I am the author of the children’s book “Harold and the Wimple-Dimple Dimmer-Wimmer.”
I spent many years not writing “Harold and the Wimple-Dimple Dimmer-Wimmer” because I did not think I was a writer.
But Harold would not go away, and finally I heeded Harold’s cajoling plea, “Finish me, will ya?” and in the space of about three parsecs found myself with a finished book.
My first favorite book was "Harold and the Purple Crayon." I was so little when I discovered Harold’s purple crayon that I had no idea what reading was. I just thought all those black squiggles on the pages were part of the story, which I made up every time I opened the book.
After a while, my mother told me that there was an actual story in the book, made up of those black squiggles. I didn’t believe her, and so made her read me the story. Then I made her read it again, and it was the same story. That’s when I learned what “reading” was, and have been in love with it ever since (though readily admit that I didn’t get any good at it until about second grade).
I had the great good fortune of living in Dublin in my mid-20’s. It was there, and in other places I visited in Ireland, that I discovered what good storytelling really was. Pretty much everyone, everywhere, could tell a story, even if it was only about getting on the bus that morning. I developed the habit of sitting in the corner of the pub and making up the stories of the storytellers, i.e., who they were and what they were about (as they say in Ireland).
I recently “met” another great storyteller, Geoffrey Chaucer, when chance (and courage) favored me and I attended the Oxford University Summer School for Adults (OUSSA) for a week-long delve into Master Chaucer’s pilgrims of The Canterbury Tales, in the middle of which I had to submit a paper just as if I was an Oxford student (which technically I was)(for a week). I will tell anyone who will listen that “having an Oxford-trained Medievalist tell you she likes your bibliography is one of the most thrilling moments you could ever have have in your entire life. If you’re me.”
I live in Boston, and because I have this feeling that I was a tour guide in a previous life, am embarking upon a historical series for kids that take place in Colonial Boston.
I am published by Flummery and Trivet, the publisher of “Interesting Books for Curious Children.”
