- December 13, 2025
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Wilma Davidson has authored three books on business writing, published a slew of articles on various topics and runs her own consulting firm that has taken her all over the world to coach writers. She was an instructor of professional and technical communication at USF Sarasota-Manatee for 10 years. She’s the current president of the Sarasota branch of the National League of American Pen Women. And yet this resident of Longboat Key does not consider herself a natural.
“I’ve always thought of myself as a writer with a little ‘w,’ she says. “For me, writing is not as fluid as it is for some others.”
To which, one might respond: “OK then, let’s consider the results.” They look pretty good.
Davidson, 82, also happens to be a licensed pilot, although she and her husband, Steve, sold their beloved Cessna 210 two years ago. She clipped her own wings, no longer taking to the sky.
She grew up a high achiever in Wilma Bar in New Bedford, Massachusetts. Besides scoring top grades, Davidson was a member of the Math Club, Latin Club, Honor Society and the school chorus. She went on to earn a bachelor’s degree in English from the University of Connecticut, a master’s in English education from the State University of New York at New Paltz and a doctorate in education from Rutgers University.
Davidson married Steve, her high school sweetheart, in 1961. She taught high school English for 13 years. In 1982, she caught the entrepreneurial bug and formed her own agency, Davidson & Associates, giving seminars on business writing and presentation skills for an array of Fortune 500 companies. Her job has taken her all over the U.S. and the world: China, the U.K., Mexico, South America and elsewhere.
The Davidsons have lived full-time on Longboat Key for 20 years. They have two grown children — a son, Eric, and a daughter, Lisa — both of whom live out of state, plus four grandchildren. Wilma recently collaborated on a children’s book, “Supercat Splat Splat,” with the artist Diana DeAvila. It’s the first in a planned trilogy.
Here are excerpts from her interview with Key Life:
I’m not a Shakespeare, but I don’t want to be a Shakespeare. I’m a Wilma.
It was in the Rutgers doctoral program that I realized, “I not only want to write. I want to teach writing.”
With “Supercat,” I guess I got to the point in my life where I wanted to write the things I want to write, not the things I felt like I had to write.
AI can be good if it’s used with integrity. It might help you get from an early stage to the next stage, and then you do it on your own from there.
I continue to write and deal with my corporate clients. And I will do this for as long as I can because I think it’s a big part of what keeps me alive.
People say, “Oh, you’re a pilot, you must love flying.” I say, “No, I love having flown.” I love it when it’s over.
Love makes you do strange things. I saw how flying had changed [Steve], how much he loved it. It was a wonderful release from a very stressful job. And so I decided — not out of love of flying but out of love of him — that I should get into piloting myself.
When I think about all that I’ve achieved, in terms of starting a writing business or getting my doctorate or teaching at the college level, flying probably is my greatest achievement … other than my children.
We have a dog now, for about a year, and it’s like having another child. Her name is Harley Davidson. She’s a sweetheart, a rescue. If it’s not too hot, we love to take her to Longboat’s beautiful dog park.
We live in a condo on a high floor and have a 270-degree view of the bay, so we get to enjoy frequent slices of heaven.
Living here feels like being on a tropical island with the good fortune of actually being in the United States. During the season, we rarely go into town because of the traffic, but we love our summers here because we practically have the island to ourselves.
My husband is not named Fred, but I used to get that a lot. I think I was supposed to be a William and I turned out to be a Wilma.
