I graduated from Meredith College in Raleigh, N. C. in 1963, certi¿ed to teach either English or history. When we moved to Greenville, N. C. in the late August, however, all those positions were ¿lled. I took the State Merit Exam and quali¿ ed to become an Interviewer with the Public Welfare Department. I became a social worker and continued in that career for 20+ years. I took correspondence and continuing education courses from UNC and Duke in ¿ction on the side as I found myself becoming interested in creative writing of all sorts; journal, poetry, songs, short stories, and the novel. I took my last classes at the Institute of Children's Literature in Redding, Connecticut, ¿nishing one novel in the graduate course. Not surprisingly, I often write about the underdog and the less-advantaged, about how facing adversity and crisis in our lives can make us stronger.