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| My view of the Peaks of Otter from my study window |
I'm a retired teacher/freelance writer who lives in Franklin County, Virginia, where I'm close to—but not on—Smith
Mountain Lake. I'm 15 miles from the town of Rocky Mount, which made national headlines in the summer of 2004 when a bear
wandered into Franklin Memorial Hospital. In June 2007, a guy drove his F-150 into the Confederate soldier statue in front
of the court house and demolished the entire statue.
Read my blog or a sample of Peevish Advice.
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Literary News
My column, "Peevish Advice," appears twice a month in the Smith
Mountain Eagle.
In 2007, my work appeared in three books. A Cup of Comfort for Writers contains my story, "Out of the Fog,"
on page 199. More Peevish Advice is a collection of my "Peevish Advice" columns from 2001 to 2006. It
Was a Dark and Stormy Night, published by The Friday Project in the UK, contains my 1996 Bulwer-Lytton "Worst Western"
winning sentence. I also contributed to an e-book, Self-Publish Your Book: Authors Share Their Experiences published
by Red Arc Media.
In 2007, I also did some freelance writing for Leisure Publishing's 2008 Newcomers Guide to Smith Mountain Lake and
for Prime Living. My article, "Blogging to Adventure," (February 2007 issue) is online.
Some of my writing-related activities: I'm vice-president of the Valley Writers Chapter of the Virginia
Writers Club; vice-president of Roanoke Valley Branch of the National League of American Pen Women; a member of the Society
of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI) and of the Lake Writers (the literary branch of the Smith Mountain Arts
Council). I serve on the planning committee for the Franklin County Book Festival, and I'm a member of the Franklin County
Library Board of Trustees. I've been nominated as a member-at-large for the 2009 Virginia Writers Club Board of Governors.
Recent News
On August 7, 2008, I learned that I won the 2008 Bulwer-Lytton Fiction Contest's "Vile Pun" Division with this dreadful sentence:
Vowing to get revenge on his English teacher for making him memorize Wordsworth’s “Intimations of Immortality,”
Warren decided to pour sugar in her gas tank, but he inadvertently grabbed a sugar substitute so it was actually Splenda in
the gas.
On Saturday, Nov. 10, 2007, my tombstone was stolen from the family cemetery in Union Hall. The stone measures 2' by 2' by
6" on a base that's 3' by 1' by 6". The stone weighs 360 lbs. and the base weights 400 lbs. You can read the story here.
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My latest collection of "Peevish Advice" columns
Where to get my books: Where There's A Will, Peevish Advice, More Peevish Advice,and The
Girl Who Raced Mules & Other Stories are available from Infinity Publishing, Amazon.com, BarnesandNoble.com, the
General Store at Westlake, Cottage Curio in Salem, Blue Lady Books (online), and other places in the area. When I do readings,
I often have copies with me.
Patches on the Same Quilt is available from the General Store in Westlake, the Franklin County Historical Society,
Cottage Curio, and Blue Lady Books (online).
My Current Writing Projects
I recently finished my middle-grade paranormal novel, Stuck, and am currently seeking a literary
agent.
I've submitted some stories to a couple of anthologies and literary magazines, but my main project has been Stuck.
I recently started a YA novel.
My rewritten and revised "Ferradiddledumday," an Appalachian version of the "Rumpelstiltskin" story, is being shopped around.
(My original version of "Ferradiddledumday" is still on the AppLit site.)
Available now: My 1996 winning "Worst Western" sentence—and four of my other bad sentences—are in the latest
Bulwer-Lytton anthology, It Was a Dark and Stormy Night: the Second Coming.
| The cover of the Bulwer-Lytton anthology. |
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| My dreadful 1996 "Worst Western" sentence is in it! |
Click the cover to learn more about It Was a Dark and Stormy Night.
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| Ida B. at the General Store |
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| Photo by Jeff Reid |
Here I am as my alter-ego, Ida B. Peevish. My writer buddies often send in letters for Ida B. to answer.
As a freelance writer, I sometimes get to see things I normally wouldn't. Below is a picture of Gray, a quarter horse "painted"
by Debranne Pattillo to show its muscles. My story about the May 2005 equinology class in Wirtz originally appeared in the
Smith Mountain Eagle. Click the picture to access the Equinology site.
| A Horse of a Different Color |
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| Photo by Becky Mushko |
| Equine PT Ruth Mitchell with the painted Gray |
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| Photo by Becky Mushko |
I retired from Roanoke City Public Schools in 1997. Then I taught at Ferrum College for a while, "retiring"
in 2006. In 2006-2007, I was Writer-in-Residence for Roanoke County Schools. I spent a week at each of the five Roanoke County
High Schools and had a wonderful time at each. Now, I'm officially retired, with a monthly social security check. While
I write my column and do a bit of freelance writing, I'm concentrating on middle-grade and YA novels.
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Some of my books are available at the Blue Lady Bookstore online:
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