I'm Kristen McLeod, a forty-five-year-old occasional Botox user whose interests are both varied and fickle. I read voraciously, watch the Real Housewives franchises (New York and Beverley Hills), search the internet for how to get rid of sunspots and email favorite authors with secret hopes they will want to be friends. 

I do improv and stand-up and I'm well-versed in apocalyptic disaster planning, as well as online shopping for beautiful things that can be shipped (not much can) to my door. 

I've been a writer and communications strategist for over twenty years, both producing and editing content for websites, newspapers, advertising companies, and industry-specific magazines. 

A proficient media handler, I've organized press conferences, events, and many children's playdates replete with high-maintenance parents. 

My first written piece at age five was a new take on The Three Little Pigs that didn't go anywhere. I tried again with a fake sick note in grade one and have continued writing like a fiend since then. 

I carry notebooks in a treasured handbag for emergency jotting and often get up in the night to scribble things down. I had a blast blogging for a few years when it was all the rage, amassed a respectable following, wrote a couple novels my mother liked, and continue to write pithy commentary, both solicited and not, on whatever strikes my fancy. 

Currently, I'm doing my  MFA in creative non-fiction at King's College, and I've participated in writing workshops (including a masterclass with New York writer/columnist Meghan Daum) and completed novel-writing courses through the University of British Columbia. 

I've studied and performed stand-up and improv  done workshops with Second City headliners Tim Stoltenberg and Rob Belushi (Joshua Tree International Improv Comedy Festival) and engaged in a session with superstar comic Jocelyn Chia.

insta me @  kristenhmcleod Tweet me @ kristenmcleod73