Michele Miles Gardiner

"Michele Miles Gardiner did a phenomenal job of writing a highly accurate, totally clear, and wonderfully fast moving article about eHarmony’s history, our values, our successes, and our near extinction along the way. Out of hundreds (maybe even thousands) of articles about eHarmony over the last seven or eight years, it is clearly one of my two or three favorites." - Neil Clark Warren, Founder of eHarmony
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My articles, reviews, essays and op-eds often cover pop culture, the arts and social issues. I’ve written about everything from California midcentury architecture to the best bread pudding in Los Angeles. But whatever the subject may be, I believe my curiosity and fresh perspective translate onto the pages. And whenever I can, I love to inject humor.

When I'm not writing for other publications, I write short stories for my book, “Craving Normal”: Tales of a life born to suburbanites who transformed into nude-beach-loving, world-traveling-hippies, and other adventures of growing up during the “Me Generation.” I'm also currently working on a children's novel.

When did I start writing? Well, funny you should ask…

One of my earliest works, at the age of six, was a letter to the Charms candy company conveying my love of their Sweet-n-Sour suckers. I was sure that my passion-filled words would get me a lifetime supply of my favorite candy and a TV commercial contract. But no! I received nothing more than a thank you note on the Charms company stationery. Undiscouraged, my next project was a script for "I Dream of Jeannie," which I wrote and had every intention of sending to the TV show’s producer, Sydney Sheldon. But then I got distracted when the idea of skating in the roller derby began to look appealing.

Skating, it turned out, was only a fleeting thrill. By the mid 1970s, my passion for writing came back with a vengeance. When not directing neighborhood kids in plays I wrote, I enjoyed writing book reports on subjects as arcane as the Coelacanth, which helped to place me on the honor roll. And that was good, because instead of going to 6th period I got to eat cupcakes and drink punch.

To this day, I still enjoy punch, cupcakes and Charms suckers nearly (but not quite) as much as I enjoy writing.