Liz Shine wrote and read her way out of small-minded, small-town doom. We’re not talking about escaping by amassing income here. Like most writers, she has other work that pays the bills. We’re talking about how a practice like writing can save a person. How it can give hope, shape identity, and ignite purpose. She hopes her work might do the same for others.

She believes in the power of practice, and has been practicing writing since some time in the early 90s when she became an adult in the rain-soaked city of Aberdeen. Writing began with journaling, as a way to understand a confusing, often violent coming-of-age. She writes mostly fiction, some nonfiction and poetry, and holds an MFA from Pacific Lutheran University’s Rainier Writers Workshop. She has published in Shark Reef, Dual Coast, and Blue Crow Magazine.Two of her books are available directly from her, from your local bookstore, or from Amazon. See Liz’s Published Works to read more. When she isn’t writing or reading, she is teaching, getting outdoors, and in every way trying to be in the wonder of the moment. She is the proprietor of Red Dress Press and the author of Make Time, a blog meant to encourage herself and others to make time for creative work.
Liz started practicing yoga at fifteen and continues to this day. The focus she has learned in practicing yoga pushes her work as a writer forward. The “struggle” of writing is not unlike the struggle of meditation, which yoga is designed to prepare the body for. She considers the mind-body connection deeply in her work, which is part of why if you live in Olympia you might see her walking a lot. She walks to unstick knots in her mind, move her stories forward.

Email: [email protected]