Writer, storyteller, critic, columnist, wordsmith, editor, public speaker, and communication specialist.
I recently launched my own boutique public relations business, Venhaus Creative, specializing in quality content, Life Stories, and fresh ideas.
A professional journalist since January 1978, I have worked as a full-time reporter/ editor at St. Louis Globe-Democrat, Belleville News-Democrat and Centralia Sentinel, in addition to community weeklies in the St. Louis region, and as a contributing writer to St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Suburban Journals of Greater St. Louis, St. Louis Journalism Review, and BND niche publications.
I have worked in college public relations, taught journalism at two community colleges as an adjunct instructor, radio news, and every election night for the Associated Press for years.
As a contributing freelance writer, I currently write movie and theater reviews for the daily newspaper BND, and also write entertainment features for Lifestyle, in addition to features for 618 and Prime Life magazines.
I live at the intersection of art and pop culture. I believe that all of life’s riddles are answered in the movies, as Steve Martin pointed out to Kevin Kline in “Grand Canyon.”
I graduated from Illinois State University with a degree in mass communications, and studied theater and film extensively.
A show-tune loving drama queen, I have much experience directing and acting, but am too busy watching art to resume creating it.
I spend considerable time in theaters, and enjoy a good debate afterwards. Robert Redford said “Storytellers broaden our minds: engage, provoke, inspire, and ultimately, connect us.” – to be able to write about films and plays is a cherished opportunity.
I am the mother of two grown sons, Tim and Charlie, and live in my hometown of Belleville, Ill.
I am a fierce competitive trivia player, voracious reader, prolific writer, my beverage of choice is a freshly brewed unsweetened iced tea with one slice of lemon, couldn’t live without my DVR or air-conditioner, support the St. Louis Cardinals, and have seen every “Saturday Night Live” since it began in fall 1975. I am fond of taking voyages, breaking out in song, and walking in local parks.
As a journalist, I covered everything from murder trials to pesky municipal issues and interesting people profiles, celebrity interviews and Oscar predictions.
I’ve interviewed numerous celebrities, including Kevin Costner, Hulk Hogan and Martha Stewart, which is fun and cool, but I truly enjoy shining the spotlight on salt-of-the-earth people. Everyone has a story to tell.
I hold the distinction of having the longest continuous byline in regional publications by a metro-east female, as I’m still writing after 37 years.
I grew up in Belleville, Ill., the oldest of five in a large, loud primarily German-Catholic extended family.Grandma was proud that she was of English-Scot heritage. My brothers and sisters were scholarship-winning jocks; I was the drama geek bookworm.
I spent Saturdays at double-feature matinees and staying up late watching black-and-white movies with my mom. My mother loved entertainment, and my grandfather, who helped Houdini with a trick while he lived in Cleveland as a youth, introduced me to gangster movies of the ’30s and ’40s. Summer evenings were either at the Skyview Drive-In or listening to the Cardinals’ radio broadcasts by Harry Caray and Jack Buck.
I am active in the St. Louis Film Critics Association, having been a member since 2008, and currently serve as the secretary on the board of directors. I was honored to be asked to join the Alliance of Women Film Journalists this year.
I am a volunteer and member of Cinema St. Louis, and serve on several juries for awards annually.
I am a founding member of the St. Louis Theater Circle Awards, and am among the critics who select nominees and awards for professional regional theater annually since 2013.
I am also involved in community theater, and serve on the Arts For Life Board of Directors, which recognizes excellence in community theater. I am chairman of the Theatre Recognition Guild, which judges musicals in the St. Louis area.
I like making things happen, getting things done, accomplishing good deeds, collaborating on creative endeavors, learning through mistakes, being resourceful through adversity, and making a difference in the world.
Venhaus Creative 