Where in the world, but Kansas?

I was born in Kansas, land of wheat fields and orange-purple sunsets. The first home I remember had no indoor bathroom! In winter, my younger brother and I took "baths" in the kitchen sink. In summer, we trekked to the "wash shed" beside our windmill. Roger and I sat in big, metal washing tubs as Mother poured warm water over our heads.

I was a timid child, but I had a special affinity for animals. Luckily, my father and his family were farmers. There were always plenty of animals around! I enjoyed playing with kittens in the hayloft, helping my father feed the calves, and listening to the peeps of baby chicks. I had mixed feelings about gathering eggs in the hen house, though. Jealously guarding their eggs, the hens pecked my hands. Those pecks hurt!

Many Sundays after church, our family had dinner at my Grandparent Krehbiel's farm. Grandmother, the aunts, and my mother filled the table with fried chicken (yes, one of those hens from the hen house), mashed potatoes, coleslaw, Jell-O, freshly baked cinnamon rolls, coffee cakes, pies, and my favorite, Mack-Kuchen (poppy seed rolls). My father had seven brothers and sisters, and when all of them came to dinner, I had twenty-eight cousins to play with!

My Grandparents Lippincott lived in Colorado. I visited them every summer. I only had three cousins to play with there, but we had great fun at Grandfather's cabin - riding horses, feeding the chipmunks Grandmother's pancakes (cooked on a wood-stove - yum!), and wading in mountain streams.

School Days!

From first through sixth grade, I went to school in a two-room country schoolhouse. At recess, we played games like "Kick the Can" and "Red Rover, Red Rover". The ringing of a hand bell told us it was time to return to the classroom.

H. H. & C was second home to about thirty-five farm kids, in grades 1 through 8. Our teachers were wonderful and memorable. There was Miss Griffin, the stern red-head who put up with no nonsense, but laid a firm foundation for future learning; Mrs. Bradley, the music teacher, who taught singing, rhythm and fun; and Mr. Donaldson, who opened our minds to books and history. At H. H. & C we looked forward to school lunches! Our school cooks made everything from scratch and fried up the best home-made doughnuts in all of Kansas!

In seventh grade, I rode the school bus into Kingman where I attended junior high and later high school. I went on to study English at Kansas State University, but I never envisioned becoming a writer. As a child I loved to read, but I didn't really relate to the fact that there was someone writing the books I loved. Writers? Surely they were beings from a far-off galaxy, magical beings very different from me. It was only as an adult that I truly understood that writers are people just like you and me. They work hard at their craft and sometimes are inspired to create art.

At Kansas State, I met Fred Arnold, a young basketball player. His coach was Tex Winter, now the assistant coach for the L.A. Lakers. Tex led Fred's team to the Big 8 Championship during Fred's senior year! My son, Calvin, plays basketball too. We are big basketball fans at our house!

Life in California

I graduated from Kansas State cum laude (yes, I studied a lot, but not as much as the summa cum laude and magna cum laude) in 1970. Fred and I married and returned to his home state of California to live. We live here still, surrounded by oaks and redwoods, wild turkey and deer, quail and rabbits.

Until they left for college, our home in California was the only home my two children ever knew. My daughter Amy graduated from New York University and is following her heart's desire, choreographing and performing in musical theatre. My son Cal graduated from Dartmouth in 2006 and now lives in Connecticut. In a basketball family, we are proud he was co-captain of his Dartmouth Men’s Basketball team and that he lead the Ivy League in blocked shots!

I love California, but what I miss about Kansas are the thunder storms, the lightning, and the friendly people who drop by anytime of day just to say "hello."

Spending time at home with my family is my favorite activity. When I'm not writing or speaking at schools, I garden, practice yoga, go to movies, and take long walks with my friends.

I also like to travel and explore faraway places. One of my favorite activities when traveling is scuba diving in warm water, surrounded by colorful fish. Another favorite activity is hiking in forests and jungles and mountains. One of my most memorable trips was to a Costa Rican rainforest where I was lucky enough to see the quetzal, a beautiful and secretive bird.

The Writing Begins

When my children were small, so full of joy and curiosity, I began to write about their daily adventures. This led me to write "homegrown treasures", a syndicated column that won three Best Local Columnist awards from the California Newspaper Association. Even better than the awards was that people related to my column. They would come up to me and say, "I loved your column this week! I know just what you mean." It made me happy to know that families read my column together and that both children and adults enjoyed it. I still believe that the very best writing and the very best literature is for all ages.

Writing a weekly column for ten years was a lot of work! It was also scary! I had to come up with a new idea every week. On many days, I would sit before an empty page with an empty head! But that experience taught me a lot about writing and a lot about discipline. Later, I started to write for children's magazines, but my dream was to someday write a real book like the ones I loved to read as a child.

As I worked on that first book, the character Little Four taught me a lot about having a dream and taking action to reach your dream. Finally, my book, Heart of a Tiger was born, with seven more following.

So, now I write books for children. I visit schools and libraries and talk about writing and books. I meet wonderful authors and educators at conferences and children's festivals. I meet lots of children, who I wish I could get to know better. Sometimes they give me special pictures or letters. They always have something interesting to say!

I've been blessed in my writing career to have the very best editors and illustrators to work with. They play a big part in making my stories the best they can be.

When I was growing up, my father always called me "a little dreamer". I didn't like being called a "dreamer" then, but now I don't mind. I believe the world is nourished by the positive visions of dreamers.

 

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