Penny Pence Smith began writing professionally as a teenager for the local Indio, California, daily newspaper. Later, after college graduation, she covered the entertainment indust...view morePenny Pence Smith began writing professionally as a teenager for the local Indio, California, daily newspaper. Later, after college graduation, she covered the entertainment industry as a movie magazine editor, as assistant ("legwoman") for a well-known gossip columnist, feature correspondent and bureau manager for the New York Times Special Features Syndicate, and as correspondent for the Hollywood Reporter. With a Ph.D. in communication, she has taught journalism and communication at UNC Chapel Hill and Hawaii Pacific University. Her Under A Maui Sun and Reflections of Kauai were best-selling tourism books in Hawaii.view less