Linda McAllister, Journalist

LINDA MCALLISTER, WRITER

I’ve interviewed billionaires, doctors who’ve discovered
disease-causing bacteria, grief-stricken kids whose parents committed suicide, a U.S. Ambassador’s butler and a bestselling novelist who partied with Truman Capote.

As a journalist and freelance magazine writer living in the movie-star riche
resort town of Palm Springs, I write about the ordinary and the extraordinary. Whether it’s a person, a dwelling or a piece of art, I add that extra bit of detail, something to wow my readers, flip the switch on for them, so that they see a subject with fresh eyes.

I featured a Santa Fe resident in an article who told me that he calls himself a “painter,” and that it’s up to others to call him an “artist.” I called myself a writer when I interviewed Kansas City, MO, Mayor Emanuel Cleaver for a regional magazine, crafted four tight paragraphs--and got paid for it. I was hooked.

Twenty years later, Cleaver now serves in the U.S. House of Representatives, and I’ve graduated to magazine features, book chapters, healthcare marketing materials and more…here’s how:

An accomplished writer, editor and project manager, Linda McAllister introduces us to fascinating people, brings one-of-a-kind places into readers’ living rooms and turns ideas into well-crafted articles. According to one of her editors, she completes assignments “with care paid to facts and grace in writing.” A journalist for more than 20 years, Linda’s forte is non-fiction magazine features and healthcare marketing.

Present

Ms. McAllister contributes to Palm Springs Life, the Desert Magazine, (a Gannett publication), culture, the word on cheese and California Homes. Her topics range from architecture and design to lifestyle coverage to in-depth healthcare reporting. She can walk into a 13,000 square feet home to “show” readers its architectural details and panoramic views and likewise has the experience to educate the public about cardiovascular disease or mental health.

In the drug development area, McAllister analyzes data and writes reports for SCORR, a global marketing communications firm.

Linda is a contributing author for two books: Stepping Stones Toward Hope and Solace that helps teens understand the grief process and The Annenberg Retreat at Sunnylands (2012) about the estate of the late U. S. Ambassador and philanthropist Walter Annenberg and his wife Leonore.

Prior

Linda wrote news stories, technical reports and marketing materials for local and national healthcare clients in her corporate career. She worked in marketing research at a Fortune 500 pharmaceutical company, Marion Laboratories Inc. (now Sanofi), specializing in interviews and focus groups with physicians, nurses, pharmacists and other medical personnel. She owned a healthcare communications business before becoming a freelance journalist. Ms. McAllister began her career as a project administrator at Truman Medical Center, a not-for-profit hospital in Kansas City, MO.

Education

Linda McAllister (formerly Meierhoffer) received her M.S. in journalism at the University of Kansas in 1991 where she was inducted into Kappa Tau Alpha, the National Journalism Honor Society. She has an undergraduate degree in English and a master’s degree in public administration from the University of Missouri, where she was the Editor of the Business and Public Administration Student Review. Linda is Past President of the Kansas City Chapter of the Association for Women in Communications and served as co-chair of the organization’s International Conference. She speaks to professional groups and participates in panel discussions about writing.

Where

Linda resides in sunny Palm Springs, CA, and travels coast to coast for engaging writing or marketing projects.

My work takes me to a birthday bash in a classic mid-century home where design divas and entrepreneurs twist and shout on the gleaming dance floor. It also provides entre into an artist’s studio where color-saturated abstracts come to life or into a hotel ballroom where classy drag queens sing and dance for charity. Whether interviewing everyday folks or a philanthropist with a sublime art collection, I ask follow-up questions until the layers of their stories fold open. Here’s what my editors and others say about my writing:

"Linda took a wide-spanning topic - the history of interior design in the Palm Springs area - and captured the essence of the aesthetic and the major players in the field from the 1950s to present in a tight space and created an article that's clear, concise, and of great interest to a large number of our readers ('Interior Motives,' Palm Springs Life). This was a tough, research-intensive assignment completed with care paid to facts and grace in writing. We look forward to working more with Linda."

Steven Biller, Editor in Chief,
Palm Springs Life

"Linda is an ideal contributor to work with. She shows true professionalism in her excellent research, writing, attention to deadlines, and responsiveness to edits and queries."

Elaine Khosrova, Editor-at-Large,
culture, the word on cheese

"I have found Linda Meierhoffer to be an outstanding resource for Desert Magazine. She not only writes very well and exhibits the highest degree of professionalism, but also brings warmth and astute observations about her subjects to her stories."

Carla Breer Howard, Editor,
Desert Magazine

"I have known Linda professionally, and now personally, for more than three decades. She has remained just the same: calm, even-keeled, bright, and always willing to lend a hand. When I decided to write a cookbook, she linked me with others that had written cookbooks, and lifted me up in the throws of editing and red marks. You'd be lucky to have Linda on board as a freelancer - no worries with this writer."

Connie Fairbanks,
Chicago author

"Linda is amazing to work with! We needed a resource to analyze results from a survey we conducted, create a report, attend a meeting to help gather input on the data and develop a presentation on an accelerated timeline, and Linda delivered. Not only did she provide market research analysis, but she wrote targeted copy to communicate the data in a concise, yet engaging manner. Linda is very polished, professional and personable - it felt like she had been part of our team for years!"

Lea Studer, Vice President of Marketing Communications,
SCORR Marketing

Same writer, new byline: Linda McAllister is the former Linda Meierhoffer.
Read some of Linda's work by clicking on the thumbnails below:

Fresh Faced & Flirty
Palm Springs Life, 2014

Endangered Modernism
Palm Springs Life, 2013

Flying High on the Mesa
Palm Springs Life, 2010

Interior Motives
Palm Springs Life, 2009

Curves Ahead
Palm Springs Life, 2008

Home is Where ...
Palm Springs Life, 2014

Straight from the Heart
Palm Springs Life, 2020

Legacy of Giving
Palm Springs Life, 2011

Return to Sunnylands
Palm Springs Life, 2011

Earth Angels
culturecheesemag.com

What's Your Story?
Desert Magazine, 2009

Relaxed, Cordial
mydesert.com, 2010

Make Work Every Single Day
ArtPatronMagazine.com

Precious Metals
ArtPatronMagazine.com

Misses Congeniality
Desert Magazine, 2010

Visual Poetry
Palm Springs Life, 2014

Coming Into Her Own
Desert Magazine, 2012

Disco Divas
California Homes, 2015

Novel Ideas
Desert Magazine, 2013

Bridge Over Troubled Waters
Palm Springs Life, 2010

Good Grief
Palm Springs Life, 2010

Transformation
Desert Magazine, 2009

The Big Sleep (Debt)
Desert Magazine, 2009

Heart of a Woman
Desert Magazine, 2008

Get Smart
Desert Magazine, 2008

Do you need an article that engages your readers and resonates with your magazine's style? Do you have a custom project that requires a skilled writer to cut through the clutter and deliver a succinct story? Please contact me!

Phone:
816.225.8548
Email:
pslindamcallister@gmail.com

I’ve interviewed billionaires, doctors who’ve discovered
disease-causing bacteria, grief-stricken kids whose parents committed suicide, a U.S. Ambassador’s butler and a bestselling novelist who partied with Truman Capote.

About Linda McAllister

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