About Me

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Born in Tallahassee, the capital of Florida, I am a genuine Florida Cracker--a descendent of sturdy women and men who farmed their way south from North Carolina in the early 1800's. I am a graduate of Florida State University with a BS in Social Science, and earned an MA in Education/Storytelling from East Tennessee State University. My work is deeply influenced by a love and reverence for the natural world and environmental issues and my love of story. Performance Photos by Valerie Menard, Silentlightimages.com.

Friday, July 18, 2008

A Belated Report


OK, folks, I promise to get better at this blog thing and regret not writing as often as I should. Now that I finally have my postcards printed and new business cards to distribute, I hope to hear from more writers with ideas and commentary.


My visit to Berea, Kentucky was all that I hoped it would be. I was there to address the WaysMeet group at the invitation of playwright, Trish Ayers. The group composition came as a surprise to me: they were mostly students with a sprinkling of more mature faces; I was expecting just the opposite, but I had big competition that night - storyteller and writer, Jim Ed Wheeler, was in town, too! They were, however, interested in what I had to say and the presentation took a different turn in response to the needs that I sensed coming from them. That night I stayed at the lovely home of writer Mary Owens and left early to drive down to Hot Springs, North Carolina to see and hear ballad singer Betty Smith at the annual Hot Springs Music Festival.