About Joelle Steele
I’m Joelle Steele (known as Nancy Martelli prior to 1990). I’m a high-IQ (186) polymath, so I pursue my multi-faceted career interests. And, it’s amazing how most of them — even when they seem quite different — are related to each other in some way. I’ve been mostly self-employed since 1983, which allows me to shift back and forth pretty much effortlessly between my various careers as needed. I’ve also had several short-term temp and part-time jobs as a webmaster, transcriptionist, and night editor. I also managed property and co-owned a recording studio and a landscape business. Here are the details of my various careers:
Writing/Editing/Publishing. I’ve been reading since age 3 and I read about two books per week. I started out as a freelance writer (1973-pres.). Then I was a creative director for a book publisher (1975-1977); a publisher of books and small press periodicals (1983-2002); an editor of 200+ books and numerous articles and theses (1974-pres.); a typesetter of 150+ books (1988-pres.); and an adult education instructor in writing and publishing at more than a dozen colleges and organizations in California and Washington state (1983-pres.). As of 2023, I’ve written 60+ books (fiction and non-fiction): 33 currently in print, 23 out-of-print, and 4 never published (my first efforts were pretty bad). I’ve also written 800+ articles, and a wide variety of contributing chapters, nine advice columns, many works for hire, poems, lyrics, advertising jingles, and 100+ small business contracts. I’ve been published by royalty publishers, but I have also published and republished my own books (1983-pres.). I have a BA in Language Arts, a double-major in English and Linguistics.
Art/Photography/Design. I’m an artist, illustrator, graphic designer, interior designer, photographer, and digital photo restorer. I share my family tree with many artists, including my grandfather. I had private art instruction as a child (1960-1969) and my work was in nine art shows before I was 18 years old. My first job was as an illustrator for an advertising agency (1970-73). I had my first art show in 1976 and I’ve been in several art shows since then. I have written two art books: Souvenirs of Europe and What Did They Really Look Like? I did commissioned paintings for a few years (1982-1994). I got into photography when I was ten years old, have had numerous cameras, and have taken thousands of photographs (1961-pres.). I also took headshots of wanna-be actors and photographed project portfolios for landscape contractors (1982-1996). I especially like to photograph nature and small things up close. I have a vocational certificate in Interior Design with emphases in Color and Space Planning, but it was something that I didn’t enjoy as much as I thought I would, and I dropped that pursuit early on.
Genealogy. I love family history and I’ve been practicing since 1974, professionally since 1983. I currently specialize in online lineage tracing and editing and typesetting genealogical books (visit me at https://www.joellesteeleancestryresearch.com). I teach genealogy classes (1997-pres.) through adult education departments at colleges, and also through libraries and various organizations. I wrote a small book called Researching and Writing Your Family History and Memoirs, and an ebook called PhotoGEN. I’ve researched and written 70+ family histories.
Face & Ear ID & Handwritten Forgery. I’m a court-certified expert in face and ear identification (1980-pres) and handwritten forgery detection (1987-pres) (visit me at https://www.authenticateidentities.com}. I became interested in identifying faces in photos in 1975 and I studied anthropometry, the precursor to modern-day biometrics. Around the same time, I met ear identification expert Al Iannarelli who taught me how to use the ears as identifiers. As a teenager, I studied graphology (personality profiling with handwriting), but quickly found it illogical and turned instead to forgery detection. I’ve written eight books on these subjects (two out-of-print).
Astrology. I love astrology and began studying it when I was only 14 years old (my father taught me). I have a general practice, but I specialize in career and life purpose (midheaven astrology)(1976-pres.). I have taught astrology off-and-on over the years. I research earthquakes (1973-pres.), and I wrote The Astrological Prediction of Earthquakes (1994). My seismic data collection of 3,500+ quakes is part of the earthquake database of Cosmic Pattern’s Kepler professional astrology program.
Landscape/Interiorscape/Floral. I love everything about gardening, and I have a vocational certificate in Ornamental Horticulture. I worked in, was self-employed in, and taught and lectured in the landscape industry (1980-2016). I’ve written 14 books for the trade on the horticultural and business aspects of landscape, interiorscape, and floristry, some in both English and Spanish.
MISCELLANEOUS LINKS
