About

I lived in Chicago for 27 years and Flagstaff, Arizona for 29 after growning up in Iowa. As of April 2024, I’m back in my home state.

I started this blog several years ago, anticipating retirement. My goal was to write several works of historical fiction or memoir in the next decade. I completed the first draft of the first novel and was engaged in revisions when Hillary Clinton lost in 2016. I shifted my energy to political efforts and have barely had time to come back to this site as of the start of 2023. Now, in 2024, after major shifts in my life, including a move back to Iowa, I’m unlikely to spend much time here.

From 2017-2023, I wrote a lot for the Coconino County Democratic Party. I’ve was an officer, including Chair, of that organization and Senior Vice Chair of the Arizona Democratic Party. The work of turning Arizona blue is not done -though much progress has been made. As I look ahead, it seems unlikely I’ll return to my 2015 “retirement” writing goals. That’s ok. Life happens; life is good.

My experience in writing dates back to the seventies when I was an editor for the University of Chicago Law Review. I wrote three journal articles while in law school and early in my legal career. I wrote hundreds of legal briefs, including at least six to the United States Supreme Court. After 23 years of that, I left the law and sold real estate. For 17 years, I wrote marketing material for my real estate sales business, and from 2017 through 2023, I wrote blog posts for the Coconino County Democratic Party.

Follow me on Twitter @annheitland