Thanks to the talented illustrator Will Hillenbrand, Wicked Jack is back in time for Halloween!! I am excited to announce that Wicked Jack (no longer available in a print edition) is now available for download with iBooks on your Mac or iPad, and with iTunes on your computer. The price is $2.99, and you can… [Read More]
The Big and the Small of it
November 24, 2014 By
Speaking is a part of the writing life. Initially I thought I would speak to larger and larger audiences as I became better and better known. Two events this past weekend show how wrong I was! On Friday, October 31, I joined forces with illustrator Will Hillenbrand and Richmond Symphony Orchestra flutist Evelien Woolard to… [Read More]
Wicked Jack, a Classic Halloween Tale – Presented Live Friday, October 31st at 1:00p.m.
October 1, 2014 By
Being a native of North Carolina, I love the colorful folktales of Appalachia that have been passed on from generation to generation. “Meaner than a rattlesnake” Wicked Jack was one of my favorites. Some say this folktale explains the origin of Halloween jack-o-lanterns! I “dug around’ to find as many retellings of this folktale as… [Read More]
Questions From Kids #1: How Long Did It Take You to Finish Your First Book, Wicked Jack?
July 1, 2014 By
It took me three weeks plus 10 years. I first heard the story when I was in Graduate Library School at the University of Chicago in 1975 and it made me laugh. Ten years later (and by that time I was married with four children!) it popped into my mind and I started wondering if… [Read More]
Highlights for Children and Me
February 11, 2013 By
Late on a Saturday night a few weeks ago, a writer friend and I arrived at the Boyds Mills, Pennsylvania, homestead belonging to the family that started, and still publishes, the venerable magazine Highlights for Children. The editor, Kent Brown, and his family have been intertwined with the magazine for three generations and my writing… [Read More]
Jack is Back!
October 28, 2011 By
You just can’t keep a bad man down. Connected, as he is to Halloween (ever wonder where the term “jack-o-lantern” came from?), October is Wicked Jack’s favorite month and he was invited back to Indiana by the Richmond Symphony Orchestra. What were they thinking??? Aren’t symphonies stuffy organizations?? Evidently not! Five woodwind players from the… [Read More]
Broken
March 14, 2011 By
When our third child Sean was growing up, he liked to know how things work, which my husband and I tried to encourage even when things got dangerous or destructive. Stellar parents have their bad days, however, and when Sean was in middle school and I found his brand new bike in pieces all over… [Read More]