My Approach

As a biographer, I analyze and synthesize the information gathered in telephone interviews to create cohesive and engaging chapter-theme stories (childhood, adversity, family, work/career, hobbies, romance, etc.) about someone's life. I also make use of storytelling techniques. I write in a style called dramatic nonfiction, where I make characters come alive by applying literary techniques of complication/resolution, flashback, foreshadowing, and pace. My stories leap off the pages and into the hearts and minds of loved ones. 

To best illustrate my approach vs. a simple dictation/transcription approach, the first version is how it was shared with me during the client's telephone interview. The second version is me making a factual piece come alive.

Telephone interview version:

From the airport, we traveled through the Tube, the metro, to our stop at the Cardinal Lemoine station. Walking up the steps, my family and I got all our luggage where you step up to the street. It's so quaint. There are big, beautiful apartment buildings with shops on the first floor. I looked around and thought to myself, this is what I think Paris is. I had always wanted to visit Paris because of its rich history, stunning architecture, and exquisite culinary offerings.

Fast forward to the tail end of our telephone interview . . . 

On the train ride through the beautiful French countryside back to London, I told my father that I had been born in the wrong country. I said I should be living in France!

My Approach: Dramatic nonfiction version

“I was born in the wrong country!” Camille lamented to her father as they rode the Eurostar to London, England. 

“I can understand exactly what you’re feeling,” Larry said. 

The American pressed her fingers against the train window as the French countryside and rapeseed fields whizzed by swiftly. “I should be living in France.”

“I feel the same way myself.” 

She was already homesick for the city, at most five minutes outside Paris. Camille wondered when she’d ever return. She sighed, resting her head against the glass.

Camille knew Audrey Hepburn had it right when she said Paris is always a good idea. This timeless quote by the iconic actress suggests that Paris holds a universal allure and charm, implying that no matter the circumstances, visiting Paris is a remedy for the soul and a source of inspiration.

Camille, her father, mother, and aunt had just spent the last three days here for a fun getaway via an extended trip they had made to England, where Camille has family roots. 

“I had always wanted to visit Paris because of its rich history, stunning architecture, and exquisite culinary offerings,” she says.

Her love affair with Paris began as their metro train gently stopped at the Cardinal Lemoine station, and the doors opened with a soft hiss. A rush of cool air greeted Camille and her family as they stepped out onto the platform, the familiar chime signaling their departure echoing through the tiled walls. ​

Note: If you (or a loved one) are looking for an oral history dictation with a transcription that accurately captures spoken content verbatim, there are other more suitable, cost-effective options than commissioning me. This could be you (or a loved one) answering general life story questions, saving the answers on a digital recording device, and uploading the audio file to a service that transcribes the content verbatim. ​