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Have you won awards for your books?
Yes! Lots of them. You can read the list on my Resume page. Recently, I went to Williamsburg, Virginia, to collect the 2007 Beacon of Freedom Award for my book, Miracle, the True Story of the Wreck of the Sea Venture. This was a very special honor because young readers - the children of Williamsburg - select the winner. In the picture below, a student at Rawls Byrd School, Barrett Terrell, is presenting my plaque at the ceremony:
Have you ever earned an “honorary chair” for your work?
Yes, my picture book, Water Beds; Sleeping in the Ocean, received the first “honorary chair” at the Delray Beach Public Library in Florida! (The symbol of this coastal city is a white adirondack chair, and the brand new children’s library will be full of child-sized adirondack chairs to invite children to sit and enjoy a book. Each chair is decorated with scenes from a children’s book.)
Who is the most famous person you have met in your travels as an author?
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Former President Jimmy Carter! In 2004, I was autographing books at the Carter Center for the Atlanta Journal Constitution Holiday Party. Jimmy Carter came and shook hands with me - What a thrill!
Why are there two different covers for Seaman, the Dog Who Explored the West with Lewis and Clark?
This book has been so popular with readers, teachers, and librarians - more than 40,000 copies are in print! In honor of the 200th anniversary of the Lewis and Clark Expedition, Seaman has been re-released in a new edition.
The story and inside illustrations are the same. But the new edition has a gorgeous cover, painted by Paul Bachem, which features a magnificent Newfoundland dog overlooking a sunset view of the White Cliffs along the Missouri River. The new edition is available in both hardcover and paperback. And it contains more front and back matter: An introduction by Jay Rasmussen, the President of the Oregon Chapter of the Lewis and Clark Trail Heritage Foundation, and an expanded Author’s Note, including resources for further reading.
Is it true that kids decided on the title of Surviving Jamestown: The Adventures of Young Sam Collier?
Yes! After tossing around some ideas with my editor, we came up with two possible titles: "The Jamestown Venture: The Story of Young Sam Collier" and the present title of my book. I showed both titles to my young friends in Mrs. Joyce Henson's PACE classes at Malcom Bridge Elementary School in Oconee County, Georgia. After a discussion, the students voted and explained their opinions in short paragraphs. The students selected the present title by more than 50 votes out of 70. So kids really did choose this book's title!
Do you have a pet? Do you own a Newfoundland dog?
Yes, I have 2 cats, named Bear and Persimmon. Persimmon is the youngest - a present from our daughters. Her motto is “to go where no cat has gone before.” In this photo, she
is on the summit of “Mount Refrigerator”:
I don’t have a Newfoundland dog. In this photo, I’m hugging Prissy, one of 2 beautiful Newfies who belong to my friends, Beverly and John Cusac. (On the last page of my book Seaman, the Dog Who Explored the West with Lewis and Clark, I’m pictured with both of the Cusac Newfoundlands.) I met the Cusacs when I was working on the book - I wanted to spend time with real Newfs so I would be able to describe these dogs accurately.
Do you have children?
Yes, I have two daughters, Leslie and Geneva. Leslie (pictured on right) is a Clinical Psychologist, and Geneva (pictured on left) is a Conservationist. Both of them live in their own apartments (and have their own cats), but we love to visit each other. (Yes, they do read my stories and give me suggestions about how I can improve them.)
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What does your husband do?
My husband, Chester, was a Neuroscientist at the University of Georgia. Now he is a full-time “rockhound”! He loves to hunt for crystals for his collection. (Yes, he reads my stories and gives lots of suggestions about how to make them better.)
How old were you when you started to write?
My first book (The Tree that Owns Itself and Other Adventure Tales from Georgia's Past) was published in 1996.
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Of course, that book was not my first attempt at writing. When I was a student, I wrote stories, journals, poems, and reports for class assignments. I loved writing, and I loved reading. (Still do!) I always thought it would be wonderful to have a published book to share with kids, because books gave me so much pleasure when I was a kid.
Why do you write?
 There are lots of reasons, some silly and some serious:
- I write because that's what a writer does! It's my job. Sometimes I'd rather be shopping or swimming, but if I don't sit at my keyboard and do my work, I'd feel like I was shirking my job.
- I write because I like to be the boss! As a writer, I decide what's going to happen, where my characters go and how they talk. I'm the queen of my own universe!
- I write for the joy and satisfaction of it. I think that every person has a deep need to express feelings and opinions
- I write to communicate ideas to other people. Writing makes me happy. It makes me feel accomplished. It links me to other people, some of whom I'll never meet in person.
- I write to learn things ... about the world and about myself. When I do the research for my books, I learn things about topics that interest me. When I make up characters, I explore my own reactions to events and problems.
- I write because I want to make a difference, to leave the world a better place. That's the main reason that I prefer to write for young readers; because a book shapes the way a child sees the world. My mom died when I was 11 years old, and her death was awfully painful for me. As I write, I try to show young readers that they can solve problems, heal after painful events, and create a satisfying future for themselves.
Why do you write about history?
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I didn’t write about history until I started teaching it. In fact, I never really liked history when I was a kid! When I was assigned my first social studies class, I was in a dilemma: How was I going to teach about something that I didn't enjoy?
I began reading and thinking about the subject. It occurred to me that history is really a collection of stories about ordinary people - like you or me - who lived during extraordinary times and rose to the challenge, becoming heroes and heroines. I love stories, so it was easy to get excited about teaching history if I thought of it that way.
When I write my books, I imagine that I’m creating living history museums; my readers face yesterday’s problems alongside my characters. As they discover how to solve these problems, history comes alive. It becomes “hands-on,” and that’s my favorite kind of learning.
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