Would you like to get to know the team at Wake Living a little better? Sure, you can head over to our “about us” page and read our professional bios, but as a lifestyle magazine, we’d like to connect with our readers on a different level. Erin McKnight joined the editorial team in February, and while you haven’t read her writing yet, she’s been hard at work creating content for our next issue. Here’s your chance to put a face with the name.
Introduce yourself!
Hello, everyone! I’m the staff writer for Wake Living and Cary Magazine. I was born in Scotland and raised in South Africa and have spent the years since I moved to the US living between several states and islands. I’m excited to be a part of the team!
What drew you to become a writer?
My longstanding love of language and literature has always found its form on the page. I’m compelled to express myself through written words.
What book are you reading right now?
I tend to read simultaneously in batches, but the last book I finished was Ramona Ausubel’s heartbreaking but hopeful (and humor filled) The Last Animal.
If you won the lottery, what would you buy first?
I think I’d invest in experiences over items — though I don’t have anything specific in mind. I’ve never purchased a lottery ticket in my life, and don’t plan to anytime soon, so I think I’m safe from having to make any decisions!
Do you have any pets?
Maximus
I have a 75-pound rescue mutt named Maximus. I’ve always been an animal lover and would have a pack of dogs if I could.
What brought you to North Carolina?
Family! I’ve been visiting the state since my brother attended college here, so when the chance arose for everyone to be together the decision required very little thought. Moving to Raleigh 18 months ago was one of the best decisions I have ever made.
Tell us about something you love.
Much to her dismay, I must say my daughter. She recently turned 13 and is giving me the kind of grief that tells me things are going as they should be as far as her growing up is concerned. She’s also the kindest and most empathetic friend anyone could have, and witty beyond words.
Do you trend toward tidy or messy?
Definitely messy — and not just messy, but disorganized-messy. I’d love to have things more together, but I find neatness exhausting and can never keep up with it. A certain level of disarray seems to be my status quo, so I’ve stopped fighting my natural tendency to “spread out” and have come to recognize that I’m most creative in a somewhat chaotic environment.
What’s your go-to karaoke song?
I am genuinely tone-deaf, so I won’t put anyone (including myself) through that experience.
If you had a time machine, where would you go?
This was the topic of a conversation I had a week or so ago! Hands down, the Library of Alexandria at its height. But I’d also welcome a secondary mystery time machine that would take me to the scene of many notorious crimes so I could discover what really went down … though I suspect I’d only end up disappointed by the ordinariness of the truth.
Do you collect anything?
This probably won’t come as any surprise, but books. I have my favorite childhood books, as well as texts from every level of my education, near me. In fact, my body will likely be found someday under a stack of them.
What was your first job?
I was a hostess at my local Steak & Ale Restaurant, back when wide open salad bars were still a thing.
What’s on your bucket list?
I don’t maintain a bucket list, but I do keep an anti-bucket list: places I don’t want to ever go and things I never want to try … outer space and hot-air ballooning being two such examples.
