Ashley Manning-O'Dell

A.C. O'Dell is a writer, copyeditor and proofreader living in Richmond, VA. She received her B.F.A. from Mars Hill University and her M.F.A. from Regent University, where she wrote her graduate thesis on eighteenth century British actress Catherine Clive. A.C. works for a boutique pharmaceutical ad agency and travels all over the world, speaking to chronic and terminally ill patients and telling their stories. She is also a staff writer for Narrative Muse, an online global publication concerned with curating and celebrating the very best in female-driven creative content. Recently, A.C. completed a film-reviewing internship with Film-Forward. She writes novels, screenplays, social commentary, advertising copy, resumes, mission statements, and poetry. Her latest project is her pop-up poetry booth, which she sets up at markets and fairs, spinning on-the-spot extemporaneous poetry for folks.

The Writing Disorder •

Writing Disorder Feature

Even while I suckled, the spirits knew, and when the blueprints arrived, I chewed on them with the emerging razors of my tiny teeth. Truly, how can you be surprised? When I was quite small, I remember you teaching me to bake in the kitchen. You wore a tired apron and I stood on a scarred chair, and when I scented the raw vanilla, my little eyes lit and I leaned greedily toward the be-battered bowl. I think I commented on it, and you smiled kindly and said, “try it.” Then you watched me, and lau
Medium •

Why Joyce Byers from Stranger Things is actually #Goals

I’ve been sitting on this for a couple of months now, so bear with me. Like many of you, I’m a huge nerd and 80’s pop culture enthusiast. So like many of you, I tuned in to the Netflix original production Stranger Things this past Halloween to see what would happen in Season 2. So good. So, so good; as I’m sure you’ve either told or texted someone yourself or read on social media. So. Good. But this isn’t really a review piece. We need to talk about Joyce.
The Whole Bookshelf •

I Feel Bad About My Neck

Awards: Book Sense Book of the Year for Adult Nonfiction (2007) Ah, Nora Ephron. The queen of the romantic comedy. You've Got Mail. Sleepless in Seattle. When Harry Met Sally. And more recently, Julie & Julia. I'm not the quintessential "chick," that's for sure. I think when pressed, people say I'm interesting and intelligent and kind of dark. But even I am up for a bowl of popcorn, my sweats, and any of the above selections on a rainy October day...