"A quirky mix of stories, brimming with heart, humor and humiliation. It's like the Island of Misfit Toys wrote a book."
- Lisa K. Nelson, writer for
"Everybody Loves Raymond,"
"Ellen" and Disney's "Crash
and Bernstein," on the book
"Fifty Shades of Funny,"
featuring Aimee Heckel
"Special thanks to Aimee Heckel, for helping me open my heart so I could finally find my voice, and then patiently and persistently pulling me to light."
- Paige Lawrence, from the
Acknowledgement of the
book "Renegade Manager."
Book editing. Travel writing. Marketing with an emphasis on fitness. These are my specialties.
I have two decades of experience writing for newspapers and magazines. (In fact, I got my first gig at a daily newspaper when I was still in high school.) I have edited, written and contributed to more than 60 books, including many best-sellers and award-winners. In 2020, I released my own travel book, "Colorado Day Trips By Theme," which hit the #1 best-seller and new release in Road Travel Reference; #1 new release for Budget Travel Guides; and #1 new release in family activities on Amazon.com, among other high rankings.
I am currently a full-time content manager (writer and editor for REP Fitness). I also helped launch a new blog for the company. Before that, I was the writer/editor for The Ligne Group, a full-service business development, marketing, distribution, sales strategy and public relations firm that is focused on growing global brands in the luxury shelter industry. I am also involved with the Createurs Design Awards, which is considered the Academy Awards of the design world, held annually in Paris.
As a travel writer, I covered Aspen and Denver for Culture Trip. Before that, I was the head writer and editor of TravelBoulder.com. I remain a regular contributor for USA Today 10Best and Fodor's Travel (specializing in Colorado, the national parks of the West and road trips), as well as a luxury spa travel writer and editor for SpaTravelGal.com. I was the Colorado travel expert and a content editor for Tripsavvy.
I have also traveled the world to write in-depth series about humanitarian issues in Africa and Haiti, as well as arts and culture in China, Peru, Iceland and Aruba. I attended college in Germany and am fluent in German.
As a journalist, I have been published everywhere from Oprah's O Magazine to the cover of Yoga Journal. I wrote an award-winning, humorous fashion column and fitness column for the Boulder Daily Camera newspaper in Colorado and was a long-time blogger for HuffPost Weird. I have written on nearly every beat at daily newspapers in Colorado. Health and fitness was a highlight. I was also named Digital First Media's "Modern Lois Lane" for my groundbreaking work in digital journalism, and I have been the editor of multiple print magazines.
I have earned dozens of national and state writing awards, including being named the top journalism graduate in the nation and one of the top book editors in Colorado. I have also taught and spoken at dozens of university classes, events and podcasts on topics such as digital journalism, African refugees, women in the workforce, domestic violence and Colorado travel.
See my extended bio and full resumes here:
* Social media resume
* Other published work
* Education and professional activities
" ... Your intelligent writing made the process more enjoyable than any other media interview in my professional experience. I think you are tremendously gifted and fiercely soulful."
- Donna Mejia, dancer and professor
"Don't lose your childish curiosity. Question everything and then question that. I'd say that more than 50 percent of my story ideas come from things I see or wonder about on my free time. You're never off the clock when it comes to collecting story ideas."
- Aimee Heckel, writer, Daily Camera,
published in "Journalism of Ideas,"
by Daniel Reimold (Routledge)