lost art around here. Although I’m not sure it’s the writing that’s responsible for that—once you’re paid to do housework, it’s very hard to do it for free. And he’s the always so proud to tell people there is a new book in progress, a new book on the shelves. He greets librarians like a fellow conspirator and tells them what I’m up to.

*Hobbies: garden. Two of them. Largely weeded by that understanding husband. Stone walls are nice additions to gardens, but I don’t have time to do them anymore due to:

Dog. She was not meant to be a hobby, but a poodle takes a lot of grooming time, even if she’s shorn to Velcro status. I’m her hobby too. She makes sure I walk a thousand miles a year. Literally.

*Travels: I traveled a great deal as a child, less as an adult. We went to Germany last year as part of their Bookfest program, along with Virginia Euwer Wolff and Karen English. Then on to Greece, where my husband was raised for part of his childhood.

*Community activities: just now, I do library visits here and there. I’ve encouraged other writers into becoming a resource for each other online, which was more time-consuming than it sounds, and more reward lay in the success and sharing than I expected to find. It’s hard to get into any other kind of volunteerism and not have to feel torn about leaving my work “at home.”

*I never wrote for magazines, unless you count knitting instructions. Never wrote short stories, although I tried my hand at it for a collection Stephanie Owens Lurie put together (Dutton), Twice Told.