AUTHOR - ADVENTURER - ADVOCATE
MY LIFE
The Dreamer
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I grew up in Durham, North Carolina, in a family with income for basics but not frills. However, I didn't suffer much for lack of toys or enrichment activities, like ballet or summer camp. In summer months I borrowed as many library books as I could carry and entertained myself with my imagination.
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When I was eight, I borrowed my mom's scissors and was belly down in the grass, clipping away. An adult passerby stopped and commented that I was a very good child for clipping the grass for my mom. I glanced up, startled by this giant looming over me. If I told her the truth it would break the spell so I said thank you and went back to work. With my chin on my hands, I was imagining a micro world with paths and secret hideouts for insect size people. I was using the scissors to clear the paths for their trek into the deep forest of grass to the mountainous tree roots ahead. On rainy, cold days I would use my sketch pad to take me to magical places or write my own stories.
Author at 2 years-old.
The Advocate
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While I spent a great deal of time reading, daydreaming and doodling I also worried about things. I had big eyes and a furrowed brow. Adults sometimes told me I was too serious. And I, in turn, felt that they weren't paying close enough attention to what was going on in neighborhoods and classrooms, especially the way kids could be so mean to each other. I could not understand or tolerate racism. When kids in my class would not eat lunch or play with the only black boy in our class, I became his only friend. He was a neat kid and very smart. My mom said I was born trying to change the world.
By middle school I learned the power of the pen. I won writing contests and became an editor for the school newspaper. I was awarded a weekly teen column in the Durham Morning Herald. I wrote a letter to the state school superintendent and told him my frustration with the schools and how they might be fixed. He responded by giving me a summer internship to work for him. In small ways I felt that I was gaining the power to change the world.
When I entered high school, my dad was paralyzed due to a surgical accident and became wheel-chair bound. He never let his disability define his life. He lost his small business and pondered what he could do for a livelihood, using his hands. He decided that he could make baskets, so he taught himself the skill, and soon had many clients. My dad always had a smile on his face and taught me how to make lemonade out of lemons, to see that my glass is always half full, not half empty.
Still journaling and drawing around the world.
Parents used bamboo to build their children a playground in Mozambique.
Adventurer
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As an adult, my husband, two children and I lived in six developing countries – Peru, Bolivia, Ghana, Nepal, Bangladesh and Tanzania. I also worked in twenty-nine countries to develop early childhood programs. In each of these countries I paid close attention to the children, their talents and troubles. Each country in turn gave me back a story that I could tell to you. Around the world I discovered that kids, no matter how challenging their circumstances had creativity and courage. In writing stories about children in other countries I hoped that you will learn more about the world outside your borders and realize that we are more alike than different. I hope that my stories inspire you to stand up for what is right just as did the characters in The Drawing Game. In that way each of you has the power to change the world.
Playing in the mud with children from South Sudan.
Visiting a classroom in Papua New Guinea.
Home and Family
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I live in a very old house built in 1778 in Beaufort, NC, a small sea-side town in NC. So far I have found one secret room. People do a lot of porch-sitting in my town. The ceiling of the porch is painted a "haunt" blue. Some old folks say it keeps away the ghosts; and others say it keeps away mosquitos.
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I have two great kids, Bronwyn and Chas. Bronwyn is a naturalist. She has worked to conserve habitats for wild animals in East Africa and Nepal. Chas is an artist. Among other things, he builds large metal sculptures and moving puppets made from junk yard parts.
I am married to a really neat guy, Charles, who opened a world of adventure and travel that was new to me. Shortly after we met, he took me on a trip to Peru and Bolivia. Charles, a backpacker, made "concessions" for my comfort. He booked us into 50 cents per night hotels, upgrading from his customary rooms costing 25 cents. We traveled across the Andes in the back of a cattle truck and the sun burned my scalp. Our passports were stolen in Bolivia, but he used a clever maneuver to get us across the border into Peru since it was Christmas Eve and we couldn’t get the required immigration stamps. I stood by terrified that we would be arrested. At the end of my "too adventurous" first overseas trip, I told him I never wanted to see him again. But after reflection, I reconsidered and we are still together over 40 years later, traveling the world.
Daily activities
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I spend several hours each day writing fiction. A friend of mine, Matt Friedman, gave me his secret for writing a novel. He set aside two hours in early morning to write and at the end of the year, he had finished a novel. When we were living in Nepal, I said to my husband and kids. "Look, I want to try this Friedman Method. On Saturday and Sunday mornings, can you guys make your own breakfast and entertain yourselves so that I can write?" They happily agreed. One year later, I had completed a novel first draft. I have many first drafts of stories; and finally I have time to finish them.
I also love to garden. I spend about 6-8 hours weekly planting, watering, weeding and just watching plants grow. I grow milkweeds for the monarch butterflies just like Ivy's mom in the Drawing Game.
I love the ocean. My husband restored an old sailboat and we explore the islands nearby.
Most days I bike or walk, dance and swim. Being active helps writers to think clearly. I get ideas about how to overcome hurdles in my stories while exercising.
I grow milkweed for the Monarch butterflies.
My day always includes time with friends - a chat on the phone or over the fence; and sometimes an adventure together. They are a source of eternal renewal.
My favorite trees are the 250-year old oak in my back garden and the African Baobob.