Twyla started out small, racing the wind in the south pasture, then roping dust devils to keep in the corral. She went on to lasso tornadoes and ride Old Stormy in the Flint Hills Rodeo. This Kansas cowgirl joins the ranks of tall tale heroes as she rides her twisters in the rodeo career of the century. Come along for the ride! Twister Twyla also includes a list of websites about rodeos, tornadoes and dust devils, as well as a bibliography of children's picture books about each of these subjects!
Jerri loves stories, reading them and writing them. She began writing children's books while she was a children's librarian in Manhattan, Kansas with her first Kansas tall tale, "Johnny Kaw - The Pioneer Spirit of Kansas." In addition to tall tales, she especially likes writing ghost stories and her YA ghost story and mystery, "The Secret of Whispering Springs" has been popular with readers from nine to ninety.
Jerri grew up in Manhattan, Kansas, earned a B.A. degree in English and psychology from the University of Kansas and an M.Ed. in educational technology from the University of Hawaii at Manoa. She married Peter W. Garretson, who became a military attorney and together they lived in several countries and states during his twenty-four-year army career. They had two sons.
Jerri has worked as a public affairs officer, a children's librarian and a reference librarian. She loves photography, computers, and traveling. She and her husband now live in Florida.
