I have always been fascinated with television shows about lawyers, police officers and medical/emergency personnel. Years before anyone coined the phrase “reality television” shows like “LA Law,” “Hill Street Blues,” “CHiPs,” M*A*S*H and “St. Elsewhere”, “China Beach” were shows I grew up watching. ER was the last medical drama I watched until “Grey’s Anatomy” was launched. Once ER’s Dr. Mark Greene died of brain cancer and I bawled like a baby, I just couldn’t and didn’t want to watch the show anymore.

My current television DVR list includes “The Good Wife,” “Private Practice” and now “The Chicago Code.” The only show I can recall watching recently about the publishing industry was “Ugly Betty.” Other than the Dad on “Eight is Enough” who served as a newspaperman and “Lou Grant ” from the 1980s and 1970s respectively, I do not know of any other shows centered around the publishing business. I get it. We’re just not as exciting. We don’t make the news; we cover it.

You would think that my interest in these types of television shows would have steered me toward a different career path. What keeps me interested in good television shows is not what the characters do for a living, but how the characters interact; what they say; the decisions they make. The writer determines what the characters say. Therein lies my passion and true calling.

When I look back, the signs were there that I would end up in the communications or publishing world: asking my Mom for and pointing to books when I rode in the shopping cart as a toddler; taped conversations to my Dad while he served in Vietnam; long love letters to my parents as I left for college; sentimental or funny cards for special occasions — I only pick out the ones that really speak to me.

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Becoming a wordsmith was bound to happen. I just didn’t see it at first: I wanted to be a doctor. But the chemistry, biology and calculus classes left me realizing that I could not take three more years of these kinds of courses plus medical school. Since I was working part-time retail through college, I thought perhaps a business degree would fit nicely in to my life plans. I took one accounting class. Enough said. The spring of my sophomore year, I took a speech communications class. Loved it and the professor encouraged me to consider a journalism degree. I had finally found a degree that would lead me down a career path.

Despite the fact that I was making half of what the marketing degree graduates were and regardless of the ups and downs of the publishing industry; I have never regretted my choice. I have met amazing people along the way and learned their stories. I then told those stories to you. How many folks out there can say that?

Publishing professionals were the first social networkers — we just didn’t call it that.