Name
Tammy Marshall
Which degrees did you earn from CAS?
Undergraduate
Major(s) or area(s) of study
English with a minor in Spanish
Graduation year
1990
Who is your employer, and where are they located?
I'm self-employed as an author in Neligh, Nebraska, but my column runs in the Norfolk Daily News in Norfolk, NE, and I also write feature articles for them. I'm a retired high school teacher who taught for 30 years (29 of them for Neligh-Oakdale Public Schools).
What is your job title and what kind of work does it involve?
I'm a writer. My main focus, since retiring from teaching 5 years ago, is the novels I write. I just published my 8th book, a cozy thriller titled "A Final Dedication." The other seven are "The Clearwater House," "State of Georgia . . . and Other Writings," "Ticker Tape," "Twinges," "Trouble on Tybee," "Her Ride or Die," and "Last in the Class." I also have a regular column in the Norfolk Daily News called "Novel Thoughts" where I write about classic literature and book-related topics twice a month -- that column is in its 16th year. I write two Substack publications -- "Cognate Cognizance," a vocabulary building publication, and "Tomes and Topics," a weekly publication in which I share my writing journey and portions of my current WIP. I also make frequent appearances at libraries, book clubs, and other literary events where I speak and/or sell my books.
What sparked your interest in your major(s) or area(s) of study?
English was always my favorite subject from elementary school on up. I love to read and formed that passion at an early age. I wanted to be a writer, specifically a novelist, but I also had an interest in journalism and teaching.
What do you see as the value of your major(s) or CAS degree?
It helped me to broaden my literary scope by introducing me to types of literature that I would have avoided on my own. I use that philosophy each month in the column pieces I write about classic literature and older quality literature as I find ways to help average readers embrace the reading of these types of books. It also helped me approach the teaching of reading and writing in ways that I think differentiated me and my style from other English teachers.
Were there any other people, activities, or events from your time at UNL that helped you get to where you are now?
I wrote for the Daily Nebraskan for a couple of years, and I think that was a beneficial experience. I tutored a few people, and that helped me to find ways to make things like grammar relatable to others who struggled with it. I also had work study positions all the years I was at UNL, and I worked those in the CAS in the English Department. I did transcribing for a professor, helped a few times at the Prairie Schooner's front desk, and I spent a lot of time in the main office photocopying things for professors. Seeing various aspects of the writing, reading, and teaching side of English gave me valuable experience that I carried into my own teaching, reading, and writing life.
Tell us about the path you took to get to where you are today in your career and how you applied your education in your major(s) or area(s) of study to get here.
While at UNL, I also acquired a teaching certificate in the fields of English and Spanish, knowing that it would be difficult to make a living as a novelist (my primary goal) right away. I had no desire to teach as long as I did, but life had other plans (as it often does.) I began writing my first novel shortly after graduating from UNL, but it wasn't until many years later that it was published -- initially in a serialized fashion through the Norfolk Daily News and then, due to high demand, I self-published it. I self-published a story collection in honor of my best friend after she passed away from cancer in 2018 -- I met her my freshman year at UNL where we both lived in Sandoz on the 3rd floor, and we were best friends for 32 years until her death. Not only did I lose her, but a number of important people ! in my lif e (ages ranging from 27 years old to 60 years old) passed away in the span of two years, and their deaths were like a kick in the pants to go after my lifelong dream of becoming a novelist. Every time that I sit down to write I am using some of the skills that I acquired at UNL, and truly every aspect of my writing life now requires something that I learned or honed while studying English in the CAS. I took speaking classes there, and now I speak quite often -- additionally, I was the high school speech coach for more than 20 years. I learned to get to the heart of the matter while writing stories for the Daily Nebraskan and for my classes, so I am able to get to the heart of the matter in the feature stories I write. I read a lot for my classes, and I now read a lot for my column, for my book clubs, and for myself. I can't think of anything about my writing life that doesn't use something I learned while at UNL.
What are your future professional goals?
I simply plan to continue writing books. I have eight out now, and I have hopes of writing and publishing many more. Slowly, yet surely, I am becoming known and recognized as a Nebraska author within the state and even in some places outside of Nebraska. It would be a great honor to be known more widely in that capacity. Nebraska has a wonderful literary legacy, and I would like to earn a place in it. Currently, I am the secretary of the Nebraska Writers Guild, an association with more than 300 members now in its 101st year; the Guild was formed by such literary greats as Bess Streeter Aldrich and Louise Pound. It would be an honor if some future member of the Guild were to name me as a Nebraska author who once was part of the Guild. I may be a retired teacher, but I don't ever plan to retire from writing.
July 29, 2026
