Read more about the book(including the first chapter) here.

Read the guest post by the author.

Read my review.

1.  What is a favorite memory from your childhood?  What makes it so special?

I vividly recall going to a pet store with Dad when I was 9, looking at collie puppies—but something about the situation/price didn’t set well with Dad so we headed home without a dog…and when he saw me in the rear-view mirror, sitting in the back seat in tears, he turned around and we picked out a puppy! Fluff fit into my (very stretchy, knitted) Christmas stocking and I had her until right before I started teaching, when I was 21. There have been few years when I’ve been without a dog ever since.

2.  What is a not-so-good memory from your childhood?

Oh, my! The summer I was 13 Dad decided to quit smoking. Went from 3 packs a day and laid them down, cold turkey. We didn’t have air conditioning in our house (this was 1966), and it was a hot, humid Missouri summer, and Dad was literally sweating nicotine out of his system to the point the sheets of their bed were stained yellow every morning. What with me being a hormonal teenage girl and Dad getting off the nicotine, it’s a wonder my mom survived the summer!

3.  Describe how you decorate for the holidays.  Go into as much detail as you like.

Right now I have a fall wreathe on my door (made it myself!) and a few other autumn decorations in the entryway, but I’ve simplified: rather than Halloween, I’ve chosen pieces that will get me through November, as I just don’t have the time for crafty stuff like I used to.

Come December, I’ll have a tall, slender decorated tree in the entryway, decked with ornaments we’ve gotten on our many trips over the years, along with a bigger tree in the living room decked out with homemade ornaments from friends, relatives, or that I made myself. I’ve got a Nativity set that I added a Border collie to, as well (Ramona feels those sheep in the stable need a herd dog!) and I have a LOT of decorations my best friend, who used to teach art, has made me over our 50-year friendship.

4.  Tell us about a book that you read that you dreaded reading and ended up really enjoying.  (I hope you’ve had that experience before.)

I can’t right off hand think of a title I dreaded reading. The more frequent experience is answered in #5.

5.  Tell us about a book that you read that disappointed you.

There are a lot of classics I simply could not get through—and I loved to read the biggest, thickest books even at an early age. Couldn’t finish WUTHERING HEIGHTS or any of the LITTLE WOMEN books, or ALICE IN WONDERLAND or WIZARD OF OZ and despite the fascination with all things Jane Austen, I still feel no real need to read PRIDE AND PREJUDICE. And while I love the movies, I’ve not been able to make it through any of the Harry Potter books, either.

That said, these days when I encounter a book that doesn’t grab me, I simply lay it aside. Life’s too short—and too many books are begging to be read! That’s why I don’t have a specific title to answer this question.

6.  What is one talent you wish you had?

I’ve been blessed with a bunch of talents and artsy abilities…it would be a wonderful thing if I could phrase my spoken, in-person words as well as I do my written words (where, of course, you have the opp to revise and rephrase). I’ve had some important people in my life misinterpret or get very upset about things I’ve said, and once you’ve said them, there’s no erasing the tape. I guess the corollary to that is wishing that the people listening would hear what I said the way I intended! Can’t control that part!

7.  If you could travel to any time period in history, what period would you pick and why?

I think it would be the 1890’s, in the western half of the U.S. I’ve written several books set in that time period—knowing, of course, that I fictionalized/idealized some of the settings and characters. But homes from that time period are still my favorite places to tour. And that was an era of great inventions and fascinating people . . . and we had more respect for those people and their privacy then, before the internet and social media changed our concept of what “news” is. I’m sure, had I lived then, I would have a different idea about how wonderful that era was (especially for the wealthy).

8.  Who was your favorite teacher in school, and why was he/she your favorite teacher?

I loved school and over the years, K-college, I was fortunate to have a LOT of favorite teachers! My 1st grade teacher was intent on having ALL of us be good readers, and she was like a second mom to me, as an impressionable little kid. My 4^th grade teacher was younger and great fun, as was my 6^th grade teacher. My high school biology teacher was a very special man (anyone who can get me to like science has to have a real talent for teaching!), and I adored my American Lit teacher in college, as well.

I became a teacher—was a school librarian and taught English and/or French for 10 years. Who knows? Maybe I was someone’s favorite teacher, as well!

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