Where are you based?

Although I travel around the globe, my heart and my home are in New Jersey. 

What topics and places do you cover?

I cover a broad array of travel topics, ranging from family travel to food and wine to honeymoons to hotels to soft adventure. Some of my favorite places to write about are Southern Africa and African safaris; European travel destinations, especially Paris and France; Orlando and Disney parks; and Southeast Asia. I also write in-depth service pieces to help travelers make the most of their money and time.

What outlets do you usually pitch (and write for)?

As a freelancer, I write for dozens of publications; the ones you'll see my byline in most often are Reader's Digest, The Points Guy, Tripadvisor, ForbesVetted, Luxury Travel Advisor, Parents, Fodor's, Saveur, and Smart Luxury.

Are you in-house or freelance (or both)?

My travel career started with in-house editorial positions at both Frommer's and Fodor's travel guides. But for the past 20 years, I've predominantly been a freelancer, although I've had contracts and in-house stints with The Points Guy, Tripadvisor, and Saveur and Islands magazines. 

What is your approach to press trips?

This is such a wide topic, but I recently shared my thoughts on how to have a successful press trip with Atout France, which you can watch here. In short, I like a detailed itinerary, but I appreciate having free time to find unique story angles.

Also, when I started my travel career, I was told, “there's one [difficult person] on every trip; if you think there isn't, it's probably you.” I try not to be “that” person.

What are your professional pet peeves?

Pitches that tease and don't give details, instead saying “write back if you want to know more.” Oh, and pitches with attachments instead of the info in the body. I get dozens of emails every day, and if I can't see the details quickly and easily, I usually move on. 

In your past professional life, you were …

My college degree was in journalism, and I wanted to be a hard news reporter. I started at a newswire service in New York City before transferring to Washington, DC. Later in DC, I worked for a very large, but not widely known, lobbying organization called the NRECA, the National Rural Electrification Association, working on their publications. When I returned to NYC, my rural credentials led me to a job at Frommer's working on a guidebook series about the U.S.A. And here we are!

Where would you like to return to?

Last year, my family and I went to Japan for the first time. I created a super busy itinerary (like, three tours a day busy!). And we hit all the tourist favorites, including Tokyo, Kyoto, and Osaka. But our best memories came from unplanned days in lesser-known spots, and I'd love to return and wander more and plan less. 

What's on your bucket list?

I've been to Southern Africa more than a dozen times, but have somehow never been to Kenya and Tanzania, and they're both at the top of my travel list.

Where do you travel for fun?

The Jersey Shore is where this Jersey girl goes to relax and for straight-up fun. It's my family's summer happy place for soft serve, seafood, and sun. 

Your funniest (or most harrowing) travel story is …

Even though I'm not a horsewoman by any stretch, when a safari lodge in Botswana offered to let me ride between two lodges with a guide in the Makgadikgadi Pans, I thought it sounded like a fun idea. My horse realized I was a newbie in the middle of the route and chose not to walk anymore. Head down, munching grass, not moving for anything in the middle of a desert with no cell service. My guide had to hold my reins and pull my horse along, like an adult pony ride. The whole camp was waiting for us when we arrived hours behind schedule and cheered when we finally came into sight. It was mortifying (and then hysterically funny on subsequent retellings).

What advice would you give your younger professional self?

You're your own best advocate. I spent a lot of years thinking that things would just come to me if I were patient, but now I know to speak up for what I want.

What nugget would you like to add that we haven't touched on?

I'm so appreciative of the travel community, which creates the best  “workplace” environment even though we're never all in the same place. I love meeting up and talking travel with like-minded people, so please reach out!

How best should people contact you?

LinkedIn or through my TravMedia profile here.