OHIO alumni share journeys to becoming published authors

Within the vast network of Ohio University alumni are many accomplished authors whose published works cover a wide-range of subjects and genres. Although these wordsmiths’ life and OHIO experiences are as varied as their publications, Ohio University provided them all with the foundation to produce notable content worth publishing.

Ohio Today news recently caught up with four alumni to discuss their OHIO experience and how it has impacted not only their careers, but also their journey in creating a recently-published book.

Charles First, BARCH ’69, is the author of the architecture book, “A Place To Be Happy: Linking Architecture & Positive Psychology.” Photo courtesy of Charles First

Can you give us a general overview of your recently-published book?

Ashley Ferguson, BSJ ’06: “Girl, You Are Magic” is an inspirational illustrated poem intended for girls around the K-6 age. The goal of the book is to inspire girls to know who they are before they let anybody tell them who they are.

Jessica Strawser, BSJ ’01: “Not That I Could Tell” is the story of a group of neighborhood friends who get together around a bonfire in a backyard one night. They have a little bit too much to drink, and when Monday morning comes, one of them is gone. It turns out that her friends that were all drinking around the fire were the last people to see her, but they are not very reliable witnesses because their memories of that night are a little foggy.

Chris Garber, BSJ ’95: The book is called “The Big 50: Cincinnati Reds,” and it is a countdown of the 50 greatest players, games and moments in the history of the Cincinnati Reds baseball team.

Charles First, BARCH ’69: [With “A Place To Be Happy: Linking Architecture & Positive Psychology,”] I’m trying to encourage those who are in the field — the architects, interior designers, real estate developers — to make a bridge and collaborate with other fields to help enhance a much better working environment for people.

Jessica Strawser, BSJ ’01, is the author of the thriller, “Not That I Could Tell.” Photo courtesy of Jessica Strawser

While you were at Ohio University, in what organizations or clubs were you involved?

Ferguson: I was a member of Delta Sigma Theta sorority. I was also in the Black Student Communication Caucus.

Strawser: I was the editor for Southeast Ohio magazine my senior year. I was a magazine journalism major, so I think I did The Post more when I was an underclassman. Once I got into magazine classes, I kind of transitioned over to working for magazines. I also was in Sigma Kappa sorority and the Society of Professional Journalists.

Garber: I spent most of my time with my fraternity, Phi Kappa Tau. I was on the executive board and gained a lot of leadership experience with that group.

First: Not really. The [coursework] for the degree I was in was extremely time consuming. There were a lot of long hours that went into crafting my projects and focusing on my academics.

Chris Garber, BSJ ’95, is the author of the baseball history book, “The Big 50: Cincinnati Reds.” Photo courtesy of Chris Garber

Did you always know that you were going to be an author?

Ferguson: No, I didn’t. When I was in school, I wanted to be a magazine editor and I was determined to go to New York. I was really excited about feature writing, and all I ever wanted to do was write big, fluffy, heartwarming articles.

Strawser: I think that I was always a fiction reader, but it wasn’t something that I formally studied at OHIO. But I think because I worked in a magazine that has so much content about books, I just really became interested and wanted to try it on my own.

Garber: No, I did not. After I graduated from OHIO, I went to law school, and I’ve been practicing as a lawyer for 19 years. [Writing] is really not my day job; it’s more of a side project for me. A friend and I had this idea to write a book about 12 years ago and we pitched it. It didn’t really get a lot of interest, but then we revised it about three years ago. We then found a publisher that was interested and started writing.

First: No, I had always just wanted to become an architect. Writing the book didn’t grow out of wanting to be a writer, but I just had a very strong interest in this subject over the last 20 years. Ultimately, I felt like this was something valuable to put together in a cohesive presentation for the people in the profession.

Ashley Ferguson, BSJ ’06, is the author of the children’s poetry book, “Girl, You Are Magic!” Photo courtesy of Ashley Ferguson

How do you think Ohio University has helped you reach this level of success in your career?

Ferguson: I really just feel like when I was in college, I felt like I could do anything. OHIO was really great about bringing in stellar visiting professors and really making us feel like we could do anything and that the world wasn’t so far away.

Strawser: My time at OHIO really prepared me from the very start. I think journalism is really a field where one opportunity leads to another. Pretty much everything that has happened to me can be traced back to my early time at OHIO, starting with the internship I got at OHIO [that] ended up leading to my first job out of college.

Garber: The skills that I learned at OHIO, the writing, researching and information gathering, have been crucial to my success both in practicing law and in writing a book.

First: The [architecture] program at OHIO was more open to different aspects of approaching design. There was more flexibility of how you could construct your career focus. That was a tremendous help, along with the great professors with diverse ideas.