About
About Forgotonia the actual place
…is west central Illinois—an area once dubbed “The Republic of Forgotonia” because it’s so…. BFE, to put it one way. Read the full definition on Wikipedia.
About Forgotonia the Blog
It’s published by me, life-long Forgotonia resident Alison McGaughey: writer, blogger, spaz extraordinaire.
being leisure-ly
I am obsessed with small-town life, local legends, and that this place I call home is impossible to reach from anywhere else.
Some of the stuff I like to cover:
- the legend of Vishnu Springs, alleged hang-out for Al Capone
- the fact that a certain “latter-day prophet” was murdered in my hometown, right across the street from the Dairy Queen, and
- the fact that my friend’s dad is separated from Matt Damon by six degrees and a dozen donuts.
About Alison
Writing
My writing career officially began with the publication of my first short story. It appeared in a prestigious anthology—a Xeroxed-and-stapled- together collection of regional fifth graders’ work.
My life would never be the same.
Childhood & Family
I grew up in the height of the “Sixteen Candles” and “Pretty in Pink” era, and for many non-Midwesterns, the idea of youthful life in Illinois might stem from John Hughes’ movies filmed in the Chicago suburbs.
I, however, grew up on a farm, got my first driving lesson behind the wheel of a tractor, and graduated from a high school class of 47 people.
But at the same time I also have absolutely zero farm cred. As a teenager, all I wanted was to get off the farm and into town (in my parents’ enormous car) so I could cruise the strip (read: drive back and forth past the Dairy Queen), smoke cigarettes, and blast the radio.
Despite my teenage angst and neurosis, however, I had a happy childhood, a fact which makes me feel, you know, not victimized enough to become an actual writer. Iwas amazingly lucky to be born into a family of people who actually loved me and wanted what’s best for me. Plus, they love to read books, tell stories, laugh, and travel together. I swear I’m not making this up.
Schoolin’
In college, I (somehow all at once) acted in plays, reported and wrote columns for the school newspaper, did a radio show, tutored at the writing center, declared two majors, and, well…behaved like an idiot a lot. Luckily, despite that latter fact, I earned a B.A. in English and CATA (Communication and Theatre Arts) in 1999 from Monmouth College (Monmouth, IL– birthplace of Wyatt Earp.) See more about my official cred-type stuff over on my Academic Stuff page.
Career
I started out as a newspaper reporter for a small daily in Western Illinois, then moved into writing and editing for PR print and web publications. From those experiences, plus blogging since 2002 (I started out on diaryland!) and writing a weekly newspaper column, I have researched and written about everything from a rural legend about Ringo Starr’s tonsils to a local mystery about a missing girl.
See the specifics on my career page.
