Award-winning author Twist Phelan didn’t always want to be a writer but she always knew how to tell a story.
“I’ve always been a storyteller.” Phelan jokes. “I’m half Irish and you pretty much couldn’t come to the dinner table without a story to tell.”
Phelan started her professional career as a lawyer in one of the only all-women law firms in Arizona. She wasn’t known for her law skills but for her ability to capture the jury in her closing statements.
“I certainly wasn’t the smartest lawyer in the room but I could hold the jury’s attention,” Phelan said.
After retiring from the world of law at 30 years old, Phelan bought a yacht and began cruising around the world. Ten years later she found herself writing short stories that she wanted to read: thrillers and mysteries.
Traveling as much as she does, Phelan gets inspiration from the newspapers in airport lounges.
“I see an odd situation in a newspaper and then I come up with a protagonist who is the least suited for that situation” Phelan explains. “So if there’s a cave, the main character has claustrophobia.”
Besides multiple literary accomplishments, she has traveled to more than 80 countries and writes about her crazy experiences in the blog travelswithtwist.com.
“I started writing about my travels on Facebook several years ago as a way to answer my friends’ eternal question, “Where are you?” Readers soon wanted more—product reviews, insider’s tips, a searchable database—so I created this site. I post every week, using my research and experience—and what I’ve learned from my mistakes!”
When we talked to Phelan she was bouncing around Italy while working on a middle-grade young adult novel about eighth graders and their adventures in the fictional town of Bristlecone, Colorado. It is turning out to be one of her longest books to date. Where in the world is Twist Phelan? She’s on the Bucket List Community News podcast.
