My decision to send my work out into the world for publishing consideration was done basically as a dare from my daughter when she was in junior high. I had helped her with a career board on "How to Become an Author" and after she received an "A" on the project she questioned why I wasn't doing that if I was so smart! That's when Miss L'eau had her debut mention in multiple query letters sent out in the mail in 2005.
What was your favorite book to read as a child?
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn written by Betty Smith. It was the most honest book I'd ever read about a young person and their relationship to their family and the world around them. The story made me feel as though I was right there in the book walking alongside the characters as they went through their days and nights. It was the first time I truly understood that books allow us to explore and learn beyond our own experiences.
I also had a much loved, worn-out copy of folk tales (Reader's Digest, maybe?). It was a huge red book and I carried it everywhere and I wish I still had it.
If you could trade places with one author who you have admired over the years, who would it be and why?
I think it would be a hoot to trade places with A.J. Jacobs, the author of The Know-it-All and The Year of Living Biblically. The way he immerses himself in every story and then reports about it with humor and ninja-level observation skills is remarkable!
Can you tell us a little about your latest book?
Two young boys in a coastal town discover a secret about their elementary school teacher, Miss L'eau, which changes their lives forever. The boys had always known there was something unusual about her, but they could never quite put their finger on it. Even though the boys have always lived near the ocean, they never thought about its importance, power and certainly never its vulnerability. Through Miss L'eau, and her very unexpected relationship to the sea, they develop a love and understanding for the great body of water covering most of the earth's surface. With their teacher's help, they become involved with a nearby aquarium and organize an annual clean-up event in their community.
What kind of research did you have to do to write your book?
There are so many great books and websites about the care and keeping of the ocean and importance of the water cycle that I spent months and months immersed in them, absorbing as much as I could to infuse into the story of Miss L'eau. It was my intention that even though Miss L'eau is a fictional story, its heart would be based in fact.
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