Beginning her career in academia, Carrell served as a Lecturer in the "Hist & Lit" (History and Literature) Departments at Harvard from 1994–97 and taught Expository Writing from 1997-98. After getting her first freelance assignment from Smithsonian Magazine -- "How the Bard Won the West" — which explored Shakespeare's surprising popularity among cowboys, miners, and mountain men of the Old West, Carrell left university life in order to further pursue her writing.
A passionate believer in the arts, she worked as the classical music, opera, and dance critic for the Arizona Daily Star (Tucson) from 1999-2001. She has directed Shakespeare plays for Harvard's Hyperion Theatre Company and served as a dramaturg for the Arizona Theatre Company.