About Me

I am a teacher and a caller of traditional American dancing, especially contra dancing and square dancing. I have called and taught dances at local evenings, weekend workshops, week-long elementary school programs, week-long family camps and dance weekends throughout the U.S. and Canada. I believe my “calling” in life is to teach people how to hold hands in a circle.

I am also a writer. Mostly, I write non-fiction television. In the past 25 years I have written about 60 broadcast documentaries and over 500 hours of episodic non-fiction TV.

I specialize in narration that “sings” and fits the “voice” of the narrator. I have written in the voice of everyone from a hard-charging gunnery sergeant for R. Lee Ermey, to a warm and engaging mother for Jane Fonda. I have also written narration and wraps for Joan Lunden, Alfre Woodard, Candace Bergen, Ray Liotta, Morgan Freeman, Melissa Etheridge, Andy Garcia, Mariah Carey, and Whitney Houston.

I have written extensively about War and Warfare, Paranormal Phenomena, American and Ancient History, Terrorism, Space, Gadgets and Machines, the Circus, Hitler, the Founding Fathers, Punishment and Torture, Fringe Culture, UFOs, Weapons, Sports, and the Guinness Book of World Records.

I have also written two non-fiction books published by Simon & Shuster, and an as yet unpublished collection of memoirs.

As a TV writer and producer, I’ve been to 38 countries. I’ve been waist-deep in a bog in Siberia, lost in an underground tunnel in Vietnam, dancing with school children at “Land’s End” in Ushuaia, Chile, 600 feet under the Pacific in a nuclear submarine, and on the salt during Speed Week at Bonneville. I was writing cue cards when the teleprompter broke at Ali al Salim air base at the start of Operation Iraqi Freedom. I’ve seen a man eat 3 pounds of haggis in 40 seconds.

I come from a “TV family.”

My father, Jay Michaels, was a pioneering television sports producer, president of Trans World International, and the inventor of Competition Reality television (The Superstars, Battle of the Network Stars). My mother, Lila Michaels, was a game show contestant coordinator for Barry & Enright Productions.  My brother, David Michaels, produces and directs for NBC Sports.  My brother, Al Michaels, is the best play-by-play announcer in the known universe – most football fans will know him from Sunday Night Football and now Monday Night Football on NBC. My niece, Megan Michaels, is a supervising producer for American Idol. My nephew, Steve Michaels, is President of Asylum Entertainment. As you can see, I am the underachiever of the family.

I am a wife, mother, friend, sister, aunt, and niece. My brisket makes old men weep.