ABOUT

Hi, my name is Terri Nighswonger, I’m excited to be here and I hope you are too. I hope this website will give you a little more insight about me, what I do and who I am. I hope to fill it full of great reading material, encourage a few writers along the way and earn some trust so I can work on other’s writing projects. Let’s get started.

By trade, I’ve been a journalist and marketing and public relations professional for most of my career. I have a bachelor’s degree in Animal Science and Industry and a master’s degree in Public Relations. I earned the BS after spending three years studying a pre-vet curriculum at Kansas State University. Most of my science grades were not good enough for a competitive vet school and I needed to find a degree track. At that time, even with all the courses I took, including ones like microbiology and biochemistry, I needed more of a focus. I enjoyed writing and ended up sticking with the Animal Science program and took a communications option through K-State’s College of Agriculture. It was very similar to agriculture journalism. I took all the writing and editing courses, which I loved.

When I tell people I have a degree in Animal Science with a communications option, they inevitably ask me if I learned to talk to animals. Really?

So, how did I get here?

Over the years I’ve worn many hats in the worlds of higher education, non-profit and lately some for-profit companies. I’ve written everything from press releases to video scripts and a lot in between. Now I’m starting to sound like a cover letter. While I have taken away something from just about every place I worked, some great co-workers mostly, and a few hard lessons, I believe that I have something to give to others and I want to do that through writing and editing. It’s what I’m good at and it’s what really what gives me joy.

Several years ago I wrote a novel and while it hasn’t sold a lot of copies and the publisher went out of business, I loved the process of putting that book together. I love the conceptual editing process and I hope to help other writers in the future. At some point I just might put some excerpts on here and I’m highly considering an audio book.

So, let me tell you some more about me personally and maybe you will understand how I got to this place.

Here are a few basic things you might want to know about me. I am who I am, warts and all. No warts though, really. I am the real deal. What you see is what you get. I am the youngest of two children so I’ve got that youngest birth order vibe thing going. My brother would say I was the favorite. Of course, just ask my dad!

My husband Todd and I have been married for 32 looooong years as of this writing. Don’t worry, he will laugh when he reads this or edit it out! We have four children and five grandchildren, although I don’t think I’m old enough for that…all my kids are in their 20s. We full time RV, stationary for now but we hope to hit the road soon. We made the decision to RV in September of 2018. By October, we had purchased the rig and soon had a truck to pull it. We started living in it in December. We live in Arkansas so, with a four-season trailer, we were snug and warm. May was a scary month with a lot a bad storms in Oklahoma and Arkansas. We never had to seek shelter but it was close a few times. Summer has been hot but we hope to travel and never have to run the heater again. I would say never run the air conditioner too!

I almost forgot, we are three including our very needy Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, Newton. He is the cutest ball obsessed, treat grabbing, back sleeping, snoring puppers in our RV park. He loves people a lot. Everyone is his best friend, especially if they throw the ball for him. Other dogs are ok but even the small, yappy ones scare him at first, and cats—not so much. He is a therapy dog but Todd calls him a “needs therapy dog.” If you hang out with me here you will probably see and hear a lot about Newton.

Speaking of dogs, I’m highly considering an RV dog blog at some point. Let me know if you have any ideas for names. I’m open to suggestions. I’ll let you know when I get it going so you can spread some doggy love.

Last on this page but not last in my life is my relationship with Jesus Christ. Yes, I am one of those born-again believers. I said I was going to be real and I meant it. No judgement here, just know that I won’t hold back and know that you are loved by God no matter what you’ve done – no kidding. It’s all about repenting of your sin () and asking Jesus to be the center of your life. Then pray, read the Bible, go to church, serve Him and learn all you can about what all that means. You will never regret a life devoted to serving and loving Him.

I also hope to write some devotionals on a pretty regular basis. I have a strong desire, and I believe calling, to write. I have three or four already waiting for their debut. I hadn’t really written much in a few years. Harsh people had gotten me down so it was difficult to put anything out there for fear of failing. That’s just what the enemy of our souls likes to hear. Stay tuned for a blog post on that subject!

Anyway, this “introduction” really turned into a blog post! I hope you liked it. Keep coming back for more writing inspiration.