Questions Readers Ask

Question: A black Labrador retriever is an important character in your books. Do you have a Lab? Do you have a Jack Russell terrier? Answer: Kushi, my 12-year old black Lab, died in 2006. Her death nearly broke my heart. We found her through the Lab Rescue program when she was 18 months old. I grew up with a black Lab named King (hence the "King" in the book). King saved my life when I was a teenager. All future books will have a black Lab. Although I like Jack Russell terriers very much, I've never owned one. At the moment, we have two dogs. Angus, 18 years old, adopted us in 1996. We think Angus is a Spaniel / Rottweiler mix. Yellow Dawg showed up on February 29, 2008, has been with us ever since. He looks like a yellow Lab / Golden Retriever mix. Question: In your first book, Aurora's mother has Alzheimer's disease. Did anyone in your family have Alzheimer's? Answer: Yes. My delightful, wonderful Mother suffered from this horrible disease for about 15 years. My grandchildren were robbed; they never knew this loving, fun-loving, beautiful lady. She died in 1994. I still miss her terribly, as I do my Dad. Question: A painting by N.C. Wyeth plays a part in Secrets at Spawning Run. Is N.C. Wyeth related to Andrew Wyeth? Answer: The famous artist / illustrator N.C. Wyeth is my all-time favorite artist. Andrew Wyeth is his son. I urge all Wyeth fans to visit Brandywine River Museum in Chadds Ford, PA, at least once to view paintings by the talented Wyeth family. Question: Do you create your characters from people you know? Answer: Absolutely not! I tried that once, but the real person kept getting in the way. Friends and family will never see themselves in my books. However, people I see but don't know, well, that's a different story.