About me...
When I was in the sixth grade we read Harper Lee's classic novel "To Kill a Mockingbird" and afterwards wrote essays on the book. The teacher read mine, about the morality of character Atticus Finch, aloud to the class, telling everyone how well written it was, and I was hooked. I decided that day I would become a writer. After graduating with a major in English and a minor in Philosophy from Boston University I moved to North Carolina where I, like many young college grads, tried to figure out what to do with my life.I still knew it had to be writing, but I worked in advertising at a radio station, and as the Education Coordinator at a non-profit animal rescue group before I decided it was now or never and sent my resume out to all the newspapers in the area.
I explained that I had no experience in journalism, but that I'd do anything - I'd even work for free - to get my name in print.
After a stint writing a few articles on a volunteer basis for the Hillsborough-based newspaper The News of Orange County (www.aconews.com/noc/). I gathered a few of my clips, sent out another round of letters, and landed a job as a reporter at The Chatham News /Record (www.thechathamnews.com), a weekly newspaper based in Chatham County.
I worked in an adorable, small town called Pittsboro, learning the nuts and bolts of journalism. Chatham County is a wonderfully diverse place, touching nearly all facets of North Carolina life. Professors, artists, politicians and farmers, and a wide variety of other interesting people inhabit the mostly-rural county.
I visited the sheriff's office weekly to compile the crime report and wrote a bi-weekly column (called "Cara's Chronicles") on a subject of my choosing. I attended church benefits, gallery openings and many town board meetings. I wrote about county trends, perhaps most notably the rapid growth in area.
After three years at The Chatham News I decided it was time to move on and try my hand at freelance writing and that's what I've been doing since. I got a regular gig as a stringer (newspaper lingo for freelancer) at a daily Chapel Hill-based paper, The Chapel Hill Herald (www.heraldsun.com). I write pieces for magazines and websites, as well as other publications.
I also post as often as possible on my personal blog (www.caramcduna.com), mostly writing humorous pieces about everyday life with my husband, Justin, and my two dogs, Mina and Cecilia.
The kind of writing I do on my blog is my favorite kind of writing and I'd love to work on publishing more personal essays and humorous pieces in the future.
That brings us up to the present in my life. I'm excited to see what happens next.