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Serena Gordon by Lisa Beamer

Serena Gordon has writing in her blood. Her grandfather was a PR an, her dad was in advertising, her mom writes grants and her brother is a commercial writer. What else could Serena do but write? Ironically, she admits that having a family of writers originally made her want to *not* pursue writing for a career. "I always wrote short stories, etc., but I never imagined making my living as a writer," says Serena. "In fact, when I started college, I majored in accounting." Later she switched to hotel management. "I think I switched two more times before I finally decided on communications. Finally, I found somewhere that felt right."

Her decision has proven fruitful. She began her career doing PR work and wrote marketing pieces until recently. At this point in her career, however, she has enjoyed the success of writing close to 500 articles, mostly health pieces. "I also have a partially written novel, a children's book and some poetry lying around waiting to be worked on. I don't have the same confidence in those areas that I have in non-fiction." She is most proud of the fact that she in contributing to her family's income by being paid for the words she writes.

Though originally she doubted her desire to write for a living, Serena doesn't remember a time when she didn't write. "It's a part of me. I've always wondered what people who don't write think about? If you don't have characters and articles ideas, etc., running around in your head, what do you think about?"

Having a poem and short story accepted for her middle school's literary journal is Serena's earliest memory of being published. The poem was accepted first, but not the short story. "I was on the student committee which voted on the submissions. My short story didn't make the cut. My English teacher pulled me aside later and said she was overruling the committee because she thought my short story was exceptionally well written. I don't think I've ever felt that much pride in a piece of work again!"

Several teachers along the way encouraged Serena in her writing. "In college, one of my teachers, who was also a screenwriter, pulled me aside one day and asked me why I was majoring in accounting when I had such a talent for writing. Moments like that stick with me when I'm feeling discouraged."

Serena and her husband, Doug, and daughter Jamie, six, live in Croton on Hudson, NY. Serena grew up in Briarcliff, NY, but she and Doug did spend four years in Ft. Collins/Loveland, Colorado before moving back home. Serena and Doug have known each other for 18 years, having met in high school. They've been married for the past ten.

When Serena isn't writing, she enjoys staying away from the computer. "I love to be outside, especially near water - at the pool, at the beach. I love traveling, though don't get to do it nearly as often as I'd like to." Her most memorable trip of late was this summer, when she and her family toured central Pennsylvania and Serena was able to meet several Momwriters at the gathering in Hallam. If she had an open ticket to go anywhere in the world, Serena would choose to go to Greece, a place she's always dreamed of going.

When reading, Serena gravitates toward mysteries. "I really enjoy authors like Patricia Cornwell and Stuart Woods." The best book she read in the past year was "The Pilot's Wife" by Anita Shreve.

Serena also enjoys movies with a historical perspective. As such, she loved "Pearl Harbor," despite what the critics said.

One of Serena's favorite quotes is "Success is not the result of spontaneous combustion, you must first set yourself on fire." Another is from Mary Engelbreit, which says, "Bloom where you are planted."

You can view some of Serena's work at www.healthscout.com or www.drkoop.com by typing her name into the search engine, and you can write to Serena at dsg@bestweb.net.

[Author's note: The first of Serena's favorite quotes has been attributed largely to two different men, most frequently Reggie Leach, who won the Conn Smythe trophy (Stanley Cup MVP) while playing for the Philadelphia Fliers in the 1975-76 season. It is also attributed to former Philadelphia Fliers head coach Fred Shero, winner of the Jack Adams Trophy (NHL Coach of the Year) in the 1973-74 season. My speculation is that Fred said it first and Reggie later quoted *him* but got more publicity for it.]

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