Gayle Early's Biography

I’m a freelance writer in San Diego. Published a few essays in magazines (see "The Great Stinkhorn Patch"--about the wonders of Phallus impudicus) and a cover story on The Androgynous Male in an Arts & Culture review (plus other stories). Won a local short story contest for $750 (the most I ever expect to earn, in spite of having read The Secret--should make millions, but will settle for getting into Zyzzyva for free). My third "first novel" is trying to get itself onto the page, but many short stories and essays in progress want to squeeze into the pipeline first.

More details? I started out in journalism, so I've included a few old excerpts in the Writing section, some from East County Magazine. After writing for Chico News & Review and a local health newsletter, the Stress & Health Report, and working/marketing/writing/editing as a girl-Friday for Chico's downtown business association, I went on to work as a technical writer in biotech in the Bay Area, where I not only edited heinous research reports, drug applications for the FDA, five year plans and merger docs, but edited the company newsletter (with wild wacky scientists as my staff), wrote a monthly column on writing, and a company style manual for scientific reports. I did all that to keep the lights on, because I was afraid I'd starve as a journalist, let alone short story/essay writer.

After that I was a production editor at Harcourt Brace/Academic Press in San Diego, a freelance editor for a local medical publisher, a translator/writer in Germany for a social/health insurance company, and an instructor of German at San Diego State while I was getting my Master's in English, at a grant writer at UCSD for medical research (the liver is a deadly boring organ). Had enough? If you haven't figured out that I usually veer into any job having to do with words, I was the paper carrier in my old home town and editor of my high school paper. Had enough? There's more, but ok, we'll stop here.