Stories are the bread we feed each other and the world.

Writing was the first thing anyone told me I was good at. Like so many others assigned to middle and high school yearbooks and newspapers, I was given the chance to publish my own words and edit those of others. Then, my dream took a long pause. As author Tess Garritsen, MD, aptly said, "Dad said that writing was no way to make a living." 

So, I pivoted to marketing for two decades before returning to the pen.

I started my career in the content and technology industries: creating global news at CNN, brand narratives at Apple, experiential stories at Disney, life moments and photojournalism at Kodak, domestic realism at FamilyLife, and medical mysteries at Everyday Health. I'm grateful to the world-class news journalists, Imagineers, professional photographers, marketers, ministry leaders, and filmmakers I've worked alongside. 

They taught me not only how to write and produce incredible stories but how to sell them.

Touch the heart, move the mind.

Craft stories that stick. 

Choose a picture that's worth a thousand words.

Break through the clutter.

These mantras shaped my narrative style in fiction and nonfiction. 

My first manuscript, a murder mystery set on a perilous yet stunning lake in a small southern town, awaits the right agent and publisher. If you know someone who may be interested, contact me! Meanwhile, I'm deep into the next whodunit caper set in the Mediterranean. Follow my socials and subscribe to my newsletter for more on my publishing journey, what I'm discovering, and the amazing authors I'm meeting.

Authors I Admire:

Authors who influenced the younger me were John Updike, Joan Didion, Ayn Rand, and John Cheever. Malcolm Gladwell and Oprah taught me how to produce a great interview. Daniel Pink, Jim Collins, and Chip and Dan Heath are among my favorite business writers. Today's fiction writers crafting words that stick with me are Liane Moriarty, Maggie Shipstead, Jodi Picoult, Kristin Hannah, and Gillian Flynn. Some of the generous authors I've met recently have shared their wisdom: David Baldacci, Janelle Brown, T. Jefferson Parker, Lisa See, Walter Mosley, and Ann Cleeves. The lit community takes care of its own.

Books I Love:

If you’d like to read the stories that inspired me, my favorite books on writing, health, faith, business, and social change, and the texts that shaped my worldview, check out my bookshop.org profile (check back here) and GoodReads. If you decide to buy one, you’ll support independent bookstores and my writing journey through an affiliate link.

Connect:

Believe it or not, I’m not the only Paula Dumas out there, so I often use my middle initial online.  If I’m on social media as an author and advocate, look for @PaulaDumasAuthor or @PaulaKDumas. Or click your favorite social platform on my Contact page.