<span>An arguably displaced New Englander now rooted in Southern California after attending college in the Bay Area, Maxine Hurt made an </span><span>auspicious </span><span>break from a seven year career in qualitative marketing research and strategy development to become a freelance writer and focuses on fundamental topics like: Why people do the things they do and why we should care. In-between writing assignments, she is inevitably chatting about some esoteric book that demonstrates the death of innocence or how the habits of an early 19th century French novelist can change your life. She likes things that are both ugly and beautiful, people that are hard to figure out, superheroes (especially the females), and mythical places. She also stays awake too late, likes to talk about people, and can't find the courage to get a tattoo. She is a regular contributor&nbsp;for DivineCaroline.com, a contributing assistant editor for Ventana Monthly magazine (<a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.VentanaMonthly.com">www.VentanaMonthly.com</a>), and a freelance writer for Malibu Magazine (<a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.MalibuMag.com">www.MalibuMag.com</a>). You can check out her blog at <a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.VigilantWriter.blogspot.com">www.VigilantWriter.blogspot.com</a>.<br /> </span>