#HASHTAG: TARA MAHER

After a career of teaching others that the sky’s not the limit, but a place for achieving dreams, former flight attendant trainer TARA MAHER of Winnetka plays a new role. Maher channels her energy into elevating and connecting fellow writers as the Director of Community Outreach & Engagement for the Off Campus Writers’ Workshop of Chicago (OCWW). A craft-based learning organization, OCWW sprung to life 75 years ago when several North Shore women writers who, wanting their voices heard, rejected the repression of the times. Scott Turow’s mother and others gathered weekly at Winnetka’s Community House to support one another and practice the craft of writing. Off Campus still meets Thursday mornings during the school year at Winnetka’s Community House, and with the gift of technology, the talks are presented simultaneously on Zoom. OCWW is a chance for beginners to best sellers to gather in community and learn from the accomplished, including such authors as Rebecca Makkai, Peter Orner, and Jennifer Eagan, to name a few. When not immersed in helping others discover the writer within, Maher, a mother of two and devoted guardian to Sheepadoole Saylor, finds inspiration for her novels by walking the beaches of Great Lake Michigan and soaking in the blue skies above.

#ON MY NIGHTSTAND

I’m in summer mode for book picks with the recent warm weather. The towering pile on my bedside table includes Shoulder Season by Christina Clancy, a novel with Lake Geneva featured as the backdrop, and The Beach Trap by Ali-Brady, which drips with family drama and sizzling beachy romance. When focused on career versus pleasure reading, I pull from the stack Before and After the Book Deal by Courtney Maum, which offers bountiful information on establishing successful practices for writers in all stages of their careers. Lucy by the Sea by Elizabeth Strout, joins the bedside pile, falling between a pleasure read and a learning tool since reading books by renowned authors is crucial to a writer’s personal growth.

#ON MY MOBILE

Like others, I’m an Instagram addict, homing in on accounts that inspire, enlighten, or spawn creativity. On my follow list: Feng Shui advisor and decluttering specialist Kim Downey @elevateyourspacefengshui, writing coach @camillepagan, a tribe of like-minded writers @womensfictionwriters, beloved airline pics @aviation_stories, and “life is an adventure” @davidveed58.

#IN MY EARBUDS

Being a busy mom and community volunteer eats up the clock, so like many others, I’ve turned to audiobooks when on the go. Currently, I tool down Sheridan Road listening to the literary novel Horse by Geraldine Brooks, which is a book club pick, and Wherever the Wind Takes Us by Kelly Harms, a witty and wonderful novel about unexpected joy in life’s second act that’s prepping me for the sailing season. Or I’m plugged into a podcast. Most recently, The Moth, a short-story podcast where talented writers give voice to their work, and Pop Fiction Women podcast, with author Curtis Sittenfeld showcasing her newest novel, Romantic Comedy, in the Complicated Conversations Series.