Meet Indie Author Day visitor and writer, Jill Cueni Cohen

On Saturday, Lovegrove Gallery & Gardens hosted Indie Author Day. We were the only venue in all of Southwest Florida to participate in this national event. Pittsburgh freelance magazine writer and author Jill Cueni Cohen was visiting her sister in Ocala three hours away. She read about us on the Indie Author Day website and drove down to spend the afternoon with us. Now that’s initiative and commitment!

 

Let me tell you more about Jill. We share a passion. We were both deeply affected by the events of 9/11 and want to make sure that people never forget what America went through and endured on that tragic day. As you know, I have staged Paint Out Loud and related events so that people could process and share their feelings about what happened to us all on that day. Jill wrote a book titled Like It Was Yesterday. A compilation of articles and stories that span the past 14 years, it chronicles the numerous changes that have taken place in our society as a result of that one horrible day. The book begins with a personal diary and gives the reader more insight into the way most Americans reacted through their experiences of sending sons and daughters into war, even while Americans tried to stay safe at home.

A former New York City resident, Jill had family members live through 9/11, and she has always been deeply affected by the resulting stories she has covered for Pittsburgh newspapers and magazines since then. However, her first trip to the 9/11 Memorial Museum was the impetus to put together a factual history book that would tell America's story like no other.

Her book appeals not just to those who experienced 9/11. Educators are already showing interest in Like It Was Yesterday as a valuable addition to the American history curriculum worldwide. The book was the 2015 The Authors’ Zone Award winner. As one reader commented on Amazon, the book uniquely enables parents to share their 9/11 experience with children born after September 11, 2001, especially since the event is not taught or discussed in school. (She's gotten 22 five-star and 2 four-star reviews on Amazon!)

Jill began her career as a news reporter in the 1980's. Recognizing that technology allows to work anywhere in the world, she now travels the country as a broadcast journalist for the Total Education Network while, at the same time, working as a freelance journalist. In this capacity, she writes for a number of newspapers and magazines, including the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, the North Hills Monthly Magazine, and the nationally-known Human Resource Executive Magazine.

 

Jill is a graduate of Ohio University's Scripps School of Journalism. As a freelance writer, Jill covers a variety of topics and industries; including human resources, food, travel, education, medical, municipal, automotive, mining, architecture and advertising.

Jill is planning to participate with us in next year’s Indie Author Day event. We hope she does. And by then she's likely to have another book in print or e-book format. I will keep you apprised.