Joelle Babula is an award-winning former journalist and currently a practicing nurse practitioner. An avid cook, wine lover and cheese freak, she draws on her years of experience in the kitchen to craft and cook all the menus and dishes featured in her writing. She also finds inspiration from other writers, her newspaper days and her traveling adventures.

Originally from California wine country, Joelle attended Chico State University where she was captain of the women’s basketball team and managing editor of the campus newspaper. After graduating with a degree in journalism, she worked as a reporter for several newspapers including The Las Vegas Review Journal and The Arizona Republic. She has won awards for column writing, investigative reporting and enterprise medical features. Most recently, she received multiple awards in the category of memoirs and personal essays in the annual Writer’s Digest competition. 

Joelle’s experience as a medical reporter rekindled her interest in the field of medicine, leading her to attend Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing. She graduated with honors with a master’s degree in nursing science and currently practices as a board-certified nurse practitioner taking care of military veterans.

Joelle lives in Baltimore city with her husband and two ridiculous lap cats, Boogie Nights and Disco Biscuit. When not writing, reading or working, she can be found exploring Baltimore’s fabulous restaurant scene, playing outside, attempting Pilates or cooking for friends and family. Often, she’s traversing the Eastern Seaboard in search of her next great food moan. She and her husband enjoy traveling (for the food of course), outdoor adventures and all manner of ballroom, swing and disco dancing. She is currently drinking wine and working on her next novel.