About

Lee Orlich Bertram, American novelist and poet, was born in Los Angeles. She spent her very early years there until her family moved out to a newly-developed suburb called Covina. She hails from families with deep roots from Germany and the former Yugoslavia. Both sides of her family were hard workers who imbued in her a sense of the importance of developing a strong work ethic, obtaining a comprehensive education, and nurturing a love of the arts and humanities. When Lee learned to read and write, the family encouraged her to explore her creative passion for stories, poems, and her flair for the dramatic. Lee vividly recalls writing a hope chest full of stories and poems to share with the world when she was ready someday. Come to think of it, there was also a lot of family eating, dancing, and celebrating in between the writing.

After completion of her K-12 education in the Covina schools, Lee attended the University of California, Irvine (UCI) where she earned her BA, MA, and PhD. Part of her study time at UCI included attending courses overseas at Universität Schiller and doctoral research later at the Deutsches Literaturarchiv Marbach in Germany. She has been a speaker at educational symposia in Germany as well. Lee earned her JD at the UI later in life after transitioning from her career in K-12 education. Frankly, she decided she wanted to argue for a living.

Lee enjoyed a very successful first career in K-12 public education in California. She taught across multiple grades with specialties in drama, English, French, and German language and literature. From there she went on to hold administrative positions as vice-principal, principal, project director, assistant superintendent, and superintendent in different school districts throughout the state, She had the opportunity to write and publish educational articles and state-of-the-art educational materials for which she offered ongoing staff development and training for many years. Lee considers herself a lifetime educator and is currently using her finely-tuned instructional skills to terrorize older students at the university level.

When Lee and her husband Dr. Jack Hill moved to Idaho, she decided it was the appropriate time to finish her law degree. Luckily, the only law school in the entire state was located in the small city where she and Jack decided to settle down. Upon completion of her JD at the University of Idaho (UI), Lee began private practice with a classmate for clients in Idaho and Washington at the state and federal court levels. Even with her busy writing schedule, Lee maintains a thriving law practice in the areas of estate planning, contracts, criminal law, environmental law, and the law of business formation. She has always found it relaxing to drive through winter blizzards in Idaho and Washington to appear at federal court proceedings located ninety miles away.

Lee currently teaches business law and the law of international trade at Washington State University (WSU) in addition to running her law practice. She enjoys being able to bring real-life examples of cases and the practical application of various laws into her courses, resulting in the ever popular phrase for her students, “You just cannot make this stuff up.” In her earlier days in Idaho, she taught German language and literature at both UI and WSU prior to starting her law practice. Lee has finally learned after many years of practice not to let the bad lawyer jokes faze her. Yes, she knows what’s black and brown and looks good on a lawyer.

Writing has been a consistent thread and creative outlet throughout Lee’s careers in education and law. As a new author, she now takes her writing skills and storytelling to new heights as a novelist and poet and is pleased to share her innermost thoughts with her readers. Her poetry collections are personal and reflective; her novels are rich with adventure, mystery, and intrigue. The thought of finally dusting off manuscripts and becoming serious about publishing gelled in her mind as she sat sequestered in her law office during the beginning stages of the COVID-19 pandemic. Nothing like a devastating disease to make one contemplate all the things remaining to be undertaken.

In addition to writing novels and poetry, teaching, and practicing law, Lee enjoys playing the piano, cooking gourmet meals, and reading. She is multi-lingual and well-traveled. She has made valuable contributions to the preservation and conservation of the incomparable land of her home region, the Palouse. Lee has committed herself throughout her careers to community service as a serial volunteer on boards of directors, the most current of which, are the Palouse Land Trust (PLT) and the Moscow Affordable Housing Trust (MAHT). As a side gig, she has been a lifelong learner in the discipline of archaeology and its specialized field, Egyptology. During the pandemic, Lee completed online courses to become proficient in Egyptology, which she rather digs these days.

Lee and Jack make their home in Moscow, Idaho. Jack is the former superintendent of schools and member of city council in Moscow. Their home on the Palouse is animal friendly with their dogs, cockatiels, turtles, and occasional moose, deer, quail, foxes, and feathered, migratory friends of multiple species. The zoo-like atmosphere makes for some great writing material.