Today we’d like to introduce you to Paige Bowers.
Hi Paige, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I’ve always enjoyed meeting people, learning about their lives, and then telling a story about them, or their business, or whatever it is that makes them so interesting and inspiring. It’s an interest that probably dates back to elementary school when I’d come home with a pile of biographies to read after I finished my homework. Back then, I wasn’t exactly sure how I could become an author of these sorts of books. All I knew is that I wanted to write about people who were far more interesting than I would ever be. So, I started writing for my high school paper and then my college paper at Louisiana State University, where I was a journalism student. I loved working for my college paper so much that when I went home for the summer, I drove to my local paper at the time and asked if I could speak with someone about writing for it. The person at the front desk told me all the editors were busy, and because I couldn’t take the hint, I said I was happy to wait. So I waited and waited, and that person at the front desk could tell I wasn’t going anywhere. Next thing I knew, I was sitting in an office with two editors of a weekly insert that featured people in the community. They hired me as a freelancer, and I couldn’t believe my good fortune. I wasn’t writing books, but I was asking people about their lives and sharing those stories on a weekly basis.
After earning my journalism degree, I had a magazine fellowship in Baltimore, then worked for some newspapers in Washington, DC. Although I enjoyed living and working in the nation’s capital at first, I came to the realization that this was not a place I saw myself living forever, and political writing was not something I really wanted to do. So I left and began building a freelance writing career for myself that began with the regional press in South Florida and Atlanta and grew to include national outlets such as TIME, The New York Times, and People. I loved the work, loved the stories, loved the excitement. I was – and will always be – grateful for every editor who called to assign me a story or accept a story pitch of mine and every reader who took a moment out of his or her day to read something I wrote.
When I became a mom in 2005, I started thinking about little Paige in her room, reading mountains of biographies and wondering whether she might be able to write one too, someday. Twelve years later, my first book, The General’s Niece, was published. It’s the biography of General Charles de Gaulle’s niece Genevieve, who was a teenage resistance heroine in World War II and a French public figure in her own right. Four years after that, I co-authored Overnight Code, the story of Raye Montague, the first person to design a naval ship using a computer. That book won Georgia Author of the Year in Biography in 2022. Though I continue to freelance for magazines and newspapers, I treasure being able to immerse myself in a life story and present a long and rich account for readers to enjoy. I can only hope that these life stories inspire readers as much as they inspire me. I am so grateful to do this work.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
It has not been a smooth road. The key is to not lose faith in yourself, no matter what’s going on. Occasional bumps in the road are an opportunity for learning and growth.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I am a journalist who specializes in writing profiles about fascinating subjects and the author of two books about bold, barrier-breaking women in history. My most recent book, Overnight Code, was featured on Good Morning America and won Georgia Author of the Year in Biography for 2022.
If you had to, what characteristic of yours would you give the most credit to?
Persistence, curiosity and empathy. Oh, and gratitude. I am so grateful that I get to do something I dreamed about doing when I was a little girl!
Contact Info:
- Website: www.paigebowers.com
- Instagram: @paigebowers
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PaigeBowersAuthor/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/paige-bowers-7201263/
- Threads: @paigebowers
