Just another girl whose hairdressing mama used her as a guinea pig

Daun Daemon (born Michele Dawn Craig) grew up in Hudson, North Carolina, just down the mountain from Blowing Rock and the Blue Ridge Parkway.

The youngest of three sisters, she was raised with her mama’s beauty shop outside her bedroom window and a car mechanic’s garage across the street, which made for some interesting situations. When her mama was distracted by permanent rods and brush rollers, Daemon eavesdropped on the women as they told their stories. When her mama wasn’t distracted, she sat outside with her cats and watched the shenanigans across the street.

A triple graduate of NC State University (B.S. Wildlife Biology, B.A. English — Writing & Editing, M.A. English — Creative Writing), she has worked as a talent agent, journalist, tutor, information officer, communications specialist, and college English teacher.

For 25 years, she taught scientific communication at her alma mater. Frustrated by her students’ rapidly increasing use of ChatGPT and other generative AI tools, she retired in June 2025.

Her poems and stories have appeared in numerous journals. She is currently at work on a second book of poetry as well as a linked collection of short stories about a hairdresser and her four daughters.