Ronna Pennington won her first writing award at age 10 — a second place entry in the local Walmart's Mother's Day essay contest. With a $25 gift certificate in hand, she was hooked and decided she'd write for the rest of her life. She had great journalism teachers in junior and senior high school who encouraged her to pursue writing in college.

Wrapping up a BA in Mass Media Communications, Ronna worked in both radio and newspaper in various roles. As a DJ, she spun records (yes, vinyl) on the night/weekend shift at KVRC/KDEL in Arkadelphia, Arkansas. Later, she went on to be general manager and news editor. In newspaper, she's served has lifestyles editor, reporter, columnist, news editor, editor-in-chief, advertising representative, advertising manager, and general manager.

She began freelancing fulltime in 2007, mostly writing web content as a ghost writer. Her DIY and crafting hobbies led her to also write for Yahoo, eHow, and other related sites. She even wrote periodically as a Featured Contributor (politics) for Yahoo.

When her daughter started school, Ronna thought it would be a great time to go back to school to earn a master's degree in English. A random visit to the local museum changed her mind, though. Showing her daughter around the museum, she noticed a framed news article she had written. Suddenly, she realized that today really is tomorrow's history and changed her focus to history. As cheesy as it sounds, Ronna takes this philosophy with students in the college classes she teaches today.

Speaking of her college classes, Ronna teaches United States, World Civilization, and Arkansas History classes each semester. She also teaches Oral Communication and World Literature from time to time.

Ronna added one more degree to her professional portfolio — a Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing. She believes the history degree has made her a better researcher, and the writing degree has made her a better writer of history.